Middle East & North Africa

Rolls-Royce is to use 100% sustainable aviation fuel for the first time in engine ground tests on next-generation engine technology, as part of its ongoing decarbonization strategy.

Emirates airline and FlySafair today announced an interline agreement, opening up connections for customers to selected routes on FlySafair's network in South Africa.

Rolls-Royce has said its Trent engine, housing ALECSys technology, that will be used for the Sustainable Aviation Fuel tests ground tests with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to demonstrate Rolls-Royce engines, can unlock SAF’s potential to reduce emissions.

Etihad Airways will launch daily scheduled year-round flights to Tel Aviv, the economic and technological centre of Israel.

Magi Aviation Capital (Magi) has opened a regional office in Doha, Qatar.

Panasonic Avionics has announced Qatar Airways as the launch customer for its new EcoFW 10” inflight entertainment (IFE) upgrade programme.

Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) is trialling a new enhanced ‘Smart Travel’ system, developed by Abu Dhabi Airports in partnership with ConvergentAI and powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), to shorten queues and streamline processes throughout the airport to deliver a smoother and more seamless passenger experience.

Emirates has been rated the safest airline in the world in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic according to the Safe Travel Barometer.

Emirates has been recognised as the Best Airline for 2020 at The Sun Travel Awards, and the Best Long-Haul Airline at The Times and The Sunday Times Travel Awards.

Qatar Airways has launched a global programme exclusive to students worldwide.

Texel Air will host an interactive webinar on November 18, 2020, under the patronage of His Excellency Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications of Bahrain, highlighting “Innovation in Aviation and Logistics”.

Qatar Airways has finalised a codeshare agreement with Air Canada applicable for travel between Doha and Toronto which will commence December 15.

Hamad International Airport (HIA) is the first airport in the region to obtain Smiths Detection’s HI-SCAN 6040 CTiX, which offers advanced screening of carry-on baggage at security checkpoints using Computed Tomography (CT) X-ray.

Serco Middle East has announced a strategic agreement with NG Aviation, a European firm that specialises in making aviation digital, which will enable the development of a product for satellite data-based obstacle surveys, around airports.

Emirates plans to operate its A380 aircraft four times a day to London Heathrow from 27 November and six times a week to Manchester from 2 December.

Boeing has said it anticipates demand for 2,945 new aircraft in the Middle East valued at $685 billion over the next two decades, as the industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic in the medium and long term.

On World Children's Day, the Emirates Airline Foundation and its NGO partners have shared their hopes for improving the welfare of disadvantaged children around the world.

A historic deal that could stimulate some of that growth came this week as Etihad and Israel’s El Al signed an MOU to explore greater cooperation, code sharing, joint engineering and cargo services and even bringing the two airlines loyalty programmes closer together.

Gulf Air has appointed Shams Al Doseri as country manager for its Muscat station after relocating from Ethiopia back into the Middle East.

Turkish Cargo has started to carry COVID-19 vaccines via its special cargo service.

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi has inaugurated its flight between Abu Dhabi and Muscat.

Qatar Airways, Official Partner and the Official Airline of FIFA, today unveiled a specially-branded Boeing 777 aircraft painted in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 livery, to mark two years to go until the tournament kicks off on 21 November 2022.

India’s privately-owned full-service carrier Vistara has started operating non-stop flights between Delhi and Doha, as part of an effort to strengthen its presence in the Middle-East.

In 2015, Catch of Norway Seafood, a family business based out of Bengaluru and Oslo, saw the potential for bringing fresh seafood from the cold waters of Norway to fine-dining restaurants and homes of customers in India with Emirates Skycargo helping that happen.

SITA and Orange Business Services have implemented a multi-tenant edge SD-WAN platform at more than 60 airports globally through SITA’s shared connectivity platform AirportHub.