Africa

The first pre-serial H160 has been fitted with its rear fuselage, the first major component assembly having been pre-assembled in Albacete, Spain according to the site specialisation strategy implemented in Airbus Helicopters.

Emirates has unveiled its 42nd dedicated lounge across its global network at Cairo International Airport (CAI).

African airline Air Botswana today signed a firm order for two ATR 72-600s. Having operated ATR -500 series aircraft since 1996, the Botswanan national flag carrier has been an ATR operator for more than 20 years and will now upgrade and restructure its fleet with the addition of the latest generation turboprop aircraft.

Huge strides have been made this year towards creating a unified air transport market in Africa. Leading consultancy ASM looks at some of the key facts and figures shaping the continent's aviation industry.

This week: Wizz adds Israel destination from Luton; Spirit increases Caribbean services; and Ethiopian to serve Eritrea after two decades.

The fourth meeting of the Single African Air Transport Market has taken place – with three new member nations and hopes for more to come.

Air Arabia Maroc has announced the launch of a twice weekly scheduled service from Birmingham in the UK to the Moroccan city of Agadir starting 1 October 2018.

Morocco’s largest low-cost carrier, Air Arabia Maroc, has operated its first direct service from Birmingham Airport to the Moroccan city of Agadir.

The Rolls-Royce Trent 7000, the latest member of the Trent family of engines, has successfully powered the Airbus A330-800neo into the skies for its first test flight today.

Fastjet will commence daily flights between Harare and Bulawayo from 20 July 2018.

ExecuJet, part of the Luxaviation Group, is opening a new FBO facility in the Seychelles.

Air Austral and Air Madagascar have materialised a crucial step in their strategic partnership.

Boeing has announced its plans to reveal the future of air and space travel at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow in the UK which takes place July 16-22.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for May showing that demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs) rose 6.1% compared to the same month in 2017, which was a slight pickup from 6.0% year-over-year growth for April 2018. Capacity climbed 5.9% and load factor rose 0.1 percentage point to 80.1%.

Ethiopian Airlines landed in Asmara, Eritrea, yesterday, in VVIP flight led by H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Ethiopian launched its inaugural flight from London to Addis Ababa in June 1973 with just four flights per week stopping in Rome, Frankfurt and Cairo operating just two Boeing 720 aircraft.

A new era in East African aviation opened today when Air Tanzania took delivery of its very first wide-body aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN engines.

Silverstone Air is the latest low-cost carrier to enter the east African market space. Githae Mwaniki takes a closer look at what’s on offer.

Our top five stories on Routes Weekly: Europe's summer growth, Africa's biggest carriers, GOL to add Quito route, Chinese carriers target LA, latest Routes Podcast

African Aviation Week will be held in Kigali from 10-14 September.

The Senegalese authorities have appointed ex-Airbus executive, Philip Bohn, as director general of Air Senegal SA to head-up its mission to relaunch the company.

This week we profile Routes Africa 2018 attendee Brussels Airlines, the flag carrier of Belgium.

Routesonline reveals the largest African carriers, with the top ten carrying almost 60 million passengers between them last year.

The line-up of speakers has been confirmed ahead of Routes Africa 2018 which will take place in Accra, Ghana, 16-18 July.

Honeywell International has announced the selection of its maintenance support for cockpit, auxiliary power units and mechanical systems by Ethiopian Airlines.