Middle East & North Africa

United Arab Emirates (UAE) low-cost carrier Air Arabia is to inaugurate services between its Sharjah International Airport base and the Iraqi capital

Oneworld alliance member Royal Jordanian is to introduce its first scheduled link into Algeria this month with the inauguration of air services

A record-breaking 2012 is to be followed by a milestone 2013 at Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA), the main international gateway into

Airport Show 2013, the Middle East's largest event dedicated to airport technologies, operations and infrastructure, is set to grow this year when it takes place in May, building on the success of its last edition and the continued multi-billion dollar investments across the regional airports sector, said the organisers Reed Exhibitions.

Etihad Airways has increased its Khartoum services from five flights per week to a daily schedule.

Air Arabia has announced the launch of non-stop services to Baghdad, its fourth destination in Iraq, and 83rd worldwide. The inaugural flight G90361 will take off to the Capital city on March 10, 2013.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) has published the 2012 performance report for Abu Dhabi International Airport, which reflects a significant growth of 18.9% in passenger traffic compared to 2011.

Etihad Airways has appointed Rashed Saif Al Shabi as its new General Manager for Cyprus.

Royal Jordanian held a gala dinner on December 1, 2013, to honour its general sales agents (GSAs) and the travel and tourism representatives inside and outside Jordan.

Kuwait Airways has announced it has signed a contract with Airbus to buy 25 new aircraft and lease 12 other new planes.

A recent survey commissioned by British Airways has shown that Emiratis are intent on travelling the world as often as possible, with the results highlighting that one in seven Emiratis take to the skies at least once every few months.

Qatar Airways has celebrated 10 years of service to Moscow.

Qatar Airways' chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker has joined the board of London Heathrow Airport's holding company, reports The Telegraph.

The Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) is stepping into the fray over the dispute between FBO and charter operator Rizon Jet and the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority.

flydubai is to begin operations to two new destinations in Pakistan – Multan and Sialkot.

Turkish Airlines has added Libreville in Gabon as its 219th destination, connecting now to 98 countries - the largest country network for any airline in the world.

Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air has been ranked among the top 10 global airlines for achieving the highest on-time performance of its flights for the month of January 2013.

Emirates said it expects a revamped version of Boeing's 777 airliner to be available to customers in six to nine months, reports Reuters.

In demonstrating BAE Systems' strengths in working in partnership with other companies, the company's products will not only be showcased on its own stand at IDEX 2013 but also on others, including International Golden Group, Tawazun, Abu Dhabi Mar (NAVDEX) and Military Industries Corporation (AVF).

Jetstream Aviation Academy - has signed a long-term agreement with Nasair, to provide pilot assessment and provisioning services.

More than 90% of airline passengers say technology helps them when travelling but using a smartphone for travel services has yet to go mainstream.

To meet growing passenger demand, Gulf Air is increasing its flights between Bahrain and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan by 30% from 14 to 21 flights per week.

Satcom1 has announced the appointment of its new CFO Henrik Zinck, who will lead and develop Satcom1 Corporate Finance & IT Departments worldwide.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has commenced a five times weekly service on the Manila-Abu Dhabi route on 1 October.

Etihad Airways has been named Corporate Risk Manager of the Year at the Energy Risk Awards Asia in recognition of its highly-effective fuel hedging strategy.