■■ MAURITIUS: New Terminal 2 at SSR International Airport to be ready by August.

Built and ultimately to be managed on behalf of the Mauritian Government by Aeroports de Paris in collaboration with China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the new Terminal 2 at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in Plaisance, Mauritius is slated to be operational by early 2013. The new terminal is designed by ADPi, Architects and Engineers and Alain Davy, Architect. Built at a cost of MUR11billion (USD260million), 85 per cent of project is to be financed by a loan from the EXIM Bank of China to the Mauritius Port Authority at a concessionary rate of 2% for a period of 15 years.

►► SOUTH SUDAN: Rwandair postpones Juba flights 'til September.

[UPDATE 06 AUGUST] Rwandan national carrier, Rwandair (WB), will from 01JUL13 begin operations to South Sudan, with a 3x weekly Kigali – Juba service, on board CRJ900 aircraft.

►► PHILIPPINES: Ethiopian Airlines cancels planned Manila, Ho Chi Minh City routes; nixes Singapore.

[UPDATE 17 JULY] According to AirlineRoute, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) plans to adjust its East Asia operations from 18JUN13, with the tentative launch of 3 new destinations: Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Manila (Philippines) and Seoul Incheon (South Korea).

■■ SENEGAL: (Pics) Dakar's new Blaise Diagne International Airport now delayed until Q4 2014.

Blaise Diagne International Airport, Diass, Senegal

 

[UPDATE 12 JULY 2013] After a bold declaration last year by the then Senior Senegalese Minister in charge of International Cooperation, Air transport, Infrastructure and Energy, Karim Wade, that the capital Dakar's new Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD) in Diass would be ready this year, Senegal's Prime Minister, Abdoul Mbaye, today announced the country's second international airport would only be commissioned in the first quarter of 2014. He, however, did not provide a reason for the delay. [UPDATE 12 JULY 2013] Completion of the airport has now been delayed until November 2014. Senegalese paper, Libération, is quoted as saying a dispute between the Bin Laden Group and Dakar which threatened to derail the project has since been resolved with works now back on track.

►► SAUDI ARABIA: Ethiopian revises its planned boost to Saudi Arabia/Dubai frequencies from mid June.

[UPDATE 03 JUNE] As per 06MAY13 GDS timetable/inventory display, Ethiopian Airlines is planning to increase its capacity to Saudi Arabia and the UAE from 17/18JUN13. Planned changes are as follows.

►► CHINA: Egyptair cancels plans to boost Beijing flights to 4x weekly from July.

[UPDATE 27 MAY] As per 13MAY13 GDS Inventory display, Egyptair is currently planning to add a 4th weekly Cairo – Beijing flight, starting 01JUL13. The new flight will operate from Cairo on Mondays, Wednesdays from Beijing. Reservation for the new flight, however, is not currently available.

■■ EGYPT: Cairo International Airport shelves plans to partially close in the early hours from June onwards in bid to cut costs.

[UPDATE 27 MAY] From 1 June onwards, Cairo International Airport, one of the Middle East's most important aviation hubs, is to partially close during the early morning hours in a bid to reduce soaring costs as the Egyptian government struggles to pay its ever increasing power bills.

►► GHANA: Royal Jordanian to start Lagos, Accra from early July..

[UPDATE 21 MAY] Jordanian operator, Royal Jordanian (RJ) is to venture into West Africa beginning late-June 2013 through the introduction of  of a twice weekly Amman - Lagos - Accra set to be operated with an Airbus A330-200.

►► BRAZIL: Ethiopian Airlines to start 787 flights to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo via Lome from July 2013.

[UPDATE 19 MAY] Having postponed their intended December launch of flights to Brazil via Lome, Togo owing to "inconvenient slot times given the airline" by the Brazilian aviation authorities, Ethiopian Airlines is said to be readying itself for a possible 1 June 2013 service to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil via Lome, Togo.

►► ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian expecting "pleasant surprise" from Boeing in Addis next week; plans Dubai as first 787 destination from 25 April.

[UPDATE 17 MAY] Believing Boeing will have a "pleasant surprise" in store for the global aviation community next week, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has tentatively scheduled its Boeing 787-8s to resume operations from April 25 with Dubai lined up as the Dreamliner's first potential destination.

►► CHINA: Ethiopian Airlines reduces Beijing to 6x weekly from April 'til June.

[UPDATE 17 MAY] AirlineRoute writes that Ethiopian Airlines (ET) will from 01APR13 to 17JUN13 temporarily reduces its Addis Ababa – Beijing service, with the overall operation dropping to 6 weekly flights instead of the current daily. Boeing 777-200LR aircraft operates this route.

►► ZAMBIA: Proflight Zambia to start Lubumbashi, Lilongwe ops from mid May.

[UPDATE 15 MAY] Proflight Zambia (P0) is set to embark on its first regional operations with the launch of 3x weekly Ndola - Lubumbashi (DRC) and 3x weekly Lusaka - Lilongwe (Malawi) flights, effective 16MAY13.

■■SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE: Wise guy who made joke about bomb on an STP Airways flight to Lisbon to appear in court.

[UPDATE 12 MAY] A Portuguese national who made a wise-crack about having a bomb in his luggage that was ready to explode is due to appear in court in São Tomé today. The man, Manuel Ferreira, was travelling with his wife on STP Airways (8F) flight 8F508 from São Tomé International Airport to Lisbon earlier this week when he made the remarks.

■■ KENYA: (Pics) A look at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's proposed Terminal 4 currently being built.

 

Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Project Greenfield & Terminal 4

[UPDATE 16 APRIL] Now that all the dust has settled following a protracted court case involving accusations of favoritism and bribery in the awarding of the tender for Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's (JKIA) new Terminal 4 and future Greenfield Terminal and a second runway expansion planned, construction has finally started, though when the entire project will be completed, is anyone's guess.

■■ RWANDA: (Pics) A look at Kigali's proposed New Bugesera International Airport.

New Bugesera International Airport, Kigali, Rwanda

[UPDATE 14 APRIL] After the horrific aftermath of the genocide of 1994, Rwanda's economy has risen from the ashes to become one of Africa's most dynamic and fastest growing, registering at least 8 percent GDP growth in the past 5 years, with 6.9% growth projected for 2013. As part of its Vision 2020, amongst whose aims is to transform the country from a subsistence-farming based economy into a middle-income (>USD900/month) services hub, the Rwandan Government has moved to develop a vibrant private sector by investing in Roads, Rail and water transport infrastructure with the ultimate aim of dramatically reducing the cost of transport to businesses and individuals. Of the several large infrastructure projects proposed, the most economically far reaching is a new airport, Bugesera International Airport, to be built outside of the capital, Kigali.

►► NIGERIA: Airstream Aviation starts cargo ops using wetleased B737-400F.

[UPDATE 13 APRIL] Abuja-based Airstream Aviation has launched scheduled cargo and ad-hoc charter operations on domestic routes using a wet leased Boeing B737-400F (MSN 24128 | S5-ABV).

►► ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian announces operational changes to Italy, France, Belgium effective June 2013.

[UPDATE 10 APRIL] Ethiopian Airlines (ET), from 20 June 2013, is adjusting its planned European operations, which will see changes to its Italy, France and Belgium operations.

►► CUBA: TAAG increases Luanda - Havana, Beijing frequencies from late March.

[UPDATE 8 APRIL] Angolan flag carrier TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola (DT), is to increase its frequencies from its Luanda, Angola hub to Havana, Cuba and Beijing, China effective 31 March.

►► SOUTH AFRICA: Air Botswana to drop Cape Town - Maun from end of March.

[UPDATE 7 APRIL] Air Botswana (BP) is to drop its 4x weekly Cape Town - Maun route effective 31 March, just 10 months after its début. The route originally launched with daily flights back in June 2012 and predominantly catered for the leisure market.

►► NAMIBIA: Air Namibia to axe Accra, reduces Cape Town, Joburg due to low demand, Frankfurt due to A340s undergoing maintenance.

[UPDATE 7 APRIL] Air Namibia (SW) is, according to Amadeus, to axe its Windhoek - Accra (Ghana) flights effective 10 April. In addition, Windhoek to Cape Town, and Windhoek to Johannesburg flights are to be reduced from 3 to 2 a day, with Windhoek to Frankfurt flights being reduced to 4x a week effective immediately.