► MALI: Struggling Air Mali suspends operations effective 24 December.

Celestair Group's Malian subsidiary, Air Mali (I5), as result of the ongoing political and economic crisis in Mali, has suspended operations for nine months effective 24 December 2012.

■ MALAWI: Privatization Commission unveils shortlisted bidders for Air Malawi; Ethiopian in, BA Comair out.

Malawi's Privatization Commission, the governmental department charged with overseeing the sell off and eventual privatization of national carrier Air Malawi (QM), has announced a shortlist of 5 potential investors for Air Malawi (2012) Limited, whittled down from the original 11.

Thank You. Yes, You! From The African Aviation Tribune.

From today (20 December) until late January 2013, we will be away in Zimbabwe for Christmas and for business and as such, news will likely slow to a trickle. But fear not, we will try our utmost to keep you all updated on any developments if and when they occur!

That said, I want to thank all of you who have supported the site, either through simply reading it, retweeting our articles or by contributing links and info.

My particular thanks go to Tom and the boys over at CH-Aviation and Rich and his crew at AirlineRoute all of whom provide us with large quantities of top quality info. I'd also like to thank Bigogwe Masaka, a regular contributor with articles and also input with comments and the like. To Seb at TravelComments and Wereldreizen who help propagate us via Twitter - Big thanks to you too.

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Anyway, I would just like to take a moment to inform you about TAAT and my plan for its future, which, i hope, will involve you all.
 

I started this site in April because i was tired of reading articles about African aviation that were weeks, if not months old, and often left me wondering about the real state of the industry as a whole. After all, Europe, the US, Asia, Australia and South America all have their own publications, what about Africa? I'm sure there are many of you out there who were left in the same quandary.

With that in mind, I'd like to try encourage you all to contribute to the site, because after all, it is aimed at everyone and anyone either involved or interested in African aviation. While most of the articles do come from primary news sources, they sometimes get it wrong and that's where you come in. The site, and its articles, are as good as their sources, and the more (accurate) sources we have, the better.

Site wise, we are still small with on average 5'100 unique visitors/month though bare in mind we haven't done any SEO or advertising. Please note that TAAT is, as much as it pains me to say this, NOT a commercial enterprise (hah! i wish! - TAAT's Google ad revenue barely pays for its web url subscription!)

If you are involved in the industry, run an airline (big or small), MRO, ACMI or have worthwhile info/a tip on anything relating to aviation on the continent, please shoot me a line via ivan(at)theafricanaviationtribune.com. The site is about getting Africa informed, for Africa's benefit!

So, Merry Christmas/Joyeux Noël/Buon Natale/Feliz Navidad/С Рождеством/Feliz Natal/Frohe Weihnachten/عيد ميلاد مجيد and here's to a prosperous 2013 to us all!

Regards,

Ivan (aka Ted T. Beefcake (Esq))

► SUDAN: Sudanese Air Force plane crashes on landing in El Obeid killing pilot as SPLM rebels shoot down Antonov.

A Sudanese Air Force fighter jet today crashed at El-Obeid Airport in North Kurdufan state, central Sudan, killing the pilot, according to a press release from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

► NIGERIA: Departing Avient Cargo jet blows off roof at Lagos; 12 "exotic" cars damaged.

A departing Avient Cargo (SMJ) jet's (type/registry unknown) jet blast caused considerable damage to Lagos' Murtala Muhammed's International Airport's recently completed Arrival area by blowing off part of the roof.

► MOZAMBIQUE: LAM Mozambique Q400 makes emergency landing in Beira following gear retraction problems.

A Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique  (LAM Mozambique (TM)) Bombardier Q400 operating flight TM205 between Chimoio and Maputo, on Sunday 16 December 2012, was forced to make an emergency landing at Beira airport, following gear retraction problems on take off from Chimoio.
 

■ GABON: France, Gabon sign new BASA; Air France to start Paris - Port Gentil?

Following that which it signed with Luxembourg in late November, Gabon has signed a modified air transport agreement with France under which airlines from the two countries will be able to operate additional flights to the Central African state.

► GHANA: Starbow Airlines gets fourth BAe146 as network expansion beckons.

Ghanaian carrier, Starbow Airlines (S9), on Sunday 16 December 2012, added another BAe146-200 aircraft (MSN: E2059 | 9G-SBD) to its fleet bringing the carrier's total to 4. The added aircraft now makes Starbow the largest Ghana-based airline by fleet size.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: fastjet set to acquire 1Time for R1 with flights due in early 2013.

Following the recent announcement that it was in talks to buy 1Time (T6), the South African low cost airline that went into liquidation last month, fastjet(FN), has entered into an option agreement to buy the entire issued share capital of 1time Airline from its parent company, 1time Holdings Limited, for ZAR1 (USD0.12). Initially, the airline will operate with three 1Time aircraft before Airbus A319s are added and the airline completely rebranded to fastjet.

► MOROCCO: 5 year old dies on board Mauritania Airlines International flight to Casablanca; flight diverts to Agadir.

A Mauritania Airlines International (L6) Boeing 737-700 performing flight L6102 from Nouadhibou, Mauritania to Casablanca, Morocco, was yesterday forced to divert to Agadir's Al Massira Airport, Morocco, after a 5 year old passenger died following complications from a heart attack.

► TURKEY: "Leaked" document purportedly shows Turkish Airlines' planned Africa route expansion plans for 2013.

A leaked document (and we use the term "leaked" in the loosest possible way) purporting to show Turkish Airlines' (TK) intended route expansion time line has been published on the web. According to the document, TK is planning an aggressive expansion into West and Central Africa though Southern Africa appears to remain largely neglected for the foreseeable future.

► LIBYA: (Pic) New Terminals for Benghazi, Misrata as Libyan Airlines moves to expand network in 2013.

The Libyan Ministry of Civil Aviation is to embark on two infrastructural improvement projects in the cities of Benghazi and Misrata as Libyan Airlines (LN) are to launch new regional routes following the delivery of their fifth and sixth brand new Airbus A320s in Misrata and Beiba respectively.

 

● IATA: African governments shooting themselves, and each other, in the foot: Tyler

Whilst Africa is becoming an international point of focus, African airlines themselves, are only expected to breakeven in 2013 - unchanged from the previous year's forecast and from 2011, says the International Air Transport Association's boss Tony Tyler in his industry financial outlook for the rest of 2012 and 2013. 

► NIGERIA: Presidency confirms death of northern Kaduna state governor, NSA and 4 others in Agusta chopper crash.

The Nigerian Presidency has confirmed the death of Governor Patrick Yakowa of northern Kaduna State, former National Security Adviser (NSA) General Owoye Azazi and four others involved in Saturday's crash of a Nigerian Navy Agusta A109E Power military helicopter in Nigeria's oil rich Niger Delta.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Gigaba appoints Duduzile Myeni to Acting Chairwoman, Vuyusile Kona to Acting CEO of SAA.

South African Minister of Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba, has appointed with immediate effect, Vuyisile Kona to the position of Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Duduzile Myeni as the Acting Chairwoman of the Board of South African Airways following a recent SAA Board meeting held on 7 December 2012.

► TANZANIA: Precision Air announces 4x weekly Mbeya flights as new Songwe International Airport opens after 10 years of construction.

After a decade under construction, Songwe International Airport, which serves the south western Tanzanian town of Mbeya, on 13 December, joined Dar Es Salaam's Julius Nyerere International, Kilimanjaro Airport, and Zanzibar International as the country's fourth international airport, with Tanzanian carrier Precision Air (PW) amongst the first to announce 4x weekly ATR72-operated flights to the airport, effective 1 February  2013.

► CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE): (Pic) Canadian Airways Congo leases MD82 from Ukraine's Bravo Air.

Canadian Airways Congo has been operating a McDonnell Douglas MD82 (MSN 49278 | UR-WRE) wet leased from Ukrainian charter/carrier Bravo Air (BAY) to operate flights throughout the Republic of Congo.

■ CAMEROON: Staff at Camair-Co threaten strikes from Monday over grievances concerning pay and managerial irregularities.

Twenty-two technical and administrative staff along with stewards and stewardesses have submitted their letters of resignation to Cameroonian national carrier Camair-Co (QC) whilst others have threatened to go on strike from Monday onwards, if grievances over their "13th Month" bonus, amongst others, is not resolved.

► NIGERIA: Chanchangi Airlines resumes ops with flights between Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna.

Kaduna-based Nigerian carrier, Chanchangi Airlines (5B), is to resume flight operations once more, with flights being offered between Lagos to Kaduna and Lagos to Abuja, according to the company's official Twitter.

■ ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Airlines shoots down Kenya Airways mega-merger idea as SAA now sets sights on dominating the African market.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has, for want of a better term, "shot down" a proposal by Kenya Airways' (KQ) outgoing CEO Titus Naikuni regarding a possible mega-merger between Ethiopian, Kenya Airways and South African Airways, as being impractical.