Business travel Daily · Thursday, 15 October 2026

On October 14, 2026, PhocusWire reported that Booking Holdings launched AI travel startup Vayo, planning to invest $100 million, subject to product progress and market conditions, and has opened waitlist applications for a free invite-only beta. On the same day, Skift Feed reported that Vayo is Booking Holdings' second AI-native venture, entered private testing on Wednesday, and opened a waitlist at vayo.com; the planned $100 million investment is contingent on continued product progress and market conditions. The project is currently in private testing, the waitlist is open, and the proposed investment has not been confirmed as finalized.

On October 14, 2026, the Portuguese government selected Lufthansa Group to acquire a 44.9% non-controlling stake in TAP Air Portugal; Lufthansa will pay €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion), defeating competitor Air France-KLM. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said Lufthansa's bid was 16% higher than Air France-KLM's. The report said this is another step in Lufthansa's European consolidation strategy after its investment in Italy's ITA Airways, and strengthens its position in the Europe-to-Brazil market, where TAP's network covers 14 cities and will increase to 15.

On October 13, 2026, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced at the IATA World Sustainability Symposium that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has joined the CORSIA Eligible Emissions Unit (EEU) Supply Support Alliance. The alliance brings together more than 80 CORSIA stakeholders, focusing on implementation support such as authorizing the use of emissions units and avoiding double counting. Subsequent reporting on the same day stated that the alliance is committed to resolving eligible emissions unit supply bottlenecks and avoiding double counting.

The Houthis attacked Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Tuesday and Wednesday, causing 3 deaths and 36 injuries according to Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation. According to data from aviation analysis company Cirium, 312 of the 1,194 flights departing Saudi Arabia on Thursday were canceled or did not take off, more than a quarter of the total. Subsequent reports said Saudi authorities stated that the October 10 attack caused at least 12 deaths and more than 300 injuries, and operations at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport were suspended again; Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility for the earlier attack. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation stated on local time the 11th that King Khalid International Airport was attacked on the night of the 10th, causing at least 12 deaths and 309 injuries; the deceased included four Saudi citizens and one each of Bangladeshi, American, Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian, Palestinian, and Sudanese nationalities, and all the injured were receiving treatment in hospitals, some in critical condition; the attack also caused property damage, and the losses are still being assessed. Delta Air Lines had originally planned to launch a direct flight from Atlanta to Riyadh on October 23, which would be the first time a U.S. airline operates this route. Yemen's Houthis acknowledged carrying out the attack, explicitly listed Saudi airports and airspace as targets, and warned international airlines and travelers to stay away. Delta Air Lines said on Monday that due to successive attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia, it will postpone the launch of the route to March 2027. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation latest announced that the operational suspension at King Khalid International Airport is extended, closed until 00:00 Saudi local time on October 18, and it has not yet been confirmed whether commercial flights can resume at that time; on October 11, the terminal was hit again, causing 1 death and 11 injuries.

On 14 October 2026, IATA, Airbus and Accenture published a study on the market for SAF Environmental Attribute Certificates (EAc). The study estimates that corporate purchasing could support 1 million to 1.9 million tonnes of SAF by 2030, up from a level of about 323,000 tonnes in 2024.