With the FIFA World Cup starting in June at 16 locations across North America, Universal Aviation has inaugurated its new FBO and general aviation terminal at Mexico’s Guadalajara International Airport (MMGL), one of the country’s host cities for the tournament. Universal has had a presence in the country for nearly half a century, and the Guadalajara facility is its first to be dedicated to business aviation.

It includes a 22,000-sq-ft double-height terminal with onsite customs, immigration, and quarantine service, as well as passenger and crew lounges, conference rooms, covered drop-off, and secure parking with electric vehicle charging. An onsite Air Culinaire kitchen also provides high-end catering support for the region.

The 8-acre complex features a 51,700-sq-ft hangar capable of accommodating bizliners. Security is a foremost concern and includes perimeter fencing, controlled access gates, closed-circuit video cameras, visitor management, secure parking, and coordination with local police and airport security.

“Guadalajara is one of Mexico’s most important business aviation markets, and we believe operators coming here should be welcomed by infrastructure that reflects the importance of the city and the standards they expect,” said Greg Evans, managing principal of Universal Aviation parent company Evans Aviation. “It is also about strengthening our long-term commitment to Mexico, elevating the ground experience, and building the kind of modern, high-capacity platform that supports the future of business aviation in this market.”

European charter operator Luminair is set to almost double the size of its fleet with an order for nine Cessna Citation Latitudes. The deal was announced with manufacturer Textron Aviation today—on the eve of Aero Friedrichshafen.

Funds for buying the super-midsize jets have come from Luminair’s investors, with deliveries set to run from third-quarter 2026 through mid-2027. As with the Germany-based company’s other aircraft, the Latitudes will be operated commercially under asset leases based on a per-flight-hour cost structure.

According to Luminair CEO Algernon Trotter, the Latitude closes a gap in its service offering between its five Citation XLSs, four large-cabin Dassault Falcon 900LXs, and a pair of Falcon 7Xs. The midsize jet is viewed as a key tool for customer retention when lack of capacity could drive bookings to rival operators.

Since its launch in 2014, Luminair has prioritized high fleet utilization, following the same philosophy of Air Hamburg, where its leadership team originated. Each aircraft is logging about 1,000 hours per year, and with longer sectors, the company believes the Latitudes may well reach 1,100 hours annually.

The Hamburg-based company has 150 employees with three sets of flight crews assigned to each aircraft to ensure availability and be ready to respond to short-notice bookings.

Aviation real estate developer Blackbird Partners has announced a hangar development project at Missouri’s Spirit of St. Louis Airport (KSUS). Unlike other hangar complexes sprouting up across the U.S., this one will include eight hangars to be sold, rather than leased (within the constraints of an airport 45-year ground lease).

To be known as “The Nest at SUS,” the nearly 13-acre facility located off Taxiway Delta will feature four concrete hangar structures (“wings”). Each will contain a 6,705-sq-ft private hangar capable of sheltering up to a super-midsize jet, and a 14,909-sq-ft single-owner hangar that can accommodate an ultra-long-range jet or multiple smaller aircraft. All hangars will provide two floors of separate crew and owner/lifestyle space.

For customers with a larger fleet, they can choose to purchase an entire wing for a total of 31,549 sq ft of hangar and office space.

Blackbird is in negotiations with the three service providers at KSUS to determine a preferred FBO to provide ground handling and fuel discounts, but owners will be free to patronize their favorite. The developer is now accepting presales inquiries on the complex, which is slated to break ground in early 2027 and open the following year.

Jeppesen ForeFlight is releasing a new safety feature called emergency glide mode. According to the aviation software and data company, the pilot-activated function provides a “clear, focused view of reachable airports and potential off-airport landing sites” in the event of an engine failure.

Available soon to all ForeFlight subscribers at no extra cost, emergency glide mode augments the existing glide advisor feature. This, ForeFlight explained, “continuously displays a glide range ring based on the aircraft’s altitude, best glide speed and ratio, and known winds.” However, the new capability uses a proprietary algorithm to display the top three most appropriate airports within this radius, or—for U.S. users—additional potential landing sites.

“Emergency glide mode is a good use of an EFB [electronic flight bag] to solve a stressful and urgent situation,” ForeFlight GA product lead Cole Crawford told AIN. “In a situation like this, every second you save deciding where to turn is a second you gain setting up for a safe landing.” Although he stressed that the ultimate decision remains with the pilots, the function does nevertheless offer tools to help make a “highly informed decision as quickly as possible.”

When activated via the touch of a button, the nearest three appropriately sized airports available within an aircraft’s glide range—which is available via manufacturer data or can be input manually—are highlighted.

The G1000 NXi unifies FMS, radios, autopilot, hazard sensors, and mapping into a seamless Garmin interface. Features such as SafeTaxi, LPV capability, and a tightly integrated flight deck design support consistent, stable procedures and help crews quickly adapt to the system in modern King Air operations. View the complete guide to Garmin G1000 NXi.

Gulfstream G550 operators can now install the Klatt Works smoke-assured vision enhanced display (SAVED) oxygen mask in their jets under a new FAA supplemental type certificate (STC). This marks the first business jet STC for the Klatt Works mask. Klatt Works partnered with L2 Aviation on the G550 program, and the next STC will be for the G650.

The SAVED mask incorporates a head-up display (HUD) that helps pilots view critical flight information when smoke obscures cockpit instruments and avionics.

First approved in the Boeing 777F freighter, the SAVED mask combines a high-resolution, low-latency display with a feed from the aircraft’s external enhanced vision system camera and HUD symbology generator. The concentrator unit overlays camera imagery with flight data and projects it onto miniature augmented reality displays embedded in the oxygen mask. For the pilot, the result is a clear view of attitude, altitude, airspeed, and the camera input, even if smoke obscures the windscreen and instrument panel.

“Bringing SAVED to the G550 platform represents an important step forward in cockpit survivability for business aviation,” said Klatt Works CEO Nate Klatt. “SAVED was purpose-built for rare but catastrophic events where dense smoke eliminates forward visibility. By integrating directly into the oxygen mask [that] pilots are already trained to use in an emergency, the system is immediately available under stress and requires no additional deployment steps.”

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee unanimously approved legislation last week that would require the FAA to revise mental health regulations for pilots and air traffic controllers.

Introduced by Sens. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), the Mental Health in Aviation Act would require the FAA to update regulations encouraging voluntary disclosure of mental health conditions and treatment. Additionally, the bill directs the agency to review the special issuance medical certificate process annually and expand the list of approved medications for treating mental health conditions.

The legislation would include funding to reduce the special issuance backlog and implement recommendations from a 2024 Aviation Rulemaking Committee that examined industry culture and barriers to pilots seeking treatment. That committee issued 24 recommendations in a 164-page report.

Additionally, the bill authorizes the FAA to recruit and train more aviation medical examiners and conduct public education efforts to reduce stigma around mental health care in aviation. “Pilots should not have to worry about being forced out of the flight deck—possibly losing their livelihood—when they should be seeking treatment,” said AOPA senior v-p of government affairs and advocacy Jim Coon.

The House passed pilot mental health legislation in September 2025. AOPA sent a letter to Senate Commerce Chair Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) in December expressing support for the measure.

MedevacX has teamed up with aviation technologies specialist Moove to roll out a digital medical evacuation operations platform in Europe. Introduced this week at Aero Friedrichshafen in Germany, the platform was designed to meet demands from insurers and assistance companies for faster sourcing and more efficient internal workflows, MedevacX said. It added that the platform centralizes case data, communications, and logistics.

Designed primarily as a comprehensive case management system rather than a standalone quoting tool, the platform enables insurers, assistance companies, and operators to manage the full life cycle of a medical transport case within a single, secure environment. Through the platform, companies can manage complex missions from a centralized dashboard, share transport data, track case progress, and coordinate multiple service providers. Further, through Moove’s technology, it offers the ability to integrate with flight management systems and connect to tools such as Salesforce. It is also scalable.

MedevacX recently completed a large-scale test, bringing together a dozen air ambulance operators in Europe and several insurance companies to identify and resolve key inefficiencies in current coordination processes.

“In medical operations, speed of sourcing and full traceability are critical. Today, much of this value chain still relies on emails and spreadsheets, making coordination and data sharing unnecessarily complex. MedevacX was created to change that,” said Cedric Henriot, founder of MedevacX parent company Scandic Services.

Industry veteran Keith Clark will receive the Flight Safety Foundation’s (FSF) 2026 Business Aviation Meritorious Service Award at the 71st Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS) next month. A senior quality control and technical representative at Phillips 66 Aviation, Clark is being recognized for his efforts in misfueling prevention and operational safety.

FSF will present this award during BASS, while will be held May 5 and 6 at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. This year’s theme is “Leading Safety Through Culture, Innovation, and Practical Solutions.”

NTSB member Michael Graham will deliver the first day’s keynote presentation at BASS, with safety experts and executives from across the business aviation industry leading discussions throughout the summit, which is organized jointly by FSF and NBAA.

Noting Clark’s integral work on the “Save a Life—Verify Fuel Type” initiative, the foundation highlighted his “exceptional and sustained leadership in advancing aviation fuel quality, operational safety, and misfueling prevention across business aviation.” Clark participates in several industry working groups that aim to reduce risk and elevate safety through practical guidance and operational best practices.