Flight International, formerly Flight, is a quarterly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport"; as of November 2025 it was the world's oldest continuously published printed aviation news magazine.Flight International, November 2025, p. 64.
Flight International is published by DVV Media Group. Competitors include Jane's Information Group and Aviation Week & Space Technology. Former editors of, and contributors include H. F. King, Bill Gunston, John W. R. Taylor and David Learmount.
History The founder and first editor of Flight was Stanley Spooner. He was also the creator and editor of The Automotor Journal, originally titled The Automotor Journal and Horseless Vehicle."Grace's Guide To British Industrial History: Biographies: Stanley Spooner". Retrieved 18 July 2018. From around 1900, the journal had a separate section relating to aviation and aeronautical matters. The 5 April 1908 issue of The Automotor Journal included a diagram of patent drawings of a plane made by the Wright brothers."Back To The Beginning". Flight. 28 October 1948. p. 506. Retrieved 20 July 2018. Stanley kept in contact with them via his friend Griffith Brewer."Grace's Guide To British Industrial History: 1903 Automotor Index". Retrieved 19 July 2018."Grace's Guide To British Industrial History: 1901–1902 Automotor Index". Retrieved 19 July 2018. Eventually, Spooner decided that a journal focused solely on matters relating to flying should be published—and so, Flight magazine was established as an offshoot of The Automotor Journal.
Claiming to be the first aeronautical weekly in the world, Flight first appeared on 2 January 1909 as the official journal of the Aero Club of the United Kingdom (later the Royal Aero Club).Bruce 1982, p. 133 In April 1934, Flight was acquired by Iliffe & Sons, who were proprietors and printers of technical magazines, one of which included Autocar."Flight International: Publishing History". Retrieved 18 July 2018."Aircraft Journal"/Sheffield Independent – Monday 9 April 1934 p.1. Retrieved 19 July 2018 via: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk: Findmypast Newspaper Archive Limited. On 4 January 1962, the magazine was renamed Flight International. In October 1968, Aeroplane: The International Air Transport Journal—commonly known as Aeroplane—merged with its sister publication, Flight International.
In August 2019, Flight International and its associated divisions (except analytics and consulting divisions, which were retained by RELX as Cirium) were sold to DVV Media Group. In September 2020, Flight International switched from a weekly to monthly publication,Announcing a new era for Flight International Flight International 28 July 2020 page 10Hoyle, Craig. "Comment: Welcome to the new-look Flight". Flight International, September 2020, Vol. 197, No. 5749. p. 7. in January 2025 to quarterly publication.Flight International, 1/2025, p. 3.
At the end of 2025, after 117 years of publication, the printed version of Flight International was discontinued.
See also Aviation Week & Space Technology, a similar aerospace sector industry magazine FlightGlobal
Notes
References
External links DVV Media International Flight archives Flightglobal.com Aerospace illustrations ("cutaways") on Flight International's website (snapshot of site from December 2012) Archived Flight International magazines on the Internet Archive