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An Aeromexico jetliner crashed while taking off during a severe storm in northern Mexico Tuesday, smacking down in a field nearly intact before catching fire, though officials said it appeared everyone on board escaped the flames. Durango state governor Jose Aispuro initially wrote in his Twitter account that "it is confirmed there were no fatalities in the accident," but he later said authorities were checking the plane's burned-out hull to make sure no one had been trapped. Aispuro said 49 people had been hospitalised. He said some passengers got out under their power, and some even wandered back to the nearby airport of Durango city to seek out relatives. Officials and witnesses differed on whether the plane either fell shortly after take-off or ran off the runway without really gaining altitude. <br/>

Saudi Arabian Airlines reported what it described as significant growth in passenger traffic in the first half of 2018. In an operational update, the airline said it had carried approximately 17m passengers in the 1H, up 8% compared to the same period in 2017. The number of flights rose 4%. In a breakdown of this figure, the airlines said international passenger numbers grew 12%, while domestic passenger traffic grew 3.7%. Last year, the airline carried 32m passengers. One component of the airline’s passenger growth is the steadily increasing number of flights bringing Muslims to Saudi Arabia for the Haj and Umrah pilgrimages. However, the size of the domestic market is also expanding. The country has a young population, many of whom have significant disposable incomes and are readily inclined to travel. <br/>