Middle East & North Africa

Jet Aviation's global staffing company Jet Professionals has appointed Hani Farag as managing director for its non-US activities.

Qatar's Civil Aviation Authority plans to host the Doha Arab Environment Conference under the banner of Blue Sky.

"The strength of our airline lies not in our aircraft or commercial assets but in the people who help run it," said Marwan Boodai, chairman.

Jazeera Airways' chairman Marwan Boodai said that the Kuwaiti low cost carrier has done "exceptionally well in staying on top in the local aviation industry".

Oman and Singapore have signed an Open Skies Agreement to allow for full flexibility for air services operated by carriers of both countries. The agreement was reached during the air services consultations that took place in Singapore on 19 and 20 January 2009.

FlightSafety International said its Boeing 737-800 Level D full flight simulator built for EgyptAir is now in operation and has been qualified by the Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile of France.

Qatar Airways has taken delivery of its sixth Boeing 777 and its first -200LR today. The new aircraft becomes the 66th member of the fleet and is the airline's longest ranger aircraft.

Start-up luxury airline Wataniya Airways will add Cairo to its destinations from March 3.

Twenty-eight MiG 29s that had been purchased for the Algerian Air Force will now stay in Russia with at least ten serving with the Russian Air Force.

Oman Air is introducing a second daily service from Muscat to Doha in March the Gulf Times reported.

Etihad Airways will start flights to Chicago with an initial three weekly flight service from September 2 before increasing to daily from October 1 this year.

Abu Dhabi Aviation, purported to be the region's largest helicopter operator, announced a 53% increase in profit on Sunday the Gulf News reported.

Emirates Airlines has increased its presence in Bangladesh by adding three extra flights per week to Dhaka which started yesterday.

Abu Dhabi-based executive aviation company, Royal Jet, is demonstrating its commitment to Emiratisation by participating in Tawdheef 2009 - the main forum in the Abu Dhabi Emirate for recruitment, Emiratisation and related training.

BAE Systems Regional Aircraft has sold an RJ100 Avro Business Jet to the Amiri Flight of Abu Dhabi. The aircraft is a late model Avro RJ100 and it will join the existing VIP RJ70 operated by the Amiri Flight.

Faisal Aviation based at Sharjah International Airport officially launched yesterday.

Kuwaiti budget carrier Jazeera Airways has said its 2009 profit targets will be higher than last year's KD4million as it seeks to profit from higher passenger numbers.

Etihad Airways has appointed its first manager for environmental affairs, Linden Coppell.

Air India Express has added two new destinations from Dubai, Jammu and Kashmir's capital Srinagar.

Etihad Airways and Kuwait Airways have signed a codeshare agreement on flights between Kuwait and Abu Dhabi.

Four US soldiers were killed on Monday when two helicopters crashed in northern Iraq, said the US Army.

IATA has called on governments, air navigation service providers (ANSP) and aviation groups to urgently address inefficiencies in air traffic that threaten the sustainability of aviation in the Middle East.

Etihad Airways has announced that it will start four flights a week to Turkey's Istanbul in June and will expand to five flights a week in October.

Qatar Aiways has said that it's seeking certification by year-end to use Gas to Liquid (GTL) kerosene fuels that would make it the world's first synthetically fuelled carrier.

Bahraini private jet operator Rizon Jet signed an order for four Learjet 85s.