Africa

NAC Charter and Awesome Aviation are merging to form the rebranded FlyAwesome.

Fastjet has deferred the planned launch of Fastjet Zambia until the end of the year.

Bluebird Aviation has had its assets frozen by a court in Nairobi pending the outcome of a court case.

The new airport will completely revolutionise travel to and from the island. At present, Saint Helena is accessible by a boat trip that takes around five days from Cape Town.

Emirates is increasing its free baggage allowance on all of its African routes, to be introduced on Friday.

Avtrade has increased its Power-by-the-hour contracts to support aircraft around the world.

EgyptAir has opened a second office at the African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa.

Textron Aviation has enhanced its sales relationships with existing channel partners, Africair and Absolute Aviation Group.

British Airways, operated by Comair, is preparing to be the first airline to fly scheduled flights to St Helena.

St Helena Airport will be officially opening on 21st May, with the Governor, St Helenians and HRH The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex in attendance.

The World Bank has estimated Sub-Saharan Africa's growth at 3.7% for 2015, and 4.4 % and 4.8 % in 2016 and 2017.

Libyan Airlines has signed a five-year contract with Lufthansa Systems for Lido/mPilot all-in-one navigation solution.

FlySafair has confirmed it is not for sale after Comair announced an acquisition it is currently negotiating.

Travelport has appointed Nita Nagi as its regional manager for East Africa.

The first jet to land at St Helena Airport, operates by ExecuJet, was chartered by Air Safety Support International (ASSI) to bring its team to assess the airport.

Aviation already supports 6.9 million jobs and more than $80 billion in GDP across Africa, but research now shows that liberalisation will create opportunities for further significant employment growth and economic development to the tune of an extra 155,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in annual GDP.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Secretary General Dr Fang Liu visited Egypt last week, where she conducted a range of discussions highlighting the importance of sustainable aviation development.

The Senegalese government has announced that Senegal Airlines will be replaced by a new airline in the next few weeks.

IATA has reported that African carriers have the strongest demand growth globally, with February traffic increasing 12.7% compared to 2015.

A report from industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that average global fares fell by more than ten percent in the 2015 calendar year compared to the year before. It is believed that this will continue as oil prices remain low.

The switch of US airports from John F Kennedy International to Newark Liberty International for the long-haul connection from Addis Ababa via Lomé in Togo, is a logical move and will allow the carrier to take advantage of the significant hub operation of Star Alliance partner, United Airlines at Newark.

Tanzania becomes Turkish Airlines' 50th destination in Africa with the brand new addition of three weekly return flights to Zanzibar.

Airports across Africa concerned with passenger screening can now partake in a course, formed out of collaboration between Airports Council International (ACI) and Green Light Limited.

Puma Energy has entered into Ghana's fuel and storage markets with a new storage terminal at Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

Ethiopian Airlines has begun its 70th anniversary celebrations by looking back at the carrier's successes over the years.