Following their installation at the airport in July, the São Toméan airport management company (Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Segurança Aérea - ENASA) has reported that the runway lighting system in place along São Tomé International Airport's runway 11/29 has been vandalized twice in the last two weeks, leading to allegations of sabotage.
The founder and Chairman of domestic Ghanaian operator, Antrak Air (4O), Alhaji Asuma Banda, has threaten legal action against the government should plans to establish a new national carrier proceed. Earlier this year, Minster of Transport, Dzifa Attivor, had set forth a proposal involving the creation of a new national carrier, albeit under a a Public/Private Partnership.
With the recent conclusion of President Jacob Zuma's state visit to the West African country, South Africa has pledged to help Senegal develop Dakar as a West African hub, with particular emphasis on exploiting the city's new airport, Blaise Diagne International, set to be completed in late 2014.
An Associated Aviation (SCD) Embraer EMB-120, (MCN 120174 | 5N-BJY) operating as a charter flight from Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport to Akure (Nigeria), crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 18L yesterday at 09h32L. The turboprop was carrying 13 passengers and 7 crew onboard of whom 13 have been confirmed dead with one unaccounted for. Survivors were taken to hospital in downtown Lagos.
As previously speculated, the change in power in Cairo has led the country to suspend tourism links with Iran for what Minister of Tourism, Hisham Zazou, stated were "reasons of national security". Mr Zazou's statement comes just 5 months after the then Islamist-backed government of Mohammed Morsi reached out to Tehran in a bid to restore relations, severed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for August showing a strengthening of the healthy demand trend of the last few months. Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 6.8% compared to August 2012. Capacity increases over the year-ago period lagged demand at 5.6%. This pushed the load factor to match the record high of 83.4% set in
July 2011. In terms of its Passenger traffic results, African airlines’
traffic climbed 5.4% compared to August 2012. Meanwhile August international air freight demand was up 3.6% on the previous year. That is considerably better than year-to-date performance of a 0.7% expansion. However, African carriers' cargo experienced another decline in freight volumes, down 9.7%.
Following the visit by an inspection by a International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) assessment team to Botswana in April, to conduct an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM), the country has now been as having achieved 59.6% of Effective Implementation as compared to 27.8% in 2006. The purpose of the ICVM was to check the progress made by Botswana following the safety audit carried out in May 2006 which showed at the time that Botswana was at 27.8% of Effective Implementation.
EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering has been awarded a contract to provide line maintenance services for Qatar Airways (QR) at Cairo International Airport. The first flight arrived on Tuesday October 1 where senior staff were present to welcome the crew and flight attendants.
Air Zimbabwe (UM) has appointed its head of Quality, Safety & Security, Mr.
Edmund Makona, as its acting
Chief Executive Officer following the recent suspension of incumbent Mr Innocent Mavhunga and acting Managing Director, Ms Grace Pfumbidzayi. The two were suspended to allow for further investigations after a recent forensic audit of the airline's operations uncovered alleged financial discrepancies in its insurance premium payments for the period 2009 - present.
Nigerian domestic carrier, First Nation Airways (FRN), has resumed operations with its maiden flight between Lagos and Abuja on September 30. Flights are onboard the airline's fleet of two A319s, leased from the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC).
The Angolan government, by 2016, will have invested EUR1.6billion into the construction and rehabilitation of thirty domestic airports, including sixteen new ones, Manuel Ferreira de Ceita, the CEO of Angola's airport and air traffic authority (Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea - ENANA), has said.
Algeria and Austria are set to commence negotiations over a proposed revision of their Bilateral Air Services Agreement signed in 1991, Austria's Ambassador to Algeria, Ms Aloisia
Worgetter, announced on Sunday September 29. According to her, the direct air link will facilitate both increased travel and business between
the two countries through the estbalishment of direct flights. At present, there are none.
Canadian aircraft & train manufacturer, Bombardier Aerospace, has held a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on the site of its future manufacturing facility situated in the now-open Midparc Casablanca Free Zone, in Nouaceur, Morocco. The occasion was attended by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, various Bombardier suits as well as Moroccan and Canadian dignitaries.
As part of efforts to clamp down on illegal charter airline operations in the country, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has released a list of licensed scheduled commercial and charter airlines on its registry with only 26 operators having so far been cleared for operations.
Nairobi-based cargo operator, Astral Aviation (8V), and ANA Aviation Services have announced a new strategic partnership in Africa following the delivery of a B747-400F (MSN 29261 | N408MC), on wet-lease from ACMI specialists, Atlas Air (5Y), on September 27.
Mr. Kassim Geressu, the Chief Financial Officer of Ethiopian Airlines (ET), has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the carrier's nascent Malawian venture, Malawi Airlines. Mr Geresu's appointment was confirmed by Tewolde Gebremariam in a press conference held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, yesterday afternoon.
Angolan flag carrier TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola (DT) has at long last added a second weekly frequency to its Luanda - Beijing, China route. The added Friday flight became effective September 21 and will be followed by an additional third frequency next year.
The AviAssist Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization that provides safety support to African countries and companies and aims to inspire and promote professionalism in African aviation safety, has announced the successful conclusion of a week-long annual Airport Rescue & Fire Fighting ARFF training course in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.
Toumaï Air Tchad (9D) has resumed limited operations using its ex-Georgian Star International (GST) B737-300 (MSN 24717 | TT-EAZ) for Hajj charter flights from N'Djamena to Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
South Africa's Airlink (4Z) has delayed the launch of flights to Skukuza from the previously announced March, to June 2, 2014. According to the carrier, it will commence direct daily flights between Johannesburg and Skukuza as well as Cape Town and Skukuza from Monday 2 June 2014 using an Embraer 135.
fastjet (FN) has announced a USD24.9million EBIT loss for the first half of its 2013 Financial Year ended 30 June 2013. In its statement, the company said that its Tanzanian LCC is now profitable "on an underlying route level basis", though it did post operational losses of USD9.1million and USD4.2million in 1Q and 2Q of this year respectively.
Egyptair (MS) generated EGP20.7billion (USD3billion) in revenue for its latest 2012/2013 Financial Year, a rise of 63% on that recorded for 2011/2012, Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation, Abdel Aziz Fadel, has announced. Speaking in Cairo outlining the current state of Egypt's civil aviation industry, Mr Fadel did however concede that, despite the rise in revenue, the airline was still struggling to turn a profit as it is saddled with EGP11.5billion (USD1.7billion) in debt.
South African startup, Skywise (SWZ), will likely miss a deferred October launch date after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) revealed that, to date, the airline had completed 3 of the 5 steps necessary to obtain its Air Operators Certificate.