France was taken by surprise by the Dutch government's sudden purchase of a 12.68% stake in Air France-KLM, news wires reported. Late last Tuesday the Netherlands said it was acting to protect “Dutch interests” and was aiming to match France's 14.3% stake in the airline.

European aviation giant Airbus announced it will stop making its superjumbo A380 in 2021 after struggling to sell the world's biggest passenger jet. “Without Emirates, Airbus has no substantial order backlog and no basis to sustain A380 production after 2021,” Guillaume Faure, who is taking over as Airbus CEO from Tom Enders in spring, said.

Egypt opened a new international airport on the outskirts of the capital for an initial trial period, in a bid to ease pressure from Cairo’s main airport and help boost tourism. The Sphinx International Airport, located near the Giza Pyramids and the new Grand Egyptian Museum, is expected to operate 30 flights by early February during its trial run.

Spain plans to propose a ban on sales of petrol, diesel and hybrid cars from 2040, government sources told Reuters on Tuesday, joining a string of countries taking aim at polluting vehicles to help cut greenhouse gas emissions. The plan is included in a draft document for a law on climate change which Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government hopes to present to parliament by the end of the year.

Hyundai Motor is reportedly getting ready to roll-out fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen infrastructure in France as it is planning on exporting 5,000 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles to the EU country by 2025. The carmaker also plans to sign initial agreements with local companies to promote hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), the company said in a statement.

A nonprofit auto safety group is currently demanding that Hyundai and Kia recall 2.9m cars and SUVs in the US due to potential fire risk. According to The Center For Auto Safety more than 220 complaints have been addressed to the US government since 2010 about fires and another 200 complaints about melted wires as well as smoke and burning odors.

Bombardier Transportation’s new battery-operated train was introduced to the German public this week, on the company's Hennigsdorf site near Berlin. The “electro-hybrid” train, dubbed Bombardier Talent 3, is the latest of its kind to debut in Germany and the first to enter passenger services in Europe for more than 60 years. With three carriages and a driver, the Talent 3’s  maiden trip was in Berlin, where it was developed by the company.

The European Union has asked the World Trade Organization to certify that it has complied with WTO rulings on its subsidies for planemaker Airbus, attempting to forestall billions of dollars of US sanctions, a document published by the WTO showed on Monday. The legal move is the latest step in a 14-year-old trade dispute between the EU and the United States over funding for Airbus and its US rival Boeing.

BMW AG’s Korean unit apologised Monday over engine fires that prompted recalls and a probe, seeking to allay concerns amid pictures and videos of cars catching fire while being driven. BMW Korea Chairman Kim Hyo-joon said the German carmaker will fully cooperate with the transport ministry’s investigation and complete emergency safety inspections of its vehicles by next week.

Ryanair’s Irish pilots are preparing to strike again on Friday at the start of a new wave of industrial action against the no-frills carrier in Europe. The strike is the fourth in Ireland for Europe’s second biggest airline, and will affect 20 out of 300 flights in and out of the country that day. In a statement on Wednesday, the Irish airline offered to meet the Irish pilots on Saturday or next week “so we can get down to the serious work of resolving this dispute”.