Middle East & North Africa

By Richard Maslen
UAE national carrier, Etihad Airways, has revealed plans to launch its first passenger flights to Algiers, Edinburgh, Entebbe, Hong Kong, Kolkata and Madrid in the first half of 2015, while Brisbane will get its first non-stop flights using the carrier's new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Airports & Networks

Qatar Airways has signed for eight more Airbus A320s according to the latest numbers released by the European manufacturer.
Air Transport

Boeing projects air cargo traffic will grow at an annual rate of 4.7 percent over the next 20 years, with global air-freight traffic expected to more than double by 2033.
Aerospace

Qatar Airways and S7 Airlines are set to strengthen their relationship with the launch of new codeshare arrangement between the two oneworld member airlines, further expanding travel opportunities for customers.
Air Transport

Turkish Airlines has announced the launch of direct flights to the capitals and the largest cities of Estonia and Lithuania; Tallinn and Vilnius operating from 26th October 2014.
Airports & Networks

Etihad Airways has enhanced its premium service offering at Abu Dhabi International Airport with the opening of a new Arrivals Lounge.
Airports & Networks

Etihad Airways has suspended all flights to Erbil, Iraq with immediate effect until further notice.
Airports & Networks

Middle Eastern cargo airlines continued to outpace global markets according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Air Transport

Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) has called on American defence and technology giant Lockheed Martin to implement a route analysis tool at Bahrain International Airport.
Airports & Networks

International delegates representing various sectors of the aerospace industry will gather in Dubai during the Aerospace Supply Chain Summit in December 2014 to discuss its global supply chain aspects which is an important exercise to ensure their future growth.
Aerospace

Passenger and cargo traffic at Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) registered a major surge in the second quarter of 2014 following the temporary shift of an estimated 600 flights per week from Dubai International during a major runway upgrade project that concluded on July 20th and the permanent relocation of all cargo freighter operations.
Airports & Networks

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has unveiled its new Al Mourjan Business Lounge for Qatar Airways' Premium passengers.
Airports & Networks

Gulf Air was recently recognised at the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) awards, winning in the Best Data Loss Prevention category, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre earlier this month.
Aerospace

Etihad Airways has announced a partnership with Google to make it more convenient for travellers to view the airline's flight schedules and fares on the search engine's flight search tool.
Emerging Technologies

The ATR Assembly of Members has appointed Giorgio Moreni (45), as chief financial officer (CFO) of ATR. He succeeds Eric Baravian, whose four-year mandate according to ATR's statutes has expired in June 2014.
Maintenance & Training

Etihad Airways is holding 10 cabin crew recruitment days this month (July).
Airports & Networks

Arik Air, has expanded its network to include the Middle East and becoming the first airline to offer a commercial passenger service between Dubai and Nigerian capital Abuja.
Airports & Networks

The Iraq Air Force has received its first F-16 Block 52 aircraft from Lockheed Martin.
Defense

By Richard Maslen
Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier flynas has an ambitious long-haul expansion strategy, underpinned by new flights to the UK, writes Justin Burns for our sister magazine Routes News.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen

El Al has responded to the opening of the skies between Israel and the European Union with newly launched low-cost brand UP, reports Martin Rivers for our sister magazine, Routes News.
Airports & Networks

Oman Air has won two categories of the World Travel Awards, which were announced in Dubai as part of the Arabian Travel Market.
Aerospace

Saudi Arabia's low-cost carrier with added value (LLC+) Flynas, today successfully launched its inaugural non-stop flight from King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, to Manchester Airport – its second destination in the UK.
Airports & Networks

Amman/Almaty, JorAMCo won a new long-term maintenance service contract with the Kazakhstan based airline Air Astana after the first collaboration that took place successfully last year for three of Air Astana's Embraers 190 fleet.
MRO

EgyptAir Training Center has succeeded in passing the European Agency inspection for Safety and Aviation ( EASA ) conducted recently by the agency through reviewing training programmes, quality standards and the administrative structure of the instructors of the engineers of the training centre.
Maintenance & Training

The first ever Airbus A350 XWB to visit the United States, MSN (manufacturer's serial number) 2 has arrived at McKinley Climatic Lab at Eglin Air Force base in northwest Florida for extreme weather tests.
MRO