diff --git a/noodles-sam/CHANGELOG.md b/noodles-sam/CHANGELOG.md
index 7c9dc4b84..50197c2ee 100644
--- a/noodles-sam/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/noodles-sam/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 
   * sam/lazy/record: Return raw read name (`lazy::Record::read_name`).
 
+  * sam/record/cigar/op: Make `Op::new` `const`.
+
 ## 0.43.0 - 2023-09-21
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/noodles-sam/src/record/cigar/op.rs b/noodles-sam/src/record/cigar/op.rs
index 0cb2064c1..4984150f8 100644
--- a/noodles-sam/src/record/cigar/op.rs
+++ b/noodles-sam/src/record/cigar/op.rs
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ impl Op {
     /// assert_eq!(op.kind(), Kind::Match);
     /// assert_eq!(op.len(), 13);
     /// ```
-    pub fn new(kind: Kind, len: usize) -> Self {
+    pub const fn new(kind: Kind, len: usize) -> Self {
         Self { kind, len }
     }