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.