► LIBYA: Libyan Airlines inaugurates Tobruk International Airport with flights to Alexandria.

Libya's oldest airport, Tobruk, has been successfully upgraded to an  International Airport with the launch of twice weekly flights now offered to Alexandria Borg el Arab courtesy of Libyan Airlines (LN).

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Now SAExpress needs $60million in state funding to cover debt covenants with aircraft suppliers.

SA Express (XZ) is in the process of finalizing a USD60million (ZAR539million) state guarantee (read Bailout) needed to help it cover the terms of various debt covenants. The funding however, falls far short of its originally requested USD111million (ZAR1billion) extension.

■ CONGO (KINSHASA): FlyCAA boss decries heavy taxation in the DRC as discouraging a safety-first mentality amongst airlines.

Jean-Marc Pajot, the Director of Congolese domestic and regional operator, FlyCAA (a tie up between CAA - Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (FPY), and flyCongo (EO)) says the DRC's heavy taxation of aircraft and related sundries seriously discourages and impedes airlines from pursuing a "safety-first" mentality.

► ZIMBABWE: New startup, Rainbow Airlines, wants in on the action.

Nascent carrier, Rainbow Airlines, is set to join Zimbabwe's growing list of privately backed carriers seeking to exploit the country's under-served and overpriced domestic and regional markets, a Government Gazette published last Friday reports.

► JAPAN: EgyptAir to reduce Tokyo Narita to 2x weekly from May.

Despite previous utterances claiming it would immediately cease its Tokyo and Osaka flights citing poor loads and little to no government support for the flights, Egyptair (MS), as per the 30APR13 GDS inventory display, will, during the Winter 2013/14 season, continue to operate a twice weekly Cairo – Tokyo Narita flight using a Boeing 777-200ER.

► SENEGAL: ASKY Airlines boosts Dakar ops to 6x weekly with new flight via Ouagadougou.

Ethiopian Airlines' (ET) Lomé, Togo-based subsidiary, ASKY Airlines (KP), has boosted its operations to Dakar, Senegal from 3x to 6x weekly during the course of the last month or so via the introduction of  new flight which goes via Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

► ETHIOPIA: National Airways eyes Fokker 50s, Embraer ERJ170s for future ops.

Ethiopia's National Airways (7N) is planning to add several Fokker 50s and to acquire Embraer ERJ-170s in the near future as the airline looks to expand beyond its current operations that are limited to helicopter charter flights, ad-hoc charter ops and a single scheduled weekly flight to Hargeisa (Somaliland) set to be extended to Djibouti.

► MAURITIUS: Thomson Airways plans 1x weekly Gatwick - Mauritius 787 flight from May 2014.

British charter outfit, Thomson Airways (BY), will, from May 2014, launch a 1x weekly service from London Gatwick to Mauritius on-board Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

► ZAMBIA: Ethiopian Airlines turned off further expansion into Zambia over poor loads on Ndola flights.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) says very poor loads on its Addis Ababa – Ndola – Lubumbashi (DRC) – Addis Ababa flights launched back in late March are a cause for concern for the airline, with the Ethiopian carrier now hesitant to further expand into Zambia.

► ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian plans changes to Johannesburg, Toronto from May/June.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is planning to deploy its B777-200LRs on its daily Johannesburg route effective 05MAY, replacing its current B767-300ER service, and as from 19JUN, a third weekly Addis Ababa - Toronto flight will be introduced using a B787-8.

► CHAD: Air France adds tech stop in Ndjamena on Bangui outbound flights until late May.

French carrier Air France (AF) is extending operational changes to Bangui until late-May 2013, where it’ll operate via N’djamena, Chad on the outbound flight, as a technical stop. 

►► NIGER: Afriqiyah to tentatively resume Niamey flights this month following inter-governmental talks.

[UPDATE 29 APRIL 2013] Libyan carrier, Afriqiyah (8U), is expected to resume twice weekly flights to Niamey, Niger later this month following discussions held in Tripoli between the Nigerien ambassador, Hassan Maloune, and the Libyan Minister of Transport, Abdel Kader Mohamed.

► CANARY ISLANDS: Mauritania Airlines International eyes Las Palmas as first EU destination from early May.

Mauritania Airlines International (L6) has set Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands as its first European destination following the removal of Mauritania and all its airlines from the EU's No Fly List. Thrice weekly flights are scheduled to begin on May 8.

● CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE): AFRAA sees strong short term growth in African air travel market as doomsayers remain pessimistic about the long term.

The African air travel market growth is set to remain strong with an increase of 5.2% projected for this coming year, Elijah Chingosho, the Secretary General of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has said in Brazzaville. Doom-sayers in the industry, however, remain very pessimistic about the long term future of the continent's airlines given their inability and/or disinterest in merging.

► ALGERIA: Air Algérie now eyeing two Ethiopian Airlines MD11Fs for Cargo ops.

Air Algérie (AH) is planning to add two Ethiopian Airlines Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11Fs (possibly (MSN 48758 | ET-AML) and (MSN 48780 | ET-AND)) to its Cargo division as part of its fleet renewal and business turnaround plan.

■ BELGIUM: Government awards Brussels Airlines 2 extra Kinshasa slots; Jetairfly to lodge complaint with EC.

Belgian LCC, Jetairfly (TB) has lodged a complaint with the European Commission following a decision by the Belgian Secretary of State for Mobility, Melchior Wathelet, to award two additional frequencies between Brussels and the Congolese capital of Kinshasa to Brussels Airlines as outlined under a newly revised Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) signed between Congo and Belgium in February this year.

► NIGERIA: Cronos Airlines launches Malabo - Port Harcourt; plans Lagos and Abuja later this year.

Equatorial Guinea-based carrier, Cronos Airlines (C8), has officially launched flights to Port Harcourt in Nigeria out of its hub in Malabo. The carrier also plans to add flights to Abuja and Lagos during the course of the year as part of its Nigerian expansion plans.

► ANGOLA: Airbus bemoans TAAG's staunch loyalty to Boeing, claiming B777 deal price was excessive.

Reports out of Angola claim that attempts by European aircraft manufacturer EADS, the parent company of Airbus SAS, to get their foot into the Angolan market via TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola (DT), have been rebuffed outright.

► MALAWI: Kenya Airways granted rights to Blantyre; 5th Freedom rights to Lusaka reinstated.

Kenya Airways (KQ) says it has been granted approval by the Malawian Government to begin flights into Blantyre's Chileka Airport effective June 3, 2013. In addition, its 5th Freedom Rights on the Lilongwe (Malawi) - Lusaka (Zambia) vv. sector of its Nairobi - Lilongwe - Lusaka - Nairobi vv. flights have also been reinstated. Neither of the developments at this time of writing, however, currently reflect on the GDS.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: fastjet appoints Kyle Haywood as head of its new South African operation.

Fresh from announcing its new planned South African market-entry, Tanzanian-based LCC fastjet (FN) has revealed Kyle Haywood as the head of the airline's new South African venture with partner, Blockbuster, now known as "fastjet Holdings."