► TANZANIA: Flightlink to begin Embraer E120 ops from July.

Tanzanian scheduled operator Flightlink will début its first, and Tanzania's first, Embraer E120ER operations with effect from July 1.

► SOUTH AFRICA: Domestic operator, Freedom Air, débuts scheduled ops to Limpopo and Kwazulu.

South African domestic operator, Freedom Air, has débutted its first scheduled flights. Based out of Pretoria's Wonderboom Airport, Freedom Air now offers flights between Johannesburg (Grand Central), Newcastle, Durban (Virginia) and Venetia Mine in Limpopo Province using a Dornier 228.

► NIGER: Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet crashes during reconnaisance mission near Niamey; 2 dead.

A Nigerian Air Force Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet on operations in Dargol, 60 km west of Niamey, capital of Niger, crashed at 13h05L yesterday killing both pilots. Chaibou Massalatchi, the head of Niamey’s airport, said the plane had taken off on the morning of Monday, May 6, for a reconnaissance mission into the north-west of Niger when it came down.

► NIGERIA: SkyBird Air granted AOC, operations set to begin in due course.

Startup, SkyBird Air (KYC), has been awarded its AOC with flights operations expected to begin in due course, the airline's Managing Director, Mr. Sam Ayodele, has said.

► SEYCHELLES: Air Force takes delivery of first Do-228 Patrol aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics.

The Seychelles Air Force has taken delivery of a Dornier 228 patrol aircraft following a donation from the government of India as agreed to under an agreement signed between the two nations in 2011 in which India would provide a once-off grant of USD28.79 million for the supply of the maritime aircraft.  A further aircraft is due in 2014.

► ETHIOPIA: Abedair Aviation Ethiopia rebrands itself as Aquarius Aviation.

Addis Ababa-based Aberdair Aviation Ethiopia has been re-branded as Aquarius Aviation to distinguish itself from the Nairobi-based operator, Aberdair Aviation. On launching in 2009, Aquarius leased various aircraft from Aberdair Kenya, as well as paid it royalties for the use of its name in order to help establish a reputation for the ad-hoc charter airline.