Middle East & North Africa

Royal Jordanian (RJ) inaugurates its new direct regular route from Amman to the Turkish capital, Ankara, on December 8, 2015.

Jazeera Airways has finalised its voluntary capital reduction process to bring down its capital from KD42 million to KD20 million to match the size of its current operations after it exited the aircraft leasing business.

Parachutist Curt Bartholomew triumphed in the classical canopy-piloting competition at the FAI World Air Games in Dubai yesterday.

Emirates has announced its fleet plans for 2016, retiring a total of 26 aircraft, including 12 A330-300s, four A340-300s, one A340-500, six Boeing 777-200ERs, two Boeing 777-300s and one Boeing 777-300ER.

Gulf Air has become the first organisation in the Middle East to win three technology awards for the second consecutive year at GITEX Technology Week 2015.

Etihad Airways' loyalty programme, Etihad Guest, has signed a contract with Porsche Centre of Abu Dhabi and Ali & Sons Co LLC that will provide new benefits to UAE- based members.

Turkish Airlines has introduced a new route to Durban, increasing the airlines flight destinations to Africa to 46.

The 2015 Arab Aviation and Media Summit (AAMS) will be held in Bahrain.

Etihad Airways has been named Best Airline – Business Class at the 26th Annual TTG Travel Awards 2015.

Oman Air has held a major emergency response exercise at its headquarters in Muscat.

The Arabian section of the Ninety Nines female pilot organisation have completed their 4th annual meeting which took place in Jordan - an event which saw the group increase its numbers with its first member from Syria. .

Air traffic navigation services provider NATS has released a seven-page white paper aimed at widening the debate over the need for collaboration and co-operation to ease the Middle East's air capacity dilemma. Entitled 'The Case For Alliances In Air Traffic Management,' the white paper explores six existing alliances, either in or very close to the ATM sector. Those in the spotlight are the Star Alliance, Borealis, Eurocontrol, GE/SNECMA, A6 and Functional Airspace Blocks.

Airbus confirmed today that it had been in talks with Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, but those discussions “are no longer being pursued”.

Qatar Airways has been voted 'Best Middle Eastern Airline' for the 10th consecutive year at the 26th Annual TTG Travel Awards.

Perkins+Will is to design the master plan for Istanbul New Airport, otherwise known as 'airport city'.

Empire Aviation Group has been announced winner of the Service Excellence Award for Aircraft Sales and Aircraft Management Services.

The importance of satellite and space technology for environmental monitoring purposes was highlighted by the UAE Space Agency at the Eye of Earth Summit 2015 in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi International Airport is undertaking one of its most ambitious expansion projects, with Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) selecting ADB Group as the main contractor.

Qatar Airways today announced that it has engaged Dublin-based Arconics to implement an enterprise Corporate Document Management System (CDMS) for the global carrier.

A course on Safety Management Systems in Aviation is being held in Abu Dhabi Sept 29-October 1.

Airbus has begun production of its first A330neo, one year after the programme was originally launched, in its production facilities in Toulouse and Nantes.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced a demand growth in global passenger traffic results when compared to July 2014.

Travelmath has reported that travelling by air is highly unhygienic, with an investigation into five airports and four flights.

Global passenger traffic at the world's major airports has risen by nearly per cent year over year during July.

The airline will operate three routes from Eilat Ovda Airport in the far south of the country, near the border with Jordan. Initially, flights will operate to and from Budapest in Hungary, Kaunas in Lithuania and Krakow in Poland.