► EGYPT: Air Force signs deal with Airbus Military for 6 Casa C295s.

Airbus Military has received an order for six additional Casa C295 transport aircraft from the Egyptian Air Force, bringing the Egyptian Air Force’s C295 fleet to a total of 12 aircraft. This third batch of aircraft plus the associated spares and support equipment, training and field support are to be delivered from the end of 2013 onwards.

► MOROCCO: Ryanair officially announces Fez, Marrakech as new bases; Essaouira, Rabat as new airports.

Confirming our previous speculative post, Ryanair (FR) has officially announced it would open two new bases in Morocco in 2013, at Fez (No 56) and Marrakech (No 57) with a total of three based-aircraft, as Ryanair invests over USD210 million in Morocco. 

► MOROCCO: Air Méditerranée to start 2x weekly Paris CDG - Casablanca ops from mid February.

Air Méditerranée (ML), the Jullian, France based carrier is to launch its third destination in Morocco - Casablanca, with 2x weekly flights starting 14 February 2013.

► COMOROS: Government now looking to resurrect Air Comores?

After the successful launch of inter-island services last week using a Let 410 (MSN 072640 | D6-NHD), the Comorian Government is now considering resurrecting defunct national carrier Air Comores.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: No last minute reprieve for 523 Denel AMG employees as SAAF confirms contract will not be renewed.

Denel Aviation is to proceed with the laying off of 523 employees (538 according to Denel) from its MRO division, Aero Manpower Group, and Denel Personnel Solutions, come 31 March after the South African Air Force (SAAF) confirmed during the first retrenchment consultation that it would not be renewing its contract.

■ ANGOLA: TAAG's operating revenue up $120m in 2012 but lack of fiscal control remains a grave worry.

TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola (DT), Angola's national carrier, registered a growth in passenger traffic of 11% for the year ending 2012, with 1.1million passengers flown, the airline said in a statement.  

■ KENYA: Israel keen to resume Tel Aviv - Nairobi flights following improvements in Kenyan airport security.

Following improvements in security measures in place at the country's airports, Israel is considering the resumption of direct flights to Kenya before the end of the year says the country's Ambassador to Kenya, Gil Haskel. 

► PORTUGAL: TACV in talks to start Ilha do Sal - Beja.

TACV Transportes Aéreos de Cabo Verde (VR), the scheduled and charter, passenger and cargo airline based in Praia, Cape Verde is in negotiations to launch flights between Sal Island and Beja, a city in the Beja Municipality in the Alentejo Region, southern Portugal.

► TUNISIA: Details of Syphax's deal with Airbus and Safran revealed.

Details of the contracts signed today between Tunisian carrier Syphax Airlines (FS) and Airbus and Safran S.A. respectively, have been released.

► NIGERIA: AeroContractors to start Abuja - Sokoto from late January.

Nigerian aviation blog, Aviation in Nigeria, reports that Aero Contractors (AJ) also known as Aero, is to launch 6x weekly flights between Abuja and Sokoto, north western Nigeria, effective 28 January 2013.

► MOROCCO: LCC market heats up with Ryanair, Jetairfly launching new bases, routes.

The Low Cost Carrier aviation scene in Morocco is set to heat up with news that Ryanair (FR) is to open two new bases in Morocco, Marrakech and Fez, its first outside Europe. In addition, Jetairfly Morocco (TB) is to launch various new flights to its growing Moroccan network which now counts 10 cities.

► GAMBIA: Binter Canarias launches Las Palmas - Banjul flights.

Binter Canarias (NT), the Gran Canaria-based Spanish regional operator, has announced the launch of twice weekly flights from Las Palmas to Banjul, Gambia, in effect since 11 January. This flight is operated by an Air Nostrum Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft.

► KENYA: Thomson Airways to deploy 787 on Gatwick - Mombasa flights from November.

According to AirlineRoute, Thomson Airways (BY), the world's largest charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the UK and Ireland to destinations across Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, is to start 1x weekly Boeing 787-8 flights between London Gatwick and Mombasa, Kenya for the duration 4 November 2013 – 21 April 2014.

► GABON: Finally, Turkish Airlines to start Libreville via Douala from late January.

Following on from our previous post last year, Turkish Airlines (TK) will at last launch flights to Libreville Gabon via Douala, Cameroon from 31 January 2013. The 3x weekly service will be operated with a Boeing 737-900ER.

► UGANDA: British Airways 767 enroute from Lusaka to Heathrow suffers engine failure; diverts to Entebbe.

A British Airways Boeing 767-300 (MSN 25442 | G-BNWO) enroute from Lusaka, Zambia to London Heathrow, United Kingdom on Monday 14 January 2013 as flight BA254 was forced to divert to Entebbe, Uganda following the failure of its starboard engine.

► MAURITIUS: Emirates to operate one off A380 flight on 12 March.

Emirates (EK) today announced it will operate a one-off Airbus A380 service to Port Louis, Mauritius on 12 March to mark the occasion of the 45th Anniversary of Mauritius' independence from Britain.

► MALAWI: British Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways interested in starting flights: Government.

Malawi's Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Economic, Ted Sitimawina, has disclosed that British Airways (BA), Qatar Airways (QR) and Emirates (EK) have all expressed interest in starting flights to the landlocked Central African country, a move that would help to drive down the exorbitant cost of air travel to the country.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: DoT claims fastjet's relaunch timeframe for 1Time unrealistic, as Skywise remains ontrack for 1 March launch.

The launch of Skywise, the South African carrier founded by the original founders of defunct South African LCC 1Time (T6) is on track for a 1 March launch as fastjet's (FN) plans to push forward with a relaunch of 1Time face a protracted, relicensing process that could derail plans for a 27 February relaunch.

► LIBYA: Royal Jordanian boosts Tripoli, Misrata as Libyan Airlines looks to start Sebha - Casablanca, Benghazi - Dubai.

Royal Jordanian (RJ) will, starting February 2013, increase its operations to Libya, where its overall operation from Amman to Misurata will increase from 1x to 2x weekly from  6 February 2013, while Amman – Tripoli increases from daily to 10x weekly from  9 February 2013. Meanwhile, Libyan Airlines (LN) is to start additional ops to Morocco and Dubai in the coming weeks.

► MALI: Air France, Aigle Azur maintain ops to Bamako, but offer passengers free ticket changes.

With the ongoing military incursion in Mali, Air France (AF) and Aigle Azur (ZI) have offered their respective clients the option of deferring travel to and from Bamako until a later date. France's military has been fighting against Islamist militants in northern Mali since Friday, helping Malian government forces recapture the central town of Konna. On Sunday, French Mirage jets bombed the town of Gao in eastern Mali, extending their raids deep into rebel territory.