Qatar Airways (QR) today inaugurated the first of three weekly services to the Mozambique’s capital city of Maputo. Touching down in Maputo enroute from Doha and Johannesburg, QR584
arrived to a water salute and a welcome by traditional dancers followed
by an airport ceremony attended by more than 80 local dignitaries and
media.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
► HONG KONG: Air Seychelles to start 3x weekly Hong Kong via Abu Dhabi flights from 2013.
► ETHIOPIA: Etihad postpones Addis Ababa launch citing "Ethiopian CAA rejection".

►► CHAD: Presidential Jet involved in accident in Kalait; no casualties.
● SOUTH AFRICA: Uganda's Daniel Wanjala wins African Aviator Award for 2012.

Monday, October 29, 2012
► ZIMBABWE: (Pics) KLM resumes Harare after 13 year hiatus.
A KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Airbus A330-200 operating flight KL523 touched down 30 minutes early at 20.57L at Harare International Airport this evening, signifying the resumption of services to Amsterdam, cancelled 13 years ago.
■ SOUTH AFRICA: 1Time Holdings announces $5million loss for interim period ended 30 June; plans rights issue.

■ NIGERIA: (Pics) New General Aviation Terminal in Lagos opened but legal battles over its concessions still loom.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
■ GABON: Ethiopian Airlines gives Gabon Airlines 30 days to pay up or risk losing its 767.

Friday, October 26, 2012
► TOGO: ASKY Airlines to resume Bangui, Banjul, Pointe Noire from November.
► NIGERIA: Cessna Caravan piloted by Taraba state governor, crashes; 6 in critical condition.

Thursday, October 25, 2012
■ ETHIOPIA: Lufthansa Technik lands MRO deal for Ethiopian's 787s.
► SEYCHELLES: Air Seychelles announces new Mahé - Praslin timetable.
► CANADA: Ethiopian announces 787 ops to Toronto & Frankfurt for Winter 2012.
Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has announced further adjustments to its planned Boeing 787 operations. Frankfurt, Germany will receive the 787 on a daily basis from 27 October 2012 replacing its current 767, whilst Toronto, Canada's current 777-200LR service will be replaced with a 787 effective 9 November.
► AUSTRALIA: Air Mauritius increases Perth to 3x weekly from April 2013.
Air Mauritius(MK) will, from 1 April 2013, increase their Port Louis, Mauritius - Perth, Australia frequency from two to three times weekly, using an Airbus A330-200.
► SENEGAL: Air France switches Dakar to 777-300ER service from December.

■ ZAMBIA: Ethiopia and Zambia close to signing BASA that will transform Lusaka into an Ethiopian Airlines hub.
As an addendum to our post on Friday regarding Zambia's ongoing aviation infrastructural improvement programme and its government's plans to form a new national carrier, Zambia's Ambassador in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia today announced the signing of a "number of economic, scientific and technical measures aimed at boosting existing bilateral relations" between the two countries.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
► NIGERIA: FirstNation Airways A320s repoed by lessors?
► ZIMBABWE: Finally, Air Zimbabwe to resume flights in November.

■ TANZANIA: Precision Air extends Sabena Technics contract; readies itself for arrival of four additional ATR42s.

► KENYA: Italy's Livingston Compagnia Aerea announces Kenya, Zanzibar, Mauritius for Winter 2012/2013.
►► EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Air Annobón gets first BAe146 (Pic); to start operations soon.

► NIGERIA: Passenger arrested after going crazy on Arik Air flight.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012
► COTE D'IVOIRE: (Pics) Ouattara officially presented Air Cote d'Ivoire's aircraft but inaugural flights delayed again.
● TUNISIA: Embraer finalizes African Development Bank deal as Bombardier pushes ahead with Casablanca plant.
● ETHIOPIA: National Airways, Kenya Aeronautical College to open new aviation college.

► ZIMBABWE: Boardroom chaos delays Air Zimbabwe's relaunch.

► GAMBIA: Cosmo Airlines to give Gambia Bird, Vueling competition on Barcelona route.

► ZAMBIA: Emirates A330 suffers port engine failure after takeoff from Lusaka, returns safely.
On Sunday 21 October, an Emirates (EK) Airbus A330-200 (MCN 525 |A6-EAP) plying the Lusaka - Dubai route as flight EK714, suffered an uncontained port engine failure, 30 minutes into its flight. The crew promptly shut down the engine and opted to return to Lusaka for a safe landing, contrary to early sensational news reports out of Zambia which claimed "the plane had a tyre burst and slipped into the bush, receiving considerable damage."
■ SUDAN: "Restructuring of Civil Aviation Authority to improve air safety": Abdulaziz
After two disastrous crashes in three months and a perilous aviation safety record, the Sudanese government has announced the restructuring of the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in which the regulatory body and the operational body are kept separate from each other, in line with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) recommendations.
► EGYPT: Midwest set to start scheduled domestic flights in early 2013 with Libya, Saudi Arabia to follow.

► RWANDA: See Pics of RwandAir's first CRJ-900NG arriving in Kigali!

Sunday, October 21, 2012
► ZIMBABWE: FlyKumba's management venture into the helicopter business.

► FRANCE: Tunisia's Syphax Airlines boosts Paris CDG to daily from late October.
Tunisian carrier, Syphax Airlines (FS), will from 28 October 2012, launch daily A319-operated flights between the Tunisian capital, Tunis, and Paris CDG, four months after the route was originally meant to have gone daily.
■ TANZANIA: FastJet awards tenders to Sabena Tech, Swissport and head hunts three UK execs for top posts.

Saturday, October 20, 2012
■ ZAMBIA: Ambitious aviation infrastructure projects to pave the way for Zambia Airways 2.0?

Friday, October 19, 2012
► CONGO (KINSHASA): Korongo adds Mbuji-Mayi from late October.

Thursday, October 18, 2012
► BOTSWANA: Bluesky Airways launches charter ops; new website (at last).

► SOUTH AFRICA: Fly Go-Air to finally start ops in November?

► BURUNDI: China Southern to operate military charters to Monrovia, Bujumbura, Juba, Nairobi in November.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012
■ MADAGASCAR: Government courts Corsair International to resume Paris to Nosy-Be flights.

► UNITED STATES: Ethiopian swaps Guangzhou and Washington equipment over Christmas period.
Effective 15 December 2012, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is to switch operational aircraft in service between Addis Ababa and Guangzhou, China and Addis Ababa and Washington DC, USA as traffic demands during the period grow.
► ZIMBABWE: FreshAir to start Vic Falls - Joburg in November, just as 1Time pulls out of Livingstone.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012
► GAMBIA: Vueling announces Banjul, Nador, Casablanca, Fez, Tangier from Summer 2013.

► KENYA: Gulf Air pulls out of Nairobi from November.
Bahrain-based Gulf Air (GF), will, from 13 November 2012, suspend its 3x weekly operations to Nairobi, Kenya due to "commercial reasons". This will now leave Khartoum, Sudan and Addis Ababa as the carrier's only destinations in East Africa following the axing of its Entebbe, Uganda route after just 4 months in service.
■ MOROCCO: Government looks to offload 44% stake in Royal Air Maroc to Gulf carrier.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: No privatization for SAA despite a confirmed $150million loss: Gigaba.

Monday, October 15, 2012
► ZIMBABWE: Crappy runway lighting at Harare forces South African Airways to bring forward Joburg evening flight departures.

► CHINA: Egyptair increases Beijing frequencies from December.
