As part of ongoing efforts to spruce up its poor aviation safety record, the Democratic Republic of the Congo's air navigation services and airport management provider, Regie des Voies Aériennes (RVA), has signed a USD2million (CDF1.8billion) contract with French aeronautical systems manufacturer, Thales, for the supply of navigation equipment to Kinshasa N'djili International Airport.
Algeria's national carrier, Air Algérie (AH) has announced it will take delivery of two former KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) McDonnell Douglas MD-11s on five year leases following their conversion into cargo freighters.
Vuyisile Kona, the former interim CEO of South African Airways (SA), has taken his dismissal by South Africa's Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba to the High Court in Pretoria.
fastjet (FN), in its results for the 18 month period to 31 December 2012 has said that its Fly540 businesses in Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana and Angola - acquired from Lonrho Plc - have "all seriously underperformed relative to expectations" with management having now taken the necessary steps to restructure these businesses and remove legacy inefficiencies. Overall, fastjet says it had posted a loss before tax of USD55million, including USD23.5million of write-downs of goodwill and other matters. As a consequence, the airline says it will focus its attentions on its nascent South African operations with plans to reduce its majority shareholding in Fly540 Tanzania to various undisclosed Tanzanian shareholders.
South Africa's Competition Tribunal has approved the proposed acquisition of Johannesburg's Lanseria International Airport near Johannesburg by black economic empowerment company Holdco though conditions have been imposed on the deal.
Air Tanzania (TC) has announced the resumption of 3x weekly flights to Tabora in Western Central Tanzania. Flights will launch on Saturday JUN01 using a Bombardier Dash 8-300. Flights on Days 1 and 6 will operate from Dar es Salaam direct to Tabora on the outbound with the inbound going via Kigoma. Day 4 will see a reversal of that; flights to Tabora will operate via Kigoma on the outbound with the inbound going direct to Dar es Salaam.
Following extensive works, an SA Airlink (4X) flight from Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport became the first aircraft to christen the new 2'700x60m runway 14/32 at Mthatha (formerly Umtata) Airport in the Eastern Cape. Both the Mthatha Airport runway and Terminal building upgrade projects form part of the wider King Sabata Dalindyebo Presidential Intervention Project led by the National Department of Transport and implemented by the Eastern Cape Department of Transport.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced global passenger traffic results for April showing a 3.2% increase in demand over April 2012. On the back of strong economic growth, the emerging markets, Africa in particular, are continuing to lead air travel growth, with all regions reporting year-over-year gains.
AfricaWest Cargo Airlines (FK) has announced the addition of a Boeing 737-300F with two ATR72Fs set to join its fleet in June and October respectively. The cargo operator intends to use the aircraft as part of its plans to expand throughout Africa during 2013 and 2014.
Following its granting of rights to serve the city, Kenya Airways (KQ) has outlined its tentative timetable to Blantyre, Malawi which it plans to connect Nairobi with via a 3x weekly Embraer E190 operated flight, set to début from August 2.
On the back of a recent announcement by Nigeria's Arik Air (W3) that it was keen to launch direct Lagos - São Paulo flights by August of this year, so Brazil's GOL Transportes Aéreos (G3) has announced that it is now "studying the possibility" of opening a new route between Brazil and Nigeria.
SA Express (XZ) has announced a tentative resumption of its flights to Lubumbashi on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays following an announcement by the Congolese airport's authority, Regie des Voies Aériennes (RVA), that Luano International Airport's runway 07/25 would not be closed entirely during rehabilitation works.
Reports out of Ghana claim that Fly540 Ghana (5G) has at last been tentatively granted traffic rights to Nigeria following the intervention of the Ghanaian Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
Marlene Manave, the CEO of LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM) has announced ambitious route expansion plans that will see the Mozambican carrier serving all Southern African Development Community (SADC) capitals by 2017 with Brazilian flights to follow.