Partial list of events that marked aviation in 1988:
(See also List of years in aviation)- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- 23, Houston: The Shamu One, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 painted like and named after a Sea World whale, begins flying for the airline.
- June
- 26, France: An Air France Airbus A320, on a demonstration flight, crashes and kills four people, including the pilot and co-pilot.
- July
- 3, Persian Gulf: The USS Vincennes allegedly mistakes an Iran Air Airbus A300 airliner (flight 655) for a hostile military plane, shooting it down and killing all 290 people on board.
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
- 21, Lockerbie in Scotland: Pan Am flight 103, a Boeing 747 flying from London to New York, and carrying many passengers back home for Christmas, explodes in mid-air, killing 258 persons. Libyan terrorists are blamed for the tragedy.