Middle East & North Africa

Falcon Aviation Services, which operates sightseeing helicopter tours from its certified helipad at Dubai's flagship Atlantis The Palm resort, says uptake for the service rose 20% last year. Falcon, which operates the service in partnership with Alpha Tours using a seven seater, EC130 helicopter, said it's also aiming for a 20% rise in bookings this year.

Emirates' has launched the world's first interactive amenity kit in Economy Class providing a more comfortable travel experience.

Jordan will host the 6th annual Arab Aviation Summit this December 5 & 6 under the theme 'Linking Cultures, Driving Economies.' The Summit, at a Dead Sea resort, will focus on the trends, insights and opportunities driving the continuous development of the Arab world's avia-tourism industry.

Naft Airlines is to acquire ten Airbus narrow-body aircraft as part of its fleet renewal plans, reports ch-aviation.

DubaiSat-2, the second Earth observation satellite owned and operated by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), has captured clear, high-resolution image of the Moon in its crescent phase to mark the 47th anniversary of the first manned mission to land on the lunar surface.

Emirates is to increase capacity on the Dubai-Milan route with the deployment of a second daily A380 on October 1.

Qatar Airways has added and additional flight to between Doha and Muscat.

Qatar Airways Cargo has launched new freighter services to New York (JFK) and Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada).

Emirates Airline has been awarded the inaugural Network Strategy award, at The Airline Strategy Awards run by the air transport industry news and analysis provider Flight Airline Business.

Qatar Airways has announced that an agreement with FC Barcelona has been reached to renew the partnership with FC Barcelona's first team until 30 June 2017.

An Oman Air aircraft suffered a burst tire when landing at Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam, over the weekend.

Etihad Airways and Arab Film Festival Australia are joining forces again in 2016 to bring the best of contemporary Arab cinema to Australian audiences.

Oman Air is inviting passengers between four and 12 years of age to participate in a campaign and win a free flight!

Pennant Training Systems Limited has won two major contracts for Middle Eastern customers worth in excess of £13m.

Jazeera Airways has said the Kuwait government has given it the go-ahead to build a dedicated terminal at Kuwait International Airport worth KWD14 million (USD46.3 million), reports ch-aviation.

Ten days after André Borschberg's arrival in Cairo following the crossing of the Mediterranean Sea, Bertrand Piccard took off with Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) for the final leg of the first ever Round-The-World Solar Flight –and heading to Abu Dhabi where it should land after a flight of two days and two nights, depending on weather conditions.

Turkey's Pegasus Airlines has become the first airline to take delivery of the Airbus A320neo powered by CFM International's LEAP-1A engines.

Turkish Airlines has issued a statement announcing that all operations and flights proceed to be uninterrupted.

Boeing has announced a partnership with the Emirates Flight Training Academy to collaborate on a comprehensive training curriculum and software infrastructure to help train pilot cadets.

Emirates will be upgrading one of its four daily flights between Dubai and Johannesburg to an Airbus A380-800 from 1st February 2017.

Embraer and the Mohammed VI International Aviation Academy (AIAC) have signed an MoU for engineering development in Morocco.

Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) and its equity partner airlines will support 108,000 jobs across the USA in 2016 and make a US$10.7 billion contribution to the national economy this year, demonstrating a significant impact in one of the world's largest economies, according to a leading global consultancy.

Etihad Airways has today officially opened its new First and Business Class Lounge within the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Etihad Airways has announced plans to increase Airbus A380 service between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport in response to heightened demand from guests traveling between the two destinations.

Embraer Executive Jets has launched an evolution of its entry-level Phenom 100 business jet, the Phenom 100 EV, at the EAA AirVenture Fly-In and Convention.