• The African Aviation Tribune •

Sunday, February 24, 2013

■ NAMIBIA: NAC to launch "FlyWindhoek" initiative aimed at luring more traffic to Hosea Kutako International Airport.

The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) is in the process of setting up its formal air service development initiative dubbed "FlyWindhoek", aimed at boosting passenger traffic at Windhoek's Hosea Kutako International Airport by bringing in more international tour operators and scheduled and charter airlines.

As previously reported by The African Aviation Tribune, MEX-Moçambique Expresso (MXE), the domestic and regional subsidiary of LAM Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM), is set to receive the first of two Embraer ERJ145s (MSN 145.266 | C9-MEX).

Société de Gestion et d'Exploitation de l'Aéroport de Conakry (Conakry Airport Authority - SOGEAC) the Guinean state enterprise charged with managing Conakry Gbessia International Airport, is to embark on the second phase of renovations at the airport following the completion of Phase I, started in 2009.

■ ZIMBABWE: Former head of Zimbabwean cricket board, Osias Bvute, named new chairman of Air Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean Transport, Communication and Infrastructural Development Minister, Nicholas Goche, has appointed a new board tasked with turning around bankrupt national carrier, Air Zimbabwe (UM) with the former head of the Zimbabwean cricket board, Osias Bvute, named as Chairman of the board.

Puma Energy Co. today commissioned a USD3million (BWP27million) aviation fuelling facility at Maun International Airport, northern Botswana. The airport serves as the country's primary gateway to the Okavango Delta and the Moremi Game Reserve.

Controversial Zimbabwean diamond outfit, Mbada Diamonds, has handed over a USD500'000 office block to the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ), of which one of the buildings will be used to help establish an aviation training academy.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines(KL) will, from 5 April, boost its frequency on its Amsterdam to Entebbe, Uganda via Kigali, Rwanda route from 6x weekly, to a daily service with the introduction of a Tuesday (Day 2) service.

Air Méditerranée (ML) has continued with its push into Africa with the announcement of two new African routes to be served from April and June respectively. Effective 3 April, French carrier will start a 1x weekly Marseille - Dakar, Senegal service while from 21 June until 6 September, a seasonal 1x weekly Montpellier - Oran, Algeria service will be launched.

In yet another case of a deadbeat Tanzanian airline not paying its bills, national carrier, Air Tanzania (TC), who was threatened with the auction of its headquarters, Air Tanzania House, after it failed to settle a debt of over USD700'000 (TZS1.1billion) owed to Leisure Tours & Holidays Limited for car rentals, has allegedly obstructed the court ordered evaluation of their building.

■ GHANA: Government once more looking to partner private sector in launching new national carrier. Fifth time lucky?

Following the successful conclusion of feasibility studies, Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama says the Ghanaian government is to partner the private sector under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative in the establishment of a new national airline before year end.

AirlineRoute reports that, as per the 21FEB13 GDS timetable and inventory display, Air Mauritius (MK), during the month of September 2013, is to adjust its operational aircraft in service to India and Hong Kong.

Azerbaijan Airlines (J2) has announced it will operate two one-off charter flights from Baku to Egypt and Morocco respectively, in connection with the Novruz holiday, a traditional Iranian holiday which celebrates the New Year, and the coming of Spring.

Kenya Airways (KQ) will launch 3x weekly Nairobi, Kenya to Livingstone Zambia and on to Harare, Zimbabwe flights effective 2 June until 25 October. The route will operate with an Embraer E190 jet.

As was speculated about last year, Algeria's Tassili Airlines (SF) will, at long last, launch its first scheduled domestic flights to eleven destinations beginning 4 March, in what marks Algeria's first steps towards the deregulation of its airspace.

► GABON: Nationale Regionale Transport dominates domestic market in 2012 says AdL.

Gabon's Nationale Regionale Transport (NRG) has come out Gabon's most dominant domestic carrier for the year 2012, according to statistics released by L’aéroport de Libreville (Libreville Airport - AdL). Nationale saw a 7% increase in passengers carried on 2011.

Qatar Airways (QR) will from 31 March adjust its capacity on its Doha – Johannesburg – Cape Town route and its Doha – Johannesburg – Maputo route.

The signing of a new Bilateral Air Transport Agreement (BASA) between Ethiopia and Spain has reignited hopes of Ethiopian Airlines (ET) finally launching its currently shelved Madrid route plans.

The BASA was signed yesterday in Addis Ababa by the Spanish Ambassador to Ethiopia Miguel Angel Fernandez Palacios Martinez, and the ECAA's Director-General, Colonel Wesenyeleh Hunegnaw.

As they had previously threatened, civil servants in Malawi have gone on strike over payrise demands, thus bringing the country to a virtual standstill with Lilongwe's Kamuzu International Airport, and later Blantyre's Chileka International Airport, having being forced to close.

AirlineRoute reports that Ethiopian Airlines (ET) will from June 2013 adjust its operations to West Africa with numerous equipment and frequency changes to come into effect.

South African Airways (SAA) acting board chairman Ms. Duduzile Myeni claims that the airline's latest turnaround plan, its ninth in 13 years, set to be presented on either March 28 or 2 April, will be "cutting edge" and will be more successful than its eight predecessors because it has been developed and "owned by our own people".

Rwanda and The Netherlands, on Wednesday 6 February, signed a Bilateral Air Services Agreement following a visit to Kigali by Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade & Development Cooperation, Lilianne Ploumen. In typically wooden diplomatic language, no explicit details about the contents of the BASA were revealed. The agreement, signed on behalf of Rwanda by Minister of Infrastructure, Albert Nsengiyumva, now accommodates "both countries’ current requirements and wishes" and formalizes the air connection between the two countries.

Mozambique's air traffic control communications network, under the control of Aeroportos de Moçambique (AdM), is to be ungraded with a VSATPlus 3 satellite communications network following the signing of a multi-phase contract between GECI, a worldwide high technology, engineering, E&M support and consulting group, and PolarSat Inc, a manufacturer of full mesh hubless VSAT modem technology.

Egyptian LCC, Air Cairo (SM) has announced the launch of new services between Egypt and Libya effective 1 March 2013. Alexandria - Tripoli will launch with two weekly flights, while Assuit - Tripoli will launch with a 1x weekly flight.

Italian carrier, Alitalia (AZ), is mulling the resumption of operations from Rome Fiumicino to Johannesburg, South Africa this September as part of the reorganization of its long haul route network. According to Alitalia, Johannesburg has become a "highly requested intercontinental destination".

flydubai (FZ), the Dubai based LCC, has announced operations to Juba, the capital city of South Sudan. Commencing 21 April 2013, flights will operate 4x a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays using a Boeing 737-800 between Dubai Terminal 2 and Juba Airport.

Eritrea's Nasair (UE) launched twice weekly flights from Asmara to the city of Aden in Yemen using an Airbus A320 on 2 February reports out of Yemen state.

Egyptian airline Nile Air (NP) has launched a new route between Alexandria and Kuwait City effective 14 February, according to Kuwait's General Directorate of Civil Aviation. The Head of the Flight Scheduling department at the Kuwaiti Aviation Authority, Emad Al-Sabti, said that Nile Air would start operating the new route twice-a-week.

► SOUTH AFRICA: See Pic of Air Zimbabwe's Airbus A320 in Johannesburg for maintenance checks.

One of Air Zimbabwe's two Airbus A320s (Z-WPM) has been spotted at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport undergoing pre-entry-into-service checks. The aircraft is sporting a half finished livery (to put it mildly).

Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ghanaian government last year, China Airports Construction Corporation (CACC) is set to begin construction of Accra's new International Airport, to be situated near Prampram in Dangbe-East District, near Accra. The move comes after CACC successfully concluded a feasibility study for the conceptual design for the new airport.

Luxembourg's Cargolux (CV) has announced that it is to add Port Harcourt in Nigeria as a new destination on its African network. The inaugural service, CV7122, will be operated on 5 March 2013 with Cargolux’s Boeing 747 freighter. (Editor's note - whether this is the 747-8 or 747-400F is unclear).

Contrary to the old adage that "No news is good news", the silence emanating from Windhoek regarding Air Namibia's (SW) new business plan, pitched to its sole shareholder, the Namibian Government, late last week, is starting to unsettle players in Namibia's tourism industry, already hit by the Eurozone crisis.

SA Airlink (4Z) will enhance its Kruger Mpumalanga - Livingstone, Zambia service with the introduction of Embraer ERJ 135 jets onto the route from 22 March 2013.

►► NIGERIA: AeroContractors to add "several" Dash 8-400s; to possibly retire B737-500s?

[UPDATE 18 FEBRUARY] CH-Aviation writes that Nigeria's Aero Contractors (AJ), also known as Aero, have announced plans to add several Bombardier Dash 8-400s to their fleet with an ex-Flybe (BE) Q400 (MSN 4079 | 5N- BPU) currently being painted for Aero at Norwich Airport in the UK.

Equato-Guinean carrier Cronos Airlines (C8) is set to take delivery of its first Airbus A320 (MSN 533 | YL-LCL) wet leased from Latvia ad-hoc charter specialists, smartLynx Airlines (6Y).

South Africa's National Transport Movement trade union has ended its 28 day strike but said it will seek an order from the South African Labour Court this week to compel South African Airways (SA) to grant it recognition rights.

Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), the current concessioner for Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2), has won a court case against the Nigerian Ministry of Aviation and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over the concession of the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) terminal.

Work on the expansion of airport infrastructure and facilities at Pemba, a port and the capital of Cabo Delgado province in north eastern Mozambique, has commenced with completion expected in six months.

The Ugandan Government has been holding talks with the Aga Khan Foundation, the 100% shareholder for Meridiana Africa Airlines (Uganda) Limited, better known as Air Uganda (U7), over a possible buy in to the carrier. Government's move comes as calls for the establishment of a new reliable national carrier to replace that of the defunct Uganda Airlines (QU), grow louder as biting global oil prices and a lack of domestic competition increasingly push the cost of Ugandan exports beyond being internationally competitive.

AirlineRoute reports that Egyptair (MS) is to start daily flights from Cairo to Abidjan via Accra with effect from 1 June 2013. In addition, the Star Alliance carrier will also boost capacity to Kano, Nigeria and Tunis also effective 1 June.

■ TANZANIA: Fastjet claims parking, landing fees owed to TAA were run up by Don Smith's Fly540.

Fastjet (FN), the controversy-prone Tanzanian based LCC, has issued yet another statement refuting as "inaccurate" recent allegations in the Tanzanian press that it now owes the Tanzanian Airports Authority (TAA) TSh570'668'242.00 and USD95'360 in outstanding landing and parking charges.

Zambian cargo and passenger air charter service, Stabo Air, has launched a 1x weekly (Day 6) Boeing 757 operated cargo service between Dakar, Conakry and Banjul.

[UPDATE 17 FEBRUARY] American megacarrier United Airlines (UA) is to start a 5x weekly service between Houston, Texas and the Nigerian city of Lagos using its soon-to-be delivered Boeing 787 Dreamliner, effective 7 January 2013.

An ongoing jet fuel crisis caused by supply problems in Togo and exacerbated by lack of reserve at the national oil refinery in Tema, has compelled Ghana's domestic operators to suspend flights for the next three days (Sunday included), say reports out of Accra.

The Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has released its preliminary report on the Dana Air 9J-992 Accident which claimed over 160 lives in June last year, in addition to several other air accident enquiries dating back almost 10 years.

In preparation for the upcoming XXth United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly to be held in Victoria Falls in August this year, Emirates (EK) has applied to the Zambian Department of Civil Aviation for traffic rights to serve Livingstone directly.

► COTE D'IVOIRE: (Pic) Air Cote d'Ivoire to launch domestic network in coming months following arrival of E170 Jet.

Air Côte d'Ivoire (HF) has taken delivery of its Embraer 170 (MSN 307 | F-HBXH) wet-leased from Air France thereby supplementing the carrier's current fleet of two Airbus A319s.

Swaziland's Sikhuphe International Airport Terminal due to open in 2013.

Swaziland's controversial multi-million dollar Sikhuphe International Airport is set to start operations early next year (2013) according to the Principal Secretary in the Swazi Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Bertram Stewart.

Unnamed military sources in Ethiopia state that the country has pioneered its own indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or drone. The UAVs have allegedly already performed a geophysical survey of Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam, a massive hydroelectric installation under construction on the Blue Nile.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Friday, February 22, 2013

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Monday, February 18, 2013

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Swaziland's Sikhuphe International Airport Terminal due to open in 2013.