This is a list of aviation-related events in 2021. The aviation industry continued to be impacted by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Events

January

; 7 January : Boeing

settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an in ...

s with the

US Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equ ...

to pay over $2.5 billion after being charged with

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

over the

Boeing 737 MAX certification The Boeing 737 MAX was initially certified in 2017 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Global regulators Boeing 737 MAX groundings, grounded the plane in 2019 following fatal ...

: a criminal monetary penalty of $243.6 million, $1.77 billion of

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

to airline customers, and a $500 million crash-victim beneficiaries fund. ; 9 January :

Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, Indonesia. Five minutes after departing from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport on 9 January 2021, the Boeing 737-500 experienced an upset and ...

, a

Boeing 737-500 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...

, crashes off the

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

coast. All 62 people on board are dead. ; 27 January :

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

reports its 2020 results:

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

of $58.2 billion, down from $76.6 billion the previous year, and an operating loss of $12.8 billion. ; 28 January : The new $1.1 billion dollar terminal at Bahrain Airport begins operations.

February

; 3 to 5 February :

Aero India Aero India is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India, at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. It is organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence. Organisers The Ministry of Defence, Indian A ...

2021 is held at

Yelahanka Air Force Station The Yelahanka Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force airfield in Yelahanka, Bengaluru. The main role of this airfield is to train pilots to fly transport planes. This station also conducts type-conversion of navigators on the Antonov An-32. ...

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. ; 9 February :

LATAM Argentina Aero 2000 S.A., d/b/a LATAM Airlines Argentina, formerly LAN Argentina, was an airline based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a member of the LATAM Airlines Group. It was the second-largest airline in Argentina at the time it was disbanded. Hist ...

folds after having stopped operations on 17 June 2020. ; 11 February :

Air Namibia Air Namibia (Pty) Limited, which traded as Air Namibia, was the national airline of Namibia, headquartered in the country's capital, Windhoek. It operated scheduled domestic, regional, and international passenger and cargo services, having its in ...

ceases operations and goes into bankruptcy. ; 18 February :

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

reports its 2020 results: revenue of €49.9 billion, down from €70.5 billion the previous year, and an operating loss of €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion). ; 20 February :

United Airlines Flight 328 On February 20, 2021, United Airlines Flight 328 (UA328/UAL328), a scheduled U.S. Domestic flight, domestic passenger flight from Denver to Honolulu, suffered what was technically ruled a Turbine engine failure#Contained and uncontained failur ...

, a

Boeing 777-200 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long haul, long-range Wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the mo ...

, suffers a contained engine failure of the right-hand engine over

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county located in the United States, U.S. Colorado, state of Colorado. It has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sect ...

and the surrounding area. The flight was able to return to

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , often referred to by locals as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , Effective Ju ...

safely with no injuries. The

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

(FAA) orders emergency inspections of all 777s with the same Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. ; 26 February : The 1945th and last

Bombardier CRJ The Bombardier CRJ/Mitsubishi CRJ or CRJ Series (for Canadair Regional Jet) is a family of regional jets introduced in 1991 by Bombardier Aerospace. The CRJ was manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace with the manufacturing of the first CRJ gene ...

is delivered. ; 27 February : First flight of the Boeing Airpower Teaming System of

Boeing Australia Boeing Australia is Boeing's largest subdivision outside the United States. Established in 1997, the company oversees its seven wholly owned subsidiaries, consolidating and co-ordinating Boeing's businesses and operations in Australia. Boeing ...

March

; 10 March : First flight of the Dassault Falcon 6X. ; 31 March :

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...

officially joins

Oneworld Oneworld (Computer reservations system, CRS: *O, stylised as oneworld) is a global airline alliance consisting of 14 member airlines. It was founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance f ...

, and becomes the 14th full member of the alliance.

April

; 27 April :

Avelo Airlines Avelo Airlines, Inc. () is an American ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Houston, Texas. It previously operated charter flights as ''Casino Express Airlines'' and ''Xtra Airways'' before transitioning to scheduled operations and rebrandi ...

begins operations with three

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...

aircraft. :

Interjet InterJet was a private jet charter operator in the Greek business aviation market. InterJet was based in Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal ...

files for bankruptcy in Mexico. The airline indefinitely suspended flights on 11 December 2020 due to inadequate cash flow, and in January, most employees went on strike over unpaid wages.

May

; 1 May : At Hazleton,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, Don Kellner makes his last eight skydives, giving him a world-record lifetime total of 46,355 jumps. He dies of cancer on July 22, aged 85. ; 6 May :

Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (Marcel Bloch Aircraft Company). After ...

launches its $75 million

Falcon 10X The Dassault Falcon 10X is a large, long-range business jet under development by Dassault Aviation in France. Development On 6 May 2021, Dassault launched its $75 million Falcon 10X flagship to compete with the Bombardier Global 7500 and the ...

flagship, scheduled for 2025, to compete with the

Bombardier Global 7500 The Bombardier Global 7500 and Global 8000 are ultra long-range business jets developed by Bombardier Aviation (formerly Bombardier Aerospace) and remain the largest business jets in the world. The Global 7500, originally named the Global 7000 ...

and the

Gulfstream G700 The Gulfstream G650, G700, and G800 are large business jets produced by the American company Gulfstream Aerospace.

. ; 12 May :

Key Lime Air Flight 970 On 12 May 2021, Key Lime Air Flight 970, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner operating a chartered cargo flight from Salida, Colorado, Salida to Centennial, Colorado, Centennial, Colorado, collided in mid-air with a private Cirrus SR22 near Centen ...

, a

Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...

, collides in mid-air with a

Cirrus SR22 The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built since 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity and more powerfu ...

light aircraft near Denver's

Centennial Airport Centennial Airport is a public use airport owned by the Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority in the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area, 15 nautical miles (17 mi, 28 km) southeast of downtown Denver, Colorado, United States. L ...

. Both aircraft sustain severe damage but make safe emergency landings. ; 21 May :

Aerion Aerion Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Reno, Nevada. It was founded by Robert Bass of Fort Worth. From 2004 until 2021, the company was developing a 10-passenger supersonic jet to cut transatlantic flights by three ...

, developer of the

Aerion AS2 The Aerion AS2 was a proposed supersonic business jet that was being developed by Aerion Corporation. In May 2014, it was announced that the Aerion AS2 would be part of a larger Aerion SBJ redesign, which aimed for release after a seven-year ...

supersonic business jet, shuts down as it lacks funds. ; 23 May :

Ryanair Flight 4978 Ryanair Flight 4978 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Athens International Airport, Greece, to Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, operated by Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz, a Polish subsidiary of the Irish airline Ryanair. On 23 May ...

, a Boeing 737-8AS on a routine scheduled flight from

Athens International Airport Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios Venizelos'' , commonly initialised as AIA, is the largest international airport in Greece, serving the city of Athens and region of Attica. It began operation on 28 March 2001 (in time for the 2004 Su ...

Vilnius Airport Vilnius Čiurlionis International Airport () is the international airport, airport of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It is located south of the city center. It is the largest of the three commercial airports in Lithuania by passenger traffi ...

, is diverted to

Minsk National Airport Minsk National Airport (, ; ) , formerly known as Minsk-2, is the main international airport in Belarus, located 42 km (26 mi) to the east of the capital Minsk. It geographically lies in the territory of Smalyavichy Raion but is admin ...

on the orders of Belarusian President

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

under the pretence of a bomb threat. No bombs are found, but two passengers, Belarusian dissident

Roman Protasevich Roman Dmitriyevich Protasevich or Raman Dzmitryevich Pratasevich (born 5 May 1995) is a Belarusian blogger and political activist. He was the editor-in-chief of the Telegram channel Nexta and chief editor of the Telegram channel Belarus of the ...

and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, are arrested on arrival, triggering international condemnation of the Belarusian government. ; 24 May : Various nations announce aviation sanctions against Belarus in reaction to the Ryanair Flight 4978 incident.

Belavia Belavia, formally Belavia Belarusian Airlines (; ), is the flag carrier of Belarus, headquartered in Minsk. The state-owned company had, as of 2007, 1,017 employees. Belavia serves a network of routes between Commonwealth of Independent States, ...

, the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations. Histo ...

of Belarus, is barred from the airspace of the EU and the UK, and EU and UK airlines are instructed to avoid Belarusian airspace. Lithuania and Ukraine close their airspace to aircraft that have flown or plan to fly through Belarusian airspace, thus terminating all direct flights. ; 27 May : Founded by

David Neeleman David Gary Neeleman (born October 16, 1959) is a Brazilian-American businessman and entrepreneur. He has founded five commercial airlines: Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue Airways, Azul Brazilian Airlines, and Breeze Airways. Along with Humberto ...

, US startup

Breeze Airways Breeze Airways, legally Breeze Aviation Group, Inc., is an American low-cost airline headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. The airline was founded by David Neeleman, who previously co-founded Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue, and Azul Linhas ...

starts commercial operations. ; 28 May :

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

opens the world's largest engine

testbed A testbed (also spelled test bed) is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computing tools, and new technologies. The term is used across many disciplines to describe experimental research ...

facility in the world, Testbed 80, in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

June

; 3 June :

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

places an order for 15

Boom Overture The Boom Overture is a supersonic airliner under development by Boom Technology, designed to cruise at Mach 1.7 or . It is expected to carry 64 to 80 passengers, depending on configuration, with a range of . Boom aims to introduce the Ove ...

supersonic transports, which should enter service in 2029. United is expected be the first airline to fly the Overture. ; 11 June :

Stobart Air Stobart Air was an Irish regional airline based in Dublin, originating in 1970 and closing in 2021. It operated scheduled services under the brands Aer Lingus Regional, BA CityFlyer and KLM Cityhopper on behalf of their respective owners. Sto ...

enters liquidation and ceases operation of all flights operated under its franchise agreement with Aer Lingus Regional. :

Air Antwerp Air Antwerp was a short-lived Belgian regional airline headquartered at Antwerp International Airport in Deurne. History The application for an air operator's certificate for Air Antwerp was secured in 2019 by the Transport and Mobility de ...

ceases operations. ; 18 June : Boeing 737 MAX 10 has its first flight from

Renton Municipal Airport Renton Municipal Airport is a public use airport located in Renton, a city in King County, Washington, United States. The airport was renamed Clayton Scott Field in 2005 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Clayton Scott. The airport's northern ...

and landing at King County International Airport (Boeing Field) with a flight duration of 2.8 hours. ; 24 June : Icelandic start-up

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

starts operations, with an inaugural flight from

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavík merged with nearby Njar ...

London Stansted Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stan ...

. ; 29 June : Chengdu's Tianfu International Airport officially opens to supplement Chengdu Airport.

July

;2 July : A

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating ...

cargo aircraft operating as

Transair Flight 810 Transair Flight 810 was a flight operated by a Boeing 737-200 converted freighter aircraft, owned and operated by Rhoades Aviation under the Transair trade name, on a short cargo flight from Honolulu International Airport to Kahului Airport o ...

ditches en route from

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. Both pilots are rescued by the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, mi ...

. ;4 July : A

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

of the

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Initially formed as part of the Philippine Army as the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) in 1935, the PAAC eventually saw combat ...

overruns a runway and crashes near Jolo Airport in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, killing 53 and injuring 50 others. ;6 July : An

Antonov An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

aircraft crashes near the settlement of Palana, Russia, killing all 28 people on board. ; 16 July : An

Antonov An-28 The Antonov An-28 (NATO reporting name Cash) is a twin-engined light turboprop transport aircraft, developed from the Antonov An-14M. It was the winner of a competition against the Beriev Be-30, for use by Aeroflot as a short-range airliner. It ...

operating Siberian Light Aviation Flight 42 crash-lands in a swamp in

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

after both engines fail. All 18 people on board survive the accident.

August

; 16 August :With the fall of Kabul to the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

, thousands of civilians throng the terminal and aircraft operations area of

Hamid Karzai International Airport Kabul International Airport () is located in the northern part of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is one of the country's main international airports, capable of housing over a hundred military and civilian aircraft. It is currently operated by UAE-base ...

trying to flee Afghanistan, and US troops seize the facility, as several people are killed in the chaos. :An A-29 Super Tucano of the

Afghan Air Force The General Command of the Air Force (, Dari: ) also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The Royal Afghan Air Force was established in 1921 under the reign o ...

is shot down in the

Surxondaryo Region Surxondaryo Region is a region ('' viloyat'') of Uzbekistan, located in the extreme south-east of the country. Established on 6 March 1941, it borders on Qashqadaryo Region internally, and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan externally, goin ...

in Uzbekistan after "illegally" flying into Uzbek airspace. ; 17 August :The first prototype

Ilyushin Il-112 The Ilyushin Il-112/Il-212 () is a high-wing light military transport aircraft being developed by Ilyushin Aviation Complex (JSC IL) for air landing and airdrop of military air cargoes, equipment and personnel. The aircraft is manufactured by Vo ...

transport aircraft crashes near Kubinka Airfield after an engine fire. All three crew members are killed. ; 18 August :After troops secure the civilian side of the airport, commercial flights to Kabul Airport resume on a limited basis, with a

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified ...

Utair Utair () () is a Russian airline with its head office at Khanty-Mansiysk Airport while its hubs are at Surgut International Airport and Vnukovo International Airport. It operates scheduled domestic and some international passenger services, sch ...

. :US military leaders state that 2,000 US citizens, NATO troops and Afghan civilians have been flown out from Kabul Airport by US forces since the fall of the city. ; 19 August :Uzbek authorities confirm that 46 Afghan Air Force aircraft have flown to Uzbekistan since the fall of Kabul, and 585 aircrew are seeking asylum there. ; 22 August : The

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

activates the

Civil Reserve Air Fleet The Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) is part of the United States's mobility resources. Selected aircraft from U.S. airlines, contractually committed to Civil Reserve Air Fleet, support United States Department of Defense airlift requirements in e ...

and requisitions 18 airliners from US civil airlines to shuttle Afghanistan evacuees from temporary staging bases outside of that country, freeing US military transport crews to concentrate on the Kabul airlift. ; 30 August :The last US C-17 flight leaves Kabul Airport just before midnight, ending the US military airlift and the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. :

Raytheon Technologies RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon Technologies Corporation, is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by reve ...

subsidiary

Collins Aerospace Collins Aerospace is an American technology company that is one of the world's largest suppliers of aerospace and defense products. It was formed in 2018 from the merger of Rockwell Collins and UTC Aerospace Systems. Headquartered in Charlotte, ...

announces the acquisition of flight tracking company

FlightAware FlightAware is an American multi-national technology company that provides real-time, historical, and predictive flight tracking data and products. it is the world's largest flight tracking platform, with a network of over 32,000 ADS-B gro ...

September

; 4 September :

Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the oldest operating commercial airline in Asia. Philippine ...

, the oldest commercial airline in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, files for bankruptcy amid mounting debts due to the

. ; 9 September :A

Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. (, ''al-Qaṭariyya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, flying to over 170 internatio ...

Boeing 777-300ER The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long haul, long-range Wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the mo ...

operates the first commercial international flight into Kabul since the US pullout on 30 August. ; 15 September : An experimental electric aircraft aiming for air speed records, the Rolls-Royce ACCEL completes its first flight in fifteen minutes. ; 23 September :

South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier of South Africa. Founded in 1929 as Union Airways it later rebranded to South African Airways in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannes ...

is relaunched after suspending flights for 18 months due to business rescue. A partnership between Takatso Consortium and the

Government of South Africa The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary ...

revived the airline with an infusion of (equal to ). ; 24 September : The

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

awards $2.6 billion to Rolls-Royce Corporation to re-engine the

B-52H The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

bomber with 608 F130 engines (the Rolls-Royce BR725 military designation) to replace the outdated TF33, to be integrated by

from 2025 to 2035 and to be operated until at least 2050, increasing fuel efficiency, range, and reducing maintenance costs.

October

; 4 October :

Gulfstream The Gulf Stream is a warm Atlantic Ocean current. Gulf Stream or Gulfstream may also refer to: Businesses *Gulf Stream Hotel, an historic hotel in Lake Worth Beach, Florida *Gulfstream Aerospace, manufacturer of private jet aircraft *Gulfstream C ...

introduces the 4,200 nmi (7,778 km) range G400, to be delivered from 2025, and the 8,000 nmi (14,816 km) range G800, with deliveries from 2023. ; 8 October :

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

, along with its low cost carrier

Air India Express Air India Express is an India, Indian low-cost airline and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India. It is headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. The airline operates more than 2000 flights per week to 45 destinations across India, the Middle ...

and fifty percent of AISATS, a ground handling company, were sold to

Tata Sons Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. is the holding company of the Tata Group, headquartered in Mumbai. It owns the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants, and derives its reve ...

. ; 15 October :

Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. ...

, the flag carrier of Italy, ceases operations after 74 years due to the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the airline industry due to Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions and a decimation in demand among travelers. Significant reductions in passenger number ...

following years of losses. Its operations and assets are handed over to new state-owned flag carrier

ITA Airways Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A. (), doing business as ITA Airways, is the flag carrier of Italy. It is owned by the government of Italy, via the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Lufthansa Group. The airline was founded in 2020 as a suc ...

. ; 19 October : In the 2021 Houston MD-87 crash, a

McDonnell Douglas MD-87 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

charter flight crashes on takeoff from

Houston Executive Airport Houston Executive Airport is a public-use airport in unincorporated area, unincorporated Waller County, Texas, Waller County, Texas, United States. The airport is located 28 nautical miles (52 km) west of Downtown Houston, Downtown Houston, ...

. All 21 people on board survive but a post-crash fire destroys the aircraft.

November

; 8 November : After 20 months of restrictions, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

opens up fully to travellers. This is celebrated when the first two flights back into the US from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, two

Airbus A350-1000 The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The initial A350 design proposed in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the Airbus A330 with c ...

s operated by

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

and

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic A ...

, conduct a parallel take-off from

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

for the US. ; 14 to 18 November :

Dubai Airshow The Dubai Airshow () is a biennial air show held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in cooperation with Dubai Civil Aviation ...

2021 is held at

Al Maktoum International Airport Al Maktoum International Airport , also known as Dubai World Central, is an international airport in Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that opened on 27 June 2010. Located southwest of the city of Dubai, it is the main part of Dubai So ...

in Dubai, from 14 to 18 November 2021. ; 15 November : At the Dubai Airshow, US lessor

Air Lease Corporation Air Lease Corporation (ALC) is an American aircraft leasing company founded in 2010 and headed by Steven F. Udvar-Házy. Air Lease purchases new commercial aircraft through direct orders from Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and ATR, and leases them to ...

became the A350F freighter launch customer with an order for seven to be delivered around 2026, among other Airbus airliners. ; 22 November : Hi Fly lands an Airbus A340-300 in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, at the Wolfs Fang Runway after a flight from

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, setting the record for the largest aircraft ever to land in Antarctica. ; 23 November : The single turboprop Beechcraft Denali makes its first flight, targeting certification for 2023.

December

; 3 December : During a Middle East tour by French president

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

signs for 80 examples of the

Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French Twinjet, twin-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft designed and ...

F4 multirole fighter to be delivered between 2027 and 2031, a deal valued at €14 billion for the aircraft (€M each) and €2 billion for weapons. ; 10 December : The first

Airbus Helicopters H160 The Airbus Helicopters H160 (formerly X4) is a medium utility helicopter developed by Airbus Helicopters. Formally launched at Heli-Expo in Orlando, Florida on 3 March 2015, it is intended to replace the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, AS365 and Euroc ...

is delivered to All Nippon Helicopter for

electronic news gathering Electronic news gathering (ENG) or electronic journalism (EJ) is usage of electronic video and audio technologies by reporters to gather and present news instead of using film cameras. The term was coined during the rise of videotape techno ...

, starting in 2022. ; 16 December : The 251st and last

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

is delivered to its main customer

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...

Deadliest crash

The deadliest crash of this year was

, a

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

which crashed shortly after takeoff from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

on 9 January killing all 62 people on board.

References

{{Aviation timelines navbox 2021-related lists Aviation by year Technology timelines by year Transport timelines by year