Flight Path | Episode 5 | Year in Review

In this Review of 2025 Podcast host and Knowledge Lawyer Aron Dindol is joined by our aviation lawyers from the firm’s liability, regulatory and finance practice to discuss the legal trends and developments in the Aviation industry this year, as we look ahead to the coming year.

The episode features insights from:

• Gabriella Mifsud, Associate (London) looking at the challenges of a fast changing and complex regulatory landscape, including the EU’s Refuel initiative, new Sustainable Aviation Fuel mandates from the UK and EU and Greenwashing risks for stakeholders.
• Kirstin MacDougall, Legal Director (London) who discusses themes and milestones from the aviation finance practice in 2025, including developments in sustainability linked lending, and reviews the transaction types that have been particularly prevalent this year in an evolving market for airlines looking to finance their fleet.
• Chris Smith, Legal Director (London)  assesses a dramatic year in aviation safety with the tragic major losses we saw in 2025, and developments in the liability space with notable cases from the CJEU on EU 261 and developments in the Montreal Convention framework for aviation liability.
• Thomas Humann, Senior Associate (San Francisco) gives us a US perspective on the major loss incidents from the year, considering aviation safety in context as well as looking at the issues facing the regulatory bodies, including the FAA and also offering insights on developments in Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) regulation.

Listen for a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that 2025 has brought for the aviation industry as we look ahead to the new year.