Middle East & North Africa

Airbus, EADS EFW and their Russian partners, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and IRKUT, have jointly decided to stop the A320/A321 Passenger to Freighter (P2F) conversion development programme for economic reasons and, therefore, to launch the necessary legal procedures for the termination of the joint venture “Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH (AFC)”.

Star Alliance carrier Turkish Airlines has ruled itself out of a bid for stake in the troubled Barcelona airline Spanair - at least for the moment.

Royal Jordanian yesterday inaugurated its direct, regular service between Amman and Berlin, thus introducing a third route between Jordan and Germany.

Emirates is hoping to make Dubai more affordable than ever this summer after announcing its global 'Summer Smiles' campaign. Running until 30th September, the promotion coincides with Dubai's 'Global Kids Go Free in Dubai' campaign and Dubai Summer Surprises, when Dubai stores have summer sales.

Emirates has begun its daily flights to Geneva from Dubai with the inaugural flight including passengers from Australia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, India, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Iran and Mauritius.

Global research firm Oxford Economics, has completed an in-depth study of Emirates Airlines and Dubai Airports and cleared the UAE companies of unfair competition in its report

Etihad and American Airlines announced today that they will build on their existing codeshare relationship by offering their passengers the opportunity to earn frequent flyer miles on flights booked on each other's networks.

A Spanish newspaper has reported that Turkish Airlines is in talks to buy a major stake in the troubled Spanish airline Spanair

Vice president and general manager of BAE Systems Qatar, Michael Bentinck and his team took time out today to celebrate the completion of the 100th Typhoon aircraft which was built at the UK's final assembly facility at Warton in Lancashire.

Paul Griffiths, ceo of Dubai Airports, Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airlines and Etihad chief executive James Hogan, are among the key industry leaders confirmed as speakers at the 67th International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Singapore on 6 June 2011.

Arabian Aerospace technology editor and highly acclaimed aviation journalist Brendan Gallagher died at his London home on Sunday.

Abu Dhabi is set to host the "International Security National Resilience (ISNR) Exhibition & Conference," a leading security event, early next year.

Safi Airways has appointed Zaidan Khalifat as Director of Quality and Safety and Miguel Serra as Director of Ground Operations & OCC.

Doha-based Gulf Helicopters has commissioned its new Agusta Westland AW139 full motion flight simulator.

The Middle East was the only region in the world to see aerospace insurance premiums rise last year, according to the annual report on the aerospace industry issued today by the Aon Corporation.

Etihad today launches its Facebook fan page with a major competition promoting new services to Malé, capital of the Maldives.

Etihad Airways has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Falcon Aviation Services (FAS) to add the Abu Dhabi-based helicopter charter service to the growing portfolio of preferred partnerships in Etihad's new 'Premium Connect' travel service offering.

The ATR 72-600, the newest member of the Franco-Italian aircraft family, has obtained certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) clearing the way for the aircraft to be delivered to launch customer Royal Air Maroc

US aerospace and defence giant Textron has appointed Scott Ernest as president and chief executive officer of Cessna Aircraft Company. He will report to Textron chairman Scott Donnelly and succeeds Jack Pelton, who retired earlier this month.

Air Charter Service's Dubai office says that it is continuing to experience higher than normal growth so far this year, and attributes much of it to the ongoing effects of the political problems in the Middle East.

Jet Aviation Dubai has reported a substantial increase in base maintenance Certificates of Return to Service (CRS) issued for Embraer Legacy aircraft.

Rotana Jet of Dubai has formally signed to become a base operator at Al Bateen Executive Airport, in Abu Dhabi

Gulf Air has today outlined its corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan and initiatives for 2011.

Global engineering group and airport systems integrator Cavotec has won a breakthrough order to supply advanced ground support equipment for Dubai International Airport's Concourse 3, the dedicated Emirates A380 terminal.

Vanderlande Industries kicked off the Airport Show in Dubai this morning with an environmental boost for the industry as it unveiled to the Middle East for the first time, its new, environment-friendly blueveyor conveyor system.