Middle East & North Africa

Rolls-Royce and airframer Tecnam are joining forces with Widerøe – the largest regional airline in Scandinavia, to deliver an all-electric passenger aircraft for the commuter market, ready for revenue service in 2026.

Etihad Cargo and EFL (Expolanka Freight), the global supply chain company, have carried a vital consignment of vaccines from India to Egypt.

Alpha Aviation Academy UAE, a Middle East pilot training provider, has celebrated its launch of English Language Proficiency (ELP) and extended its cooperation with Aviation Professionals Club in the United Arab Emirates.

Dassault Aviation’s widebody Falcon 6X has successfully completed its first flight as planned in the first quarter of 2021, demonstrating the maturity of the programme and opening the test campaign for certification.

Air Cairo and SunExpress have signed a sales cooperation agreement which will allow up to 30 flights per week to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada from 14 airports in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Most eVTOL aircraft seeking to become commercially operational will fail to secure insurance at an affordable price as they will be unable to meet the requirements of insurers, which includes providing them enough data for their underwriters to assess the risks, according to Horizon Aircraft.

EgyptAir Tourism and Duty Free have entered a new agreement with IBM to leverage IBM Cloud capabilities to scale and modernise EgyptAir Duty Free back-end operations and host its SAP Travel Retail System.

Qatar Airways Cargo recently surpassed a milestone with 10 million COVID-19 vaccines transported, including COVID-19 vaccines for UNICEF as part of the five-year MoU to support UNICEF’s Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative.

IATA has announced results from its latest poll of recent travellers, revealing growing confidence in a return to air travel, frustration with current travel restrictions, and acceptance of a travel app to manage health credentials for travel.

Gulf Air was recently certified with level 4 of the New Distribution Capability (NDC) certification from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Abu Dhabi Airports, in partnership with Pure Health and Tamouh Healthcare, has launched the region’s first PCR testing laboratory within an airport.

Qatar Airways is increasing seat capacity into the Seychelles this summer as the tourist destination opens up to the world again.

The crisis in the aviation industry brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has hit Lufthansa Technik AG hard.

Embraer has released technical guidance to apply UV-C lights for cockpit sanitisation, as well as disinfectants and coatings for the cabin in the Company’s commercial aircraft. According to these specifications, the utilisation of UV-C Lights in the Flight Deck region will eliminate the COVID-19 virus.

Air Express Algeria, which serves the oil and gas industry from its hub in Hassi Messaoud, has secured three aircraft on lease from ACIA Aero.

The Arabian Travel Market (ATM) will return to Dubai between 16-26 May 2021 with its organiser Reed Exhibitions saying it will focus on recovery of Middle East tourism following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Etihad Airways has extended its COVID-19 global wellness insurance cover until 30 September 2021.

Dubai Airshow 2021 is to introduce its new dedicated startup event, VISTA, which will be the ultimate platform for innovators, creators and market disruptors to display the latest technologies and play a part in accelerating the future of the aerospace and defence industries.

This week's Newsround - the programme that keeps you up to date with the aerospace and defence highlights and insights from Africa, the Middle East and India – brings news of technology leaps in air traffic management in Africa and the Middle East; sees signs of recovery with training revival in India and the Gulf.

The Emirates Group has announced the appointment of Steve Allen as the executive vice president of Dnata.

At least 10 rockets targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Western Iraq hosting U.S troops, coalition, and Iraqi forces this morning.

On the occasion of World Wildlife Day, the Emirates Group has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to protecting wildlife and habitats.

Thales has successfully delivered phase 1 of the new Bahrain International Airport as part of this important modernization project.

Flydubai will commence services to Minsk, the capital of Belarus from 20 February.

Qatar Airways, as official airline partner of the FIFA Club World Cup, said it is looking forward to welcoming continental club champions to the event taking place between 4 – 11 February 2021.