All Middle East news – Page 57
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News
El Al granted delivery deferral for final 787
Israeli flag-carrier El Al has been granted a deferral to the end of November for delivery of its final Boeing 787, after the air transport crisis interrupted its fleet renewal schedule. It has signed agreements for a $122 million financing of the 787-8 in February – based on a JOLCO ...
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News
El Al loss quadruples over first half
Israeli flag-carrier El Al’s first-half pre-tax loss has nearly quadrupled, to $270 million, compared with last year’s interim figure. El Al also posted a net loss of $244 million in contrast with the previous half-year deficit of $55 million. Its revenues for the six months to 30 June halved to ...
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News
Kuwaiti lessor ALAFCO defers Airbus deliveries
Kuwaiti lessor ALAFCO has reached an agreement with Airbus to defer aircraft deliveries, in the wake of the air transport downturn. ALAFCO has 75 Airbus A320neos on order, of which it has received 33. It has also yet to take delivery of any of its 10 A321neos. The lessor says ...
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News
Ukrainian 737 recorders indicate crew survived initial missile strike
Flight recorders from the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 shot down over Tehran captured 19s of information after the first missile strike, and revealed discussions in the cockpit on the state of the stricken aircraft. Both the cockpit-voice and flight-data recorder were cut off after 19s and did not register ...
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News
UAE sees Israeli peace deal making it ‘easier’ to buy F-35
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) sees broad benefits flowing from its recent peace deal with Israel, including an easier path to buying the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, as well as other US-made military products.
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News
Airbus Helicopters wins deal with Saudi Arabia’s THC for 10 H125s
Saudi Arabia’s The Helicopter Company (THC) is to expand its fleet with the acquisition of 10 Airbus Helicopters H125 light-singles.
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News
Iran ATR 72 suffered tail-strike after dual input during flare
Iranian investigators have disclosed that the captain of a landing Iran Air ATR 72-600 intervened to reduce descent rate during the flare, resulting in dual control inputs, but could not avert a hard touchdown. In the moments before the initial touchdown the aircraft was probably subjected to a downdraft, says ...
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News
Israel states opposition to Middle East F-35 sales
Israel has flatly stated its opposition to the sale of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters to the United Arab Emirates, despite the recent normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
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News
Emirates chief: Sustained social-distancing ‘economic catastrophe’ for airlines
The industry’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis rests squarely on a vaccine, as a sustained policy of social distancing would be an “economic catastrophe”, says Emirates Airline president Tim Clark. But he is “100% confident” that one will be found.
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News
Palestinian Airlines offers Fokker 50 fleet for sale
Palestinian Airlines has put up for sale its pair of Fokker 50 turboprops, but insists its operation is not closing down. The carrier commenced operations in mid-1997 with pilgrim transport to Jeddah. It subsequently established its base at Gaza airport which opened the following year, but Israeli forces destroyed the ...
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News
El Al chairman resigns for medical reasons
Israeli flag-carrier El Al’s chairman, Eli Defes, has stepped down from his post for medical reasons. El Al states that his decision is effective immediately. Defes took up the position of chairman at the beginning of June 2017, having been a director of the airline since November 2015. The carrier ...
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News
Clark stresses bailout urgency as Emirates passenger flights increase
Emirates passenger flights now account for approximately half the airline’s daily frequencies but a bailout from owner the Dubai government will be needed “sooner rather than later”, says airline president Tim Clark.
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News
Qatar Airways returns to London Gatwick
Qatar Airways will resume daily flights to London Gatwick on 20 August, expanding its UK network to include four airports. The Doha-based Oneworld carrier will deploy a Boeing 787 on the Gatwick route, configured with 22 business-class seats and 232 in the economy cabin. With the resumption of Gatwick service, ...
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News
Israel-UAE to talk direct flights but airspace issues remain
Normalisation of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates opens the possibility of flights between the two countries – although a timeframe has yet to emerge and other complexities remain unresolved. The UAE and Israeli governments have jointly stated that tourism and “direct flights” will be among the ...
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News
Clark cautious on 777-9 certification as Emirates awaits schedule clarity
Emirates Airline president Tim Clark is not convinced Boeing is “out of the woods yet” with regards to the certification programme for the 777X, as he awaits definitive details on when deliveries will begin.
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News
Arkia poised to resume services after funding agreement with owners
Israeli leisure carrier Arkia’s backers have agreed to inject additional funds into the airline to enable it to restore operations. The agreement comes some five month after the airline halted almost all activity and furloughed over 500 personnel. Israeli trade union organisation Histadrut says the Nakash brothers, who own the ...
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News
Air Arabia dragged to half-year loss as second quarter revenues collapse
Air Arabia recorded a net loss of Dhs239 million ($65 million) in the second quarter as the pandemic virtually wiped out passenger revenues during the period and dragged the low-cost carrier into the red for the first-half.
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News
Senior air force figure takes over as head of Iran Air
Former deputy Iranian air force operations commander Alireza Barkhor has been named as the new chief of flag-carrier Iran Air. The Iranian transport ministry has confirmed Barkhor’s appointment. He previously held several senior military roles including commanding Isfahan’s Shahid Babaei air base. Barkhor succeeds Touraj Dehghani Zanganeh who is to ...
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News
Etihad starts network rebuild after ‘enormous challenges’ thwart early 2020 gains
Etihad’s strong start to 2020 was thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic as it now plots the reactivation of its network amid a further drive to reduce costs.
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Analysis
Trump administration’s relaxation of UAV export rules offers belated boon for US manufacturers
The Trump administration’s decision to modify its adherence to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is positive for American manufacturers of large unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), but comes after much ground has already been ceded to China. From the perspective of US defence firms, the MTCR is perhaps the most ...