Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies, a Mubadala Development Co. subsidiary, signed an agreement with Airbus to become a member of the manufacturer's worldwide MRO network.

Etihad Airways' latest group of Emirati trainee managers has commenced training at the airline's headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

Egyptair Training Center in Cairo is playing host to the 15th annual flight simulator engineering and maintenance conference (FSEMC). This is the first time the gathering has taken place in the Middle East.

JAT Airways resumed flying Friday after reaching an agreement with JAT Tehnika to begin paying debt it owes to the MRO company today. JAT Tehnika's mechanics, which service JAT Airways aircraft, stopped working for two days last week to protest the airline's failure to pay the maintenance company in a timely fashion, forcing the Serbian carrier to ground its fleet temporarily (ATWOnline, Oct. 2). JAT Airways has admitted that it owes JAT Tehnika about $1.5 million and is a month behind in making payments.

Aviation industry executive search firm Marlborough has announced plans to extend its reach into tourism, leisure & hospitality sector recruitment as well as providing interim placement and management consultancy

Quintin Cairncross has been appointed Operations Director for ExecuJet Middle East and is overseeing the fully managed aircraft fleet in the region.

Pratt & Whitney has decided to close its Cheshire, Conn., MRO center and its Connecticut Airfoil Repair Operation facility in East Hartford, resulting in the loss of some 1,000 jobs and prompting a lawsuit from the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

StandardAero yesterday broke ground on a 27,000-sq.-ft. expansion to the Winnipeg facility where it currently performs CF34 engine MRO, growth that will enable it to begin working on CFM56-7Bs next year. The company this year inked a 12-year agreement with WestJet valued at more than $850 million to perform maintenance on CFM56-7Bs powering the LCC's 81 737NGs. It also reached an agreement with GE Aviation that made the Winnipeg facility, which currently stands at 135,000 sq. ft., a "designated fulfillment center" for CFM56-7B engines.