This is a list of aviation-related events from 2003.
Etihad Airways was formed and the first flight was to Al Ain and Beirut.
The deadliest crash of this year was a military accident, namely the 2003 Iran Ilyushin Il-76 crash, which crashed in mountainous terrain of southeastern Iran on 19 February, killing all 275 people on board. The deadliest civil aviation crash was UTAGE Flight 141, a Boeing 727 which crashed on takeoff in Cotonou, Benin on 25 December, killing 138 of the 160 people on board, as well as three on the ground.