Elan Head and Jon Ostrower·
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Denial of aviation is a weapon that predates the 21st century battlefield. Yet, with the return of war to Europe, it is also aviation’s Achilles’ heel. With it comes a cascading series of immediate and longer term consequences in the skies as commercial and industrial links are quickly broken after decades of cultivation following the fall of the Soviet Union.
The 2021 Dubai Air Show is a test of the new normal and the first large-scale civil international air show since COVID-19 ravaged aviation. Yet, Dubai is set against the backdrop of a world that is not as flat as it used to be. Freight has kept the civil aviation business alive through the pandemic. The A350 is set for launch here, the 777XF is coming, too, but not yet. Russia’s MC-21 is making its debut in Dubai. It’s a project that represents the geopolitical tension disrupting once open east-west supply lines, but its biggest opportunity may be at home where domestic air travel is booming again.
MC-21-310 first flight with PD-14 engines accelerates Russia's aerospace industry uncoupling with the west. Pratt & Whitney's involvement is "on life support" as U.S.-Russia relations continue to deteriorate.
The first approved COVID-19 vaccine is fanning out across the world, kicking off what is possibly the largest humanitarian airlift in the history of aviation. The global effort requires a highly-coordinated logistical and operational dance. The second big wave of COVID-19 cases is causing an expected decline in air travel, but the overall recovery is ahead of forecast.
