Middle East & North Africa

Thales says it is committed to building a permanent base in the Kingdom if it wins a major contract for IT and security as part of the Bahrain International Airport (BIA) expansion.

Gulf Air has announced a three-year extension of its Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) agreement with Joramco under which Joramco will provide Bahrain's national carrier with Heavy Maintenance checks for its current fleet of 28 aircraft – A330s, A320-ERs, A320s and A321s.

Emirates continues to engage with its fans far and wide as it becomes the first airline to hit the coveted one‎ million follower mark on Instagram.

Qatar Airways is starting 2016 with an expansion programme across Eastern Europe, enabling passengers to benefit from a wide range of additional flight options via Doha's Hamad International Airport.

Winter storm Jonas has caused major disruption to flights in and out of the Northeastern seaboard of the United States.

Etihad Airways has celebrated a major milestone in its Emiratisation programme with over 3,000 Emirati nationals now employed by the UAE's national airline.

Emirates has reaffirmed its commitment to Sri Lanka by introducing an additional daily service between Dubai and Colombo.

The Emirates Group, comprising Emirates airline and Dnata, has released its fifth annual environmental report for 2014-15.

Sharjah International Airport has awarded “Enova” a contract to provide technical and specialised facilities management services for its buildings comprising MEP, FIDS, Security System and Civil, as well as air field services including airfield lighting, runway civil maintenance and communications, navigation systems at its facilities.

India contributes significantly to Ras Al Khaimah's goal of achieving one million visitors by the end of 2018, according to the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority during its first visit to New Delhi recently.

Qatar Airways Cargo has announced it will launch three new freighter routes to Budapest, Prague and Ho Chi Minh in March 2016.

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport has recorded a 17 per cent increase in passengers in 2015 compared to a year earlier, reports Gulf News.

CAPA's Iran Aviation Summit 2016, the first international aviation conference in Iran for nearly four decades, opened on 24-Jan-2016.

CAPA's executive chairman Peter Harbison announced at the CAPA Iran Aviation Summit that he sees huge potential in the aviation market in Iran.

MROME and Aircraft Interiors Middle East to continue to be co-located in Dubai F&E Aerospace has extended its contract with Penton's Aviation Week Network to produce MRO Middle East, the region's premier maintenance, repair and overhaul exhibition, into the future.

Qatar's former foreign minister Khalid al-Attiyah has been named as the new state minister for defence affairs in a cabinet reshuffle yesterday.

Qatar Cargo's freighter planes will fly between Qatar and Hungary every week on Thursday and Sunday, commencing 3 March 2016.

Iran has signed an agreement with Airbus Industrie for the acquisition of 118 aircraft critical to its fleet renewal plans, reports Ch-aviation.

Gulfstream Aerospace has said it has recently earned approved maintenance organization (AMO) from the civil aviation authority of Qatar.

Boeing's 737 MAX 8 made its first flight yesterday (US time) beginning the comprehensive flight-test programme on schedule.

Rolls-Royce is feeling the benefit of the lifting of sanctions against Iran with a series of new orders for powerplant.

Etihad Airways has picked up two leading global financial accolades at separate award functions in London within a week.

Flydubai recently launched its new website, offering an enhanced browsing experience to inspire customers to explore its network of 89 destinations.

Kish Air is set to acquire two Airbus A321s as part of its fleet modernisation.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation has announced that Panasonic has signed another multi-year contract for Telesat satellite capacity.