During a state visit to Vietnam at the end of August, Seychellois President, Mr James Michel, and Vietnam's President, Mr Truong Tan Sang, witnessed the signing of five Memoranda of Understanding involving 
bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Seychelles and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam of which one pertained to a Bilateral Air Services Agreement.
new Low Cost Carrier will commence operations in Nigeria in 2014 with former Camair-Co (QC) CEO, Alex Van Elk, one of the project's coordinators. According to Mr Van Elk, the carrier is a joint partnership between Nigerian and European investors.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has reportedly chosen Air France (AF) as its strategic partner in its planned new national carrier to replace the defunct LAC Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (4V) following months of speculation.
Tanzania's Precision Air (PW) has confirmed sustaining a hefty loss of TZS30.4billion (USD18.84million) for its most recent 2012/13 Financial Year ended March 31, 2013. In their statement, the the Board of Directors of Precision Air Services Plc said that while total revenues had grown by 8.2% on the previous years figures to TZS176.4billion (USD109.3million), the loss was attributable to rising fuel, maintenance and equipment costs, rising personnel expenditure and an unfavourable USD exchange rate also taking its toll.
The Libyan Ministry of Defense has taken redelivery of an Airbus A340-300 (MCN 151 | 5A-ONE) following an overhaul and a refit in Toulouse, France. The aircraft was made famous as the private jet of deposed Libyan strongman Muammur Gaddafi prior to his death in 2011.
Air Seychelles (HM) has announced a strong second quarter (Q2) and half-year financial performance, reflecting continued solid growth and success in its turnaround strategy. Overall, during the quarter, the Seychellois national carrier posted total revenues of USD26.03 million (up from USD10.87million in 2012), a significant increase of 139%. Total revenues for the first half of 2013 reached USD42.05million (2012: USD18.76million), up by 124%.
Turkish Airlines (TK) will effect various changes to its African route network over the coming weeks with flights Algiers to be increased from daily to 11x weekly with effect from September 18 until October 26. Additionally, AirlineRoute writes that the Entebbe via Kigali route will see a 6th weekly flight from October 27 with the frequency to go daily come November 14. The airline is also expected to announce its the launch of 3x weekly flights to its 4th Libyan destination, Tobruk, in mid October.
Madagascar Trans Air, a private small-prop based Malagasy operator, has opened its own airport near the western town of Bekopaka. The facility will help stimulate local tourism trade with the capital, Antananarivo, now just 75minutes away and Morondava now only 30 minutes away by air.
The State of Qatar, represented by the Qatari Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) and the Republic of Uganda have revised their previous Bilateral Air Services Agreement with the
recent signing of an Open Skies treaty effectively granting Qatar Airways (QR) unlimited frequencies (both passenger and cargo) to any destination in the Central African country. The agreement was signed in the Qatari capital, Doha, on August 26.
In its July pax & cargo figures, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has noted that overall global demand for air travel recorded another solid month of growth in July. Overall revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) were up 5.0% compared to July 2012. All regions were up year-on-year, with emerging markets recording the strongest increases with African airline's pax figures growing 7.5% on July 2012. Overall global air cargo traffic results for July showing a continuation of the modest improvement trend experienced in June though African airlines faired for the worse with a 4.9% contraction in July year-on-year.
British Airways (BA) has outlined its initial Winter 2013/14 schedule with tentative plans to axe its thrice weekly Lusaka, Zambia flights, AirlineRoute has reported. On a more positive note, Accra, Ghana will see an additional 3 weekly services being added . All changes are effective October 27.
In line with key-objectives outlined in the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) Vision 2020 which include the establishment of a safe, efficient and affordable air transport system for the region, a regional seminar on aviation security with emphasis on anti-terrorism was held in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, from August 27-29.
Kenyan ground-handling firm, Tradewinds Aviation Services (TAS), has
announced that its stations at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Mombasa Moi International Airport have successfully passed their respective IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO).
Ghana's Antrak Air (O4) has assured the travelling public that both its services and aircraft are safe following an incident on August 16 involving one of its two ATR72-500s, (MCN 809 | EC-KUL) being forced to shutdown its left-hand engine while on climb out of Tamale (Ghana), enroute to Accra.
Libyan Ministry of Transport plans to close Tripoli International Airport for a three-month long period from October to December in order to effect a much-needed runway upgrade project, have been put on hold after Tripoli Mitiga Airport's handling capacity was found to be inadequate.
In a departure from the orthodox LCC business model, fastjet (FN) has signed an agreement with freight specialists, BidAir, in which it will carry belly-hold cargo on its fleet of Airbus A319s. According to the LCC, it intends to carry "dry" cargo such as post and newspapers.
With Summer on hand in the Southern Hemisphere, South African Airways (SA) has announced its daily outbound Johannesburg - New York JFK service will once more incorporate a stopover in Dakar, Senegal with effect from October 27. The inbound remains direct.
The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has announced a ZAR991million (USD96.97million) profit, buoyed by a 16% rise in its revenue for its 2012/13 Financial Year to ZAR6.66billion (USD652.28million). This comes as seven out of the country's nine major airports recorded a slump in passenger traffic on the previous year's figures with aircraft landings also declining by 6% to 271'250, down from 272'320 in 2012.
Spanish carrier Iberia (IB) has confirmed that Luanda, Angola will become its first international route to be served by its A330-300 exclusively, with effect from October 27. Iberia currently has four of the type in service. The wide-bodied, long-haul aircraft connects the capital cities of Spain and Angola twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.