Middle East & North Africa

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the Airbus A350-900 for Extended-range Twin engine aircraft Operations (ETOPS) over 180 minutes diversion time.

The new service will provide 245,000 additional seats per year and is expected to generate an estimated 3,000 jobs in New South Wales and contribute more than AUD$240 million to the local economy. The new service will also provide 84 tonnes of cargo capacity per week in and out of the New South Wales (NSW) capital.

Turkish Airlines has reported passenger growth of 9.2 per cent across the GCC markets last year compared to 2014 and has recognised 23 travel agents for contributing to its 2.6% Dubai capacity growth.

Muscat National Development and Investment Company (ASAAS) has confirmed that Oman's first budget airline is to go ahead and will be named Salam Air.

Pegasus Airlines has added Jordan's capital Amman to its flight network.

Emirates and Russian carrier S7 Airlines have announced an enhanced partnership which is set to improve connectivity and benefits for customers across Russia.

Emirates is set to unveil its new Business Class seat for its Boeing 777 aircraft at ITB Berlin, the international travel trade show which takes place from 9-13 March 2016.

Turkish Airlines has reported a 1 billion 69 million USD net profit, surpassing a billion dollars for the first time in its history, reports Borsa Istanbul.

The inaugural Middle East Aviation Careers Conference & Exhibition (MEAC) will promote Emiratisation in the aerospace and aviation industries in the UAE in line with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.

Satair is to market the ground support equipment from Dedienne Aerospace across the wider Middle East and Africa regions.

AMAC Aerospace Turkey has completed the first EASy II upgrade on a Falcon 2000EX EASy aircraft in Istanbul.

French-based landing gear MRO specialist Revima has made the journey to Dubai to launch its dedicated “On Wing Services” team to the Middle East.

Tony Griffin, SVP consulting and product development at ASM, reveals how an airport can develop a strong route development team.

Executive Sky Flight Support (ESFS) has announced a new partnership with Smart Aviation FBO at Cairo International Airport.

ATR has tested a prototype of its ATR 72, which aimed to test an all electrical energy management system, and optimise the electrical power distribution.

daa International, a subsidiary of daa – the Irish airport management company – has been chosen to operate the new terminal at King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh. The multi-million euro contract will see daa International manage and operate the new Terminal 5 facility.

Embraer has presented the E190-E2, the first E2 jet – Embraer´s second generation of the E-Jets family of commercial aircraft.

Egypt has ruled that terrorists caused the Sinai Metrojet crash last October, which killed all 224 people onboard.

Gulfstream Aerospace has announced that the Gulfstream G600 iron bird has completed its “first flight”.

Boeing has launched the Next-Generation 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF), with orders for 55 conversions from seven customers.

The Embraer Phenom 300 was the most-delivered business jet in the world in 2015 for the third consecutive year, with 70 aircraft received by customers around the globe.

With a partnership in place with Jet Airways, Gulf carrier, Etihad Airways has announced a more than 60 percent increased on full-year passenger traffic to and from India.

The Gulf carrier is both the world’s strongest and most valuable brand, with an increase of 17 percent from 2015. Emirates brand value is weighted at $7,743 million.

The Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) started its 2016 events with an education session at the International University of Rabat (UIR) in Morocco last week.

Bombardier has introduced the world's only commercial turboprop aircraft that is capable of carrying 90 passengers.