Libyan Airlines (LN)'s ban on operating its own aircraft into the European Union could be lifted with a matter of weeks should the European Commission accept a 
final report submitted by the carrier. It could be a different case for sister airline Afriqiyah (8U) whose own efforts to be struck off the infamous No-Fly list suffered a set back on Friday after one of its flights to Paris was turned back due to incorrect paperwork.
During a seminar given in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa today to mark Aviation Day Africa, Tony Tyler, the Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) slammed the EU No-Fly list as "lacking transparency" claiming they did nothing to improve safety as a whole. Tyler instead called on African governments to build stronger partnerships with industry to prioritize and promote aviation policies that will improve safety, develop a more competitive industry cost structure and advance liberalization.
Tanzanian LCC, fastjet (FN) has announced it is temporarily suspending two of its routes between Kilimanjaro and Mwanza, and between Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar, effective immediately, due to what it calls "low demand during the rainy season."
with South African Airways (SAA), the national carrier of South Africa and the only airline with non-stop flights between Mumbai and Johannesburg. The code share opens for Sale effective April 16th 2013, for travel effective April 18th 2013.
Kenyan cargo carrier Blue Bird Aviation (BBZ) is due to take delivery of two former Augsburg Airways (IQ) Bombardier Q400s to add to its growing fleet of 11 aircraft.
Roughly one year on from a USD2million (XFA1billion) upgrade of its various navigation and landing aides, Senegal's Tambacounda Airport still remains underserved and in urgent need of development the agence des Aéroports Du Sénégal (ADS) Tambacounda airport's general manager, Kabe Cissé, has said.
Effective April 1, Air Namibia (SW) has changed its General Sales Agent (GSA) in the USA, UK and France and has appointed APG as its new GSA in all three countries.
Air Zimbabwe's (UM) newly appointed board has begun to wield the axe on deadwood found following the preliminary results of an audit which revealed "some" irregularities at the parastatal.
Tunisian national carrier Tunisair (TU) has received the greenlight from government to proceed with the downsizing of the company announced in 2012 which will see the loss of 1'700 jobs, though the airline's all powerful unions have yet to come on board.
EgyptAir (MS) has announced the addition of direct flights between Cairo and Doha, Qatar starting 01JUN 2013 using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The increase will bring the total number of weekly flights to 14 per week in a double daily operation, up from the current 10x weekly. The new frequencies will leave Cairo in the late evening, returning from Doha in the early morning.
Libya's Ministry of Transport is set to beef up the country's ability to monitor both civilian and military air traffic through the commissioning of new radar infrastructure and control facilities. The facilities will be used in monitoring the trafficking of both people and drugs in Libya as well as the illegal export of arms to neighbouring countries.
At a recent three day seminar held in Kinshasa, the Congolese Minister of Transport & Communication, Justin Kalumba, lambasted the country's various aviation industry players, both governmental and private, for contributing to the country's poor aviation safety track record.
Libyan Airlines (LN) has denied that its operations have been curtailed by an ongoing employee strike which has now entered its second week. Online news reports had earlier suggested that the airline had ceased taking reservations though this has since been confirmed as false.
Bukoba Airport, situated along the southern shores of Lake Victoria, is expected to reopen next month according to the Tanzanian Airports Authority (TAA) following the conclusion of rehabilitation and extension works to the airport's runway 13/31, and rehabilitation of the terminal building.
Tanzania's Auric Air (H8) has announced an updated timetable to come into effect from 19 April 2013, as noted on its site. The airline operates an exclusively domestic Tanzanian service.
Air Cote d'Ivoire (HF) is due to take delivery of its third Airbus A319 (MSN 1018 | HB-IPR) to supplement two other Airbus A319s leased from Air France (AF) and an Embraer E170 leased from Regional (YS).
[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).
The rehabilitation and expansion works at Luena Airport in Moxico Province, Angola, are winding down with Angola's airport and air traffic authority Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea (ENANA) giving June as a possible date for the overall completion of the rehabilitated passenger and cargo terminals.
A South African registered Beechcraft 1900C-1 (unconfirmed MCN UC-74 | ZS-PHL) has reportedly disappeared without trace in the Gulf of Guinea, 14km off the coast of the West African nation of São Tomé & Príncipe.
Work on the upgrading of airside infrastructure at Victoria Falls International Airport in Zimbabwe has finally gotten under way following a ground-breaking ceremony held in the resort town on Friday, attended by Zimbabwean government dignitaries. The contractor for the USD150million project, to be financed under a China ExIm Bank loan, has been identified as China Jiangsu International Group (CJIG).
Luxembourg's Cargolux (CV) Airlines International S.A. has announced that, in addition to starting Tripoli flights from 16 April, it will start weekly Wednesday flights to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, on 24 April. Often called the centre of the nation, Ouagadougou is the country’s
largest city; its main industries are food processing and textiles.
Ethiopia and Qatar have taken a significant step in repairing relations, broken off in April 2008 over alleged news bias against Addis Ababa by Qatar's Al Jazeera TV, with the signing of "various" agreements, among them an air services agreement (BASA) on 10 April following the conclusion of bilateral talks between the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn.
Leone Airways, the new Sierra Leonian national carrier formed out of a partnership with Arik Air(W3), Nigeria's largest carrier, and the government of Sierra Leone is to tentatively commence operations in June this year. Under the partnership deal signed in 2011, Arik will provide the carrier with its initial fleet and technical skills and comes about from the airline's close relationship with Freetown after in 2009 it was designated "the national carrier of Sierra Leone", thereby allowing it to ply the Freetown - London route.
During a ceremony attended by Mr Driss Benhima, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Air Maroc (RAM) Group, and Mr Franck Terner, President, Air France Industries, the two partners officially announced a new phase in the development of their Aerotechnic Industries (ATI) joint venture. Set up in 2009, the 50/50 joint venture between the two groups is now extending the scope of its activities to the overhauling of Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) airframes.
As the political situation in Mali begins to settle down, so Celestair Group's Malian subsidiary, Air Mali (I5), has taken its first steps towards resuming operations by dusting off its stored Bombardier CRJ200 (MSN 7392 | TZ-RCA) kept until recently in France.
Kenya Airways Cargo (KQ) has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737-300(F) (MSN 29088 | 5Y-KQC), recently converted in Shanghai by Boeing. The ceremony took place today at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Under its 10-year growth strategy, Kenya Airways plans to have 12 freighters in its fleet by 2022.
Libyan carrier, Libyan Airlines, (LN), set to take delivery of its first of four Airbus A330s next month, has selected OnAir to provide on-board internet broadband connectivity. The aircraft will fly on long-haul international routes to Asia and Europe.
Zambia's first LCC, Mukuba Airlines, set to be operate out of the Victoria Falls town of Livingstone, has outlined its intended route network with flights set to range in cost from USD35 to USD50.
The launch of JamboJet, Kenya Airways' (KQ) planned Low Cost Carrier wing, has been pushed back to "sometime later this year", Kenya Airways CEO, Titus Naikuni has said.
Luxembourg's Cargolux (CV) today announced that it will
introduce a new air cargo service to Tripoli, Libya’s capital and
largest city. The first flight is scheduled for 16 April, followed by
weekly services that will operate every Tuesday on the route Luxembourg –
Tripoli – Johannesburg.
RAM - Royal Air Maroc (AT) and Ethiopian Airlines (ET) have joined a growing chorus of carriers servicing the Angolan capital, Luanda, in asking the Instituto Nacional da Aviação Civil (the National Institute of Civil Aviation - INAVIC) to increase their frequencies on the lucrative route.
Mozambique's flag carrier, LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM), will from 28APR13 expand its Johannesburg operations through the addition of 16 weekly flights from Maputo, Beira, Tete and new route, Nampula.
Algerian national carrier, Air Algérie (AH), is planning to offer an Oran – Madrid
service from 24JUN13 to 18SEP13 though reservations are not,
at present, available to general public.
The Ghanaian Parliament has greenlighted the allocation of USD100million needed for the construction of a major international airport in Tamale, capital of the Northern Region. The Ghana Airports Company (GACL), who will ultimately be responsible for the running of the facility once it is open, are still to approve the project's final designs, currently being done by an unnamed Brazilian firm, before construction can begin.
TACV Cabo Verde Airlines (VR) says it has suspended flights to Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, owing to the route's poor returns. The move is effective 3 April.
Air Mauritius (MK) has placed a contract with Airline Services Ltd for the company's new enhanced definition digital video player - the Aerostream XP1. The IFE system has been selected for their Airbus A330 and A340 fleet and installation of an initial 40 units will begin this year.
Philippine Airlines(PR), who are planning to launch flights from Manila to the Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo in early May (the signing of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement pending) could be considering the African hubs of either Johannesburg (possibly Cape Town) or Addis Ababa as a transitory point.
Ghana's Minister of Transport, Dzifa Attivor, has bemoaned Nigeria's inaction in granting Ghanaian airlines rights to operate into Nigerian airports, despite the fact that Nigeria is a signatory to the Yamoussoukro Agreement which concerns the liberalisation of access to air transport markets in Africa (the Yamoussoukro Decision) and which entered into force on 12 August 2000. The Yamoussoukro Decision takes precedence over any multilateral or bilateral agreements on air services between States Parties which are incompatible with the Decision.
In yet another case of a deadbeat airline failing to pay its dues, Nigeria's Chanchangi Airlines (5B) has been given 30 days to pay Ethiopian Airlines (ET) its debt of USD772'000 for maintenance rendered to an unspecified Chanchangi aircraft (possibly a B727) and engine back in February 2004.
Atlasjet (KK) has announced it is to abandon plans to set up a joint national carrier with the Government of South Sudan. The Turkish carrier originally won a tender in January for a 49% stake in the airline which the Government hopes, will boost its regional presence as well as safety.
Travelport, a provider of critical transaction processing solutions and data to the global travel industry, has announced the launch of a new direct Travelport commercial presence in Kenya, one of Africa’s fastest growing travel markets. In a clear demonstration of its commitment to the region, this new direct operation for travel agents in the country marks the latest milestone in Travelport’s investment strategy in Africa.