All Middle East articles – Page 50
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NewsWider economic recovery drives up jet-fuel costs for ailing airlines
Rising jet-fuel prices will make it harder for airlines to reach cash-positive positions in the coming months, according to industry body IATA.
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Airline BusinessAirline coronavirus recovery tracker: April 2021 update
Our regular examination of the latest global data for several key airline market indicators, including international and domestic travel restrictions, traffic and capacity in passenger and cargo markets, in-service and stored fleets, jet fuel costs, and share price trends for the world’s largest groups.
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NewsNew IATA chief insists all Covid-related travel measures should be temporary
New IATA director general Willie Walsh has called for all restrictions and constraints on international air travel to be removed as quickly as possible, as the trade body’s latest traffic data showed the continued catastrophic impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the airline industry.
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NewsEtihad Airways conducts first scheduled Israeli flight
Middle Eastern carrier Etihad Airways has carried out its first scheduled flight to Israel, following the diplomatic normalisation agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The Boeing 787-9 (A6-BLA) touched down on Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport’s runway 12 at about 12:20 after arriving from Abu Dhabi, via northern ...
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NewsIsrael welcomes G550 Oron for multi-surveillance conversion
Gulfstream has delivered the Israeli air force’s new G550-based “Oron” surveillance platform, which is due to enter operational use in 2023 following the installation of its mission equipment. The modified long-range business jet arrived in Israel on 4 April, following a ferry flight from Gulfstream’s production site in Georgia. ...
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NewsFlydubai fixes date for 737 Max re-introduction
Middle Eastern carrier Flydubai is intending to restart Boeing 737 Max flights on 8 April, following approval by United Arab Emirates regulators and updating of the fleet. Flydubai will operate the initial flight from Dubai to the Pakistani city of Sialkot, but the aircraft will subsequently be used for other ...
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NewsMajali returns as CEO of Royal Jordanian
Samer Majali is back as chief executive of Royal Jordanian Airlines, returning to a position he left more than 10 years ago.
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NewsWillie Walsh takes over as IATA chief
Describing his passion for the airline industry, Walsh notes that IATA’s work has never been more “critical… than during the Covid-19 crisis”.
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NewsQatar Airways to serve 140 destinations this summer
Qatar Airways plans to rapidly expand its network for the summer season to over 1,200 weekly flights and 140 destinations as it ramps up capacity into what it hopes is the tail end of the pandemic.
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AnalysisFrom record profits to Covid-19 devastation, de Juniac saw it all as IATA chief
In 2016, Alexandre de Juniac brought his French government and airline industry experience to a role that required diplomacy and a steady hand on the tiller. From 2020 onwards, unprecedented crisis-management skills were the order of the day.
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NewsAirports body predicts travel surge but warns of $94bn revenue loss in 2021
Airports industry body ACI World expects a “surge” in travel demand during the second half of 2021, but that global passenger numbers will still be down some 47.5% for the full year compared with pre-Covid levels.
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AnalysisEl Al remains financially burdened after year of heavy losses
El Al remained in a state of balance-sheet insolvency at the end of 2020, with total liabilities exceeding its total assets by $256 million. The airline’s current assets as of 31 December 2020 had fallen to $186 million from the previous end-of-year level of $486 million. But its current liabilities ...
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NewsEl Al unveils full-year losses of more than $530m
Israeli flag-carrier El Al has revealed the extent of the pandemic’s financial damage on the airline, turning in a full-year net loss of $531 million. El Al’s pre-tax loss reached $561 million. The airline’s revenues reached just $623 million for the year to 31 December 2020, a fall of 71%, ...
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NewsDid departure delays conspire to single-out shot-down 737?
One hazy aspect of last year’s fatal Iranian missile attack on a Boeing 737-800 centres on the circumstances through which the aircraft was singled out when other flights were also operating from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation, which investigated the 8 January attack on Ukraine International ...
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NewsIsrael sets out conditions for alternative El Al financing scheme
Israeli flag-carrier El Al has reached a conditional agreement with the government on an alternative funding scheme, after the airline spent several months trying to negotiate a state-backed loan from local banks. El Al and its Sun D’Or airline operation have detailed the financing pact under which the Israeli state ...
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NewsSaudia seals SR11.2bn funding for 787 and A320neo fleet expansion
Saudi Arabian flag-carrier Saudia has signed an SR11.2 billion ($3 billion) financing agreement which will partly cover the acquisition of 73 aircraft. The airline describes the aircraft as “previously announced” and comprising eight Boeing 787-10s, 35 A321neos – of which 15 are the long-range A321XLR – and 30 A320neos. Saudia ...
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NewsUIA 737 shootdown: Simulation supported air defence ‘misalignment’ theory
Judicial investigators carried out a simulation of the air defence system error which, according to an Iranian inquiry, led to the missile launch that destroyed a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 over Tehran. Two air defence units were placed at the same location as the one involved in the shootdown ...
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NewsExtent of initial missile damage to shot-down 737 remains unclear
Few details on the immediate effect of an Iranian surface-to-air missile strike that brought down a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 over Tehran have emerged in the investigators’ final analysis. Although the Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation has published the flight-data recorder traces from the Ukraine International Airlines jet, shot down on 8 ...
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NewsUkraine sharply criticises Iranian findings over 737 shootdown
Ukrainian authorities submitted dozens of comments to Iranian investigators, many highly critical, regarding multiple aspects of the inquiry into last year’s fatal missile attack on a Boeing 737-800 shortly after take-off from Tehran. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation has formally attributed the destruction of flight PS752 to the misidentification of ...
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NewsEmirates to deepen TAP Air Portugal codeshare
Middle East carrier Emirates is deepening its codeshare with Star Alliance carrier TAP Air Portugal under a fresh agreement.