Belgian-British pilot Zara Rutherford becomes, at age 19, the youngest woman to fly solo around the world after a five-month journey which began in Kortrijk, Belgium on 18 August 2021.[12][13]
A C295 equipped with Airbus's semi-morphing wings completes its first flight in Seville, Spain. With other new materials and technologies, Airbus aims to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 43% and NOx by up to 70% in a regional multi-mission configuration.[15]
The airspace of Ukraine is closed, just a few hours before Russia begins the invasion of Ukraine, and flights flying to Ukraine are diverted to other airports.
25 February
EU sanctions against Russia include a ban on the sale of aircraft and spare parts.[20] The sanctions also require lessors to terminate the leases on aircraft placed with Russian airlines.[21]
27 February
All EU member states, as well as the UK and Canada, close their airspace to all Russian aircraft including both commercial and private aircraft.[22] Russia issues a reciprocal ban, forcing many airlines to reroute or cancel flights to Asian destinations.[23]
On 28 March, the final Learjet, a 75, is delivered after 60 years of production and more than 3,000 deliveries.
1 March
The United States closes its airspace to all Russian aircraft.[26][27]
2 March
Airbus and Boeing both suspend maintenance support for Russian airlines.[28]
7 March
Embraer announces their intentions to enter the cargo market, by providing freighter conversions of E-190s and E-195s, which should enter service in 2024.[29]
8 March
Aeroflot suspends all its remaining flights to international destinations (except for Minsk, Belarus) due to airspace restrictions[30] and to counter the "risk" of aircraft being repossessed by lessors.[31]
9 March
To avoid Russian airspace, Finnair adopts routes over the North Pole to Asia, the first time a polar route has been used in nearly 30 years.[32]
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a decree authorising Russian airlines to register in their own name aircraft leased from foreign companies, mainly Western ones. This nationalisation concerns approximately 500 airliners valued at over $10 billion.[34]
17 March
US conglomerate Textron, parent of Beechcraft, Bell Textron and Cessna, announces the acquisition of Slovenian light aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel, producer of the Velis Electro, the first EASA certified electric aircraft, with a transaction due to close in the second quarter of 2022 to form the basis of a new eAviation division focused on "the development of sustainable aircraft".[35]
As Bombardier focuses on its larger Challenger and Global business jets, the final Learjet, a 75, is delivered after 60 years of production and more than 3,000 deliveries, while over 2,000 remain in service.[37]
April
British regional airline Flybe (2022–2023) was relaunched on 13 April.
The U.S. government announces that the mask mandate will be no longer be enforced on domestic flights, but will still be enforced on select international flights.
Due to budget cuts, NASA announces that the SOFIAairborne observatory project will end by October 2022, and the aircraft being used as SOFIA, one of the final Boeing 747SP aircraft in service, will be grounded.
Airspeeder conducts its first remotely-piloted eVTOL race, with Zephatali Walsh named as the inaugural season champion.[44]
22 May
Two Rafale fighters of the French Air Force are involved in a mid-air collision during an airshow at Cognac, France. The two aircraft were able to land safely; part of a fin was recovered on the ground but no injuries were reported.
The Korean KAI KF-21 (ex-K-FX) prototype makes its first flight on 19 July.
5 July
Scandinavian Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States after pilots went on strike, and to accelerate the airline's transformation by implementing key elements of its SAS Forward plan.
Airbus revokes all of Qatar Airways' remaining orders for the Airbus A350, raising the stakes in a safety and contractual dispute by the Gulf carrier.[59]
27 September
Eviation Aircraft conducts the first flight of their Eviation Alice electric regional airliner, ahead of entry into service in 2023.[60]
The last ever flight of the SOFIA airborne observatory occurs on 29 September.
29 September
NASA conducts the last ever flight of the SOFIA airborne observatory, and the aircraft operating as SOFIA, a Boeing 747SP, is retired, after 15 years of service.[61]
October
23 October
Korean Air Flight 631 overruns the runway while landing after a hydraulic problem. Nobody was injured but the plane was written off.
27 October
A Canadair CL-415 fire-fighting aircraft of the Italian Protezione Civile crashes on Mount Etna, Sicily, during extinguishing operations. Two pilots on board die, after the impact of the hull on the Monte Calcinera ridge.[62]
An Airbus A320neo of LATAM Chile, operating a domestic flight between Lima and Juliaca as LATAM Perú Flight 2213, collides with a fire engine which was on the runway during the flight's takeoff roll. All 102 passengers and 6 crew aboard escape unharmed. However, two firefighters were killed and one injured.[65]
A Chinese PLANAFShenyang J-11 fighter intercepts a U.S. Air Force Boeing RC-135 electronic surveillance aircraft with about 30 people on board over the South China Sea, performing what the U.S. described as an "unsafe maneuver". The fighter came within 20 feet (6.1m) of the RC-135's nose, forcing it to take evasive action.[69]
Airbus booked 820 net orders in 2022 and delivered 661 aircraft, for a year-end backlog of 7,239; while Boeing booked 774 orders and delivered 480 aircraft for a backlog of 5,430.[73]
Across all airline operations globally, there were 12 fatal accidents resulting in 229 fatalities in 2022.[74]
Accounting for more than half of those, the deadliest crash of this year was China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735, a Boeing 737 which crashed in Teng County, China on 21 March, killing all 132 people on board.