Liquid Restrictions Ending in Europe, Alaska Airlines’ Mysterious Promotion, and Other Airlines News This Week

We’ve got a very international mix of airline news for you this week. There’s a date for the inaugural Riyadh Air flight, an update from the E.U. on liquid restrictions, and the Maldives’ new international airport has finally opened its doors to passengers.

However, to start things off, we’ll take a look at a mysterious Alaska Airlines offer.

Win a Mysterious Prize From Alaska Airlines

Back in June, Alaska Airlines announced an exciting new route from Seattle (SEA) to Rome (FCO). The route, which will be operated by a Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will be the first-ever nonstop connection between the 2 cities.

Before tickets go on sale in the fall, Alaska Airlines has launched an exclusive offer when signing up for its early bird list. You’ll be asked to fill out your name and email address, and there’s an option to add your Mileage Plan membership number if you have one.

There is no mention of what the “exclusive offer” could be. Some options could be discounted tickets on the new route from Seattle to Rome, bonus miles, or even a super-low award booking rate. I signed up for the offer, so we’ll hopefully know more soon.

Riyadh Air Will Launch Its First Flight to London in October

It’s been unofficially confirmed that start-up airline Riyadh Air will launch in October with flights from Riyadh (RUH) to London Heathrow (LHR).

The news broke before the Saudi Arabian-based carrier made an official announcement, due to leaked information that the airline has secured a pair of landing and takeoff slots at the U.K.’s busiest airport.

The slots start from October 26, 2025, which suggests that this is when Riyadh Air will launch operations. This is an exciting development in the airline and aviation world, as Riyadh sky-high goals of competing with Middle Eastern giants Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways.

We’d expect Riyadh’s official announcement to include more destinations. It could be too soon for the airline to launch flights to the U.S., but we’d expect at least New York City to feature on its route map eventually.

It’s also been alleged that Riyadh Air won’t be launching service with the stunning interiors it revealed back in April.

Instead, reports suggest the start-up carrier will launch operations with a plane that used to belong to Oman Air.

Flair Adds Nonstop, Low-Cost Option to Mexico City

Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier Flair wants to offer Canadians a cheaper option to fly to Mexico City (MEX).

The carrier will launch nonstop flights from Toronto (YYZ) and Vancouver (YVR) to the Mexican capital in October, competing directly with Aeromexico and Air Canada. The cheapest fares those airlines offer start at $452 from Vancouver and $582 from Toronto.

Flair plans to undercut those prices by more than half with round-trip fares from Vancouver to MEX starting at around $188 and from Toronto starting around $200.

“Flair is the only value airline in Canada, making it possible for customers to explore the capital of Mexico, and for Mexicans to discover all that Toronto and Vancouver have to offer,” said Maciej Wilk, CEO at Flair Airlines.

Canada’s new cheap alternative flights to Mexico City will start on October 27 from Vancouver and on October 28 from Toronto.

EU Finally Gives the Go-Ahead To Scrap 100ml Liquid Rule

Don’t pack your full-size creams and lotions just yet.

The excellent news is that the E.U. has given the green light for European airports with new computed tomography (CT) scanners to let passengers pass through security with liquids of up to 2 liters.

The catch is that not all European airports have these scanners installed yet. Even if they do, the fact is they’re not always installed on every security lane. Sadly, that means you can still end up having to throw away your favorite bottle of perfume, the Italian olive oil you bought for your mom, and, worst of all, that bottle of wine that you couldn’t wait to drink with your friends back home.

Amsterdam (AMS), Berlin (BER), Milan (MXP), and Rome (FCO) airports have all confirmed that they are now accepting up to 2 liters of liquids. My advice would be to do a bit of research before planning what you’ll bring with you. Better still, you could plan to end your trip in one of those cities.

Closer to home, the TSA won’t be softening liquid restrictions any time soon, despite recently end the requirement to remove shoes when passing through security.

Malé New Airport Terminal

If there’s 1 airport that was in dire need of an update (or a complete demolishment), it’s Malé’s Velana International (MLE) in the Maldives.

Landing at this airport is a far cry from the luxurious experiences that await travelers at some of the best hotels on the planet. Thankfully, a new airport has been in development for some time. Having started the construction in 2016, the outside looked pretty much complete when I was there in December 2023.

Finally, on July 26, the airport started welcoming passenger flights as part of its soft opening. So far, only a few airlines are using the new terminal’s facilities, including Air Arabia, Bangkok Airways, Batik Air, Beond, Maldivian, and Oman Air.

All airlines are expected to transition to the new terminal building by October 26, 2025.

Juneyao Air Wants To Become A Full Star Alliance Member

Juneyao is a lesser-known Chinese airline based at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport (PVG). If Juneyao jumps through the necessary hoops to upgrade from its status as a Star Alliance Connecting Partner, it would mean more connectivity for U.S.-based travelers heading to China via Shanghai.

As it stands, United is the only Star Alliance airline that flies nonstop from the U.S. to Shanghai. The Chicago-based carrier operates direct service from Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO).

United and Juneyao would then be able share flight numbers and allow passengers to through-check their bags via a connection in Shanghai, connecting onward to Juneyao’s network of over 90 destinations both in China and elsewhere in Asia.

Final Thoughts

With features from Chinese carrier Juneyao, Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Air, a Maldivian airport, and a U.S. carrier, it’s been a truly global update this week.

I’ll leave you with 2 pieces of advice: Sign up for that Alaska Airlines promotion (you’ve got to be in it to win it), and make sure to research your European airport of departure.