Middle East & North Africa

Global air transport IT and communications specialist, SITA, has installed IP telephony across Saudia's international network, providing Saudi Arabia's leading airline with significant savings by eliminating international calls among its 151 offices around the world.

Gulf Air has issued a statement today clarifying its position on the licenses issued by the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia (GACA) to operate domestic services within the Kingdom.

Beechcraft Corporation today announced the completion of the inaugural flight of its first production Beechcraft AT-6 light attack aircraft.

Travelport, a distribution services and e-commerce provider for the global travel industry, has continued its Middle East expansion with the opening of a new office in Erbil, Iraq.

The United Arab Emirates represented by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has signed a Record of Discussions with the Government of the People's Republic of China in Yinchuan, Ningxia.

Mubadala Aerospace's MRO network - has signed an agreement with Rockwell Collins to support Boeing 787 Dreamliner operators around the world.

Pegasus Airlines increased traffic volume by 22.6% for the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period last year.

Qatar Airways today launched flights to its fifth destination in the Republic of Iraq, Sulaymaniyah, increasing the airline's frequency across Iraq from 16 to 20 flights each week.

Qatar Airways is preparing to host the 46th Annual General Meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO) in the capital city of Doha.

Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation is pressing ahead with infrastructure improvements at Cairo's main international airport despite rising concerns about the stability and safety for visitors to the capital.

Dubai-based Hadid International Services has stepped up its presence and support in Africa having added in-house staff to supervise activities in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Republic of Congo.

Cirrus Aircraft is to supply Cirrus SR22 aircraft to support the future aircrew training requirements of the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Atlasjet and Turkish Technic have signed a contract for comprehensive component support for the airline's A320 family fleet for a term of five years extendable to ten years.

Malaysia Airlines has announced the appointment of Mr. Nur Shaffik Haris as General Manager – UAE & Gulf, tasked to spearhead expansion of the airline's foothold in the growing Gulf region.

An Airbus flight on behalf of the Red Cross Red Crescent landed yesterday in Amman, Jordan, transporting 25 tonnes (143 cubic metres) of medical equipment and supplies as well as medical and logistics personnel.

Etihad Holidays, a division of Etihad Airways, is launching services in the United Kingdom (UK), designed to cater for growing demand from one of the airline's key global markets.

Qatar Airways officially launched the start of its three-year partnership with FC Barcelona at an event held yesterday at Camp Nou.

Emirates has announced the launch of non-stop passenger services to Taipei, its 16th destination in the Far East.

Abdel Aziz Fadel Minister of Civil Aviation received Ambassador Nurfaizi Suwandi Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt; at the Ministry of Aviation premises; to mark the agreement of launching new route between Cairo and Jakarta via Kuala Lumpur.

NATS has received approval from the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to operate as an Instrument Flight Procedure Design organisation.

mercator, an Emirates Airline subsidiary, and United Airlines have joined forces to migrate the airline's cargo logistics and revenue accounting systems to mercator's SkyChain and RAPID Cargo solutions.

Qatar Airways has announced it will begin flights to Ta'if, in the Mecca province of Saudi Arabia, beginning 2 October 2013. The non-stop service from Doha will operate four-times-a-week.

Travelport has announced the renewal of its long-term distribution agreements for Galileo and Worldspan GDS platforms in Lebanon.

In a bid to unite the region's business aviation industry around its common challenges and trends, the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), is hosting its inaugural MEBAC in Marrakech, Morocco under the patronage of H.E. Abdullah Bouhouche - director general, directorate general of civil aviation in Morocco.

AAR has won the contract to design and build Transportable/Mobile Subsystems for Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems in support of a Saudi Arabian initiative to improve joint air and ground integrated defence systems.