All Middle East articles
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NewsChallenge Group to be first European operator of IAI-converted 777-300ER freighter
Cargo specialist Challenge Group is intending to be the first European operator of converted Boeing 777-300ER freighters, through the company’s Maltese operation. Challenge Group has disclosed that it will lease another pair of the twinjets – designated as the 777-300ERSF – through an agreement with Irish-based lessor AerCap. The 777-300ERSF ...
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NewsEl Al controlling shareholder raises stake after buoyant stock performance
Israeli flag-carrier El Al’s controlling shareholder, Eli Rozenberg, has exercised stock options, taking his interest in the airline to 49.46%. El Al’s share price has surged – more than doubling since mid-June last year – following a robust financial performance. The airline has benefited strongly from depleted competition as rival ...
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NewsEmirates expands SkyCargo 747 freighter fleet to six to address capacity demand
Middle Eastern carrier Emirates’ SkyCargo division has taken its Boeing 747 freighter fleet to six, as the company continues to weigh its future cargo aircraft options. Emirates says it has reached a “multi-year lease” agreement with Bulgarian-based Compass Air Cargo, which operates 747-400 freighters as well as 737 cargo jets. ...
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NewsIsrael’s Arkia chartering A330neo for New York flights
Israeli leisure carrier Arkia has indicated that it will use Airbus A330neo twinjets on new services between Tel Aviv and New York JFK. The airline has listed a batch of flights on the route which, it says, will be operated by a chartered aircraft. Arkia identifies the aircraft type as ...
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NewsRiyadh Air set to receive leased 787-9 for training role
Saudi start-up Riyadh Air will soon receive a leased Boeing 787-9 that it will use for training purposes and as a ’technical spare’.
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NewsLessor DAE to expand fleet through Nordic Aviation Capital acquisition
Middle Eastern lessor Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has agreed to acquire Nordic Aviation Capital, whose fleet includes over 250 aircraft. The agreement – under which DAE will take the entirety of Nordic’s share capital – will expand the Dubai-based company’s fleet to some 750 owned, managed or committed airframes. Nordic specialises ...
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NewsEmirates to put A350s on Gulf routes including short Bahrain sector
Middle Eastern carrier Emirates is to place Airbus A350s to the Gulf states of Bahrain and Kuwait, meaning it will serve one of the airline’s shortest routes. It will operate both services from Dubai beginning on 8 January. The Dubai-Bahrain sector is just 260nm and has a flight time of ...
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NewsUSA clears big missile sales to Egypt, Morocco
The US government has cleared nearly $1 billion in potential sales of air-launched weapons to Egypt and Morocco.
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NewsUS Navy Super Hornet shot down over Red Sea in apparent friendly fire incident
Two US naval aviators safely ejected from their Boeing F/A-18F over the Red Sea after the jet was mistakenly targeted by one of the guided missile ships escorting the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman.
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NewsPegasus signs for up to 200 Boeing 737 Max 10s
Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines has placed a firm order for 100 Boeing 737 Max 10s, with options for up to a further 100 of the type.
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NewsIraqi civil aviation regulator still facing ‘challenges’ in oversight resources
Iraq’s civil aviation regulator has postponed a planned on-site assessment by European safety authorities until at least the third quarter of next year. The country’s flag-carrier, Iraqi Airways, remains on the European Commission blacklist to which it was added in December 2015. Iraqi Airways has been striving to secure the ...
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NewsInsitu opens Abu Dhabi UAS support and training centre
Insitu has opened a new centre of excellence within Abu Dhabi’s Tawazun Industrial Park, boosting its ability to support the United Arab Emirates’ use of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS).
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NewsIsrair negotiates purchase of A320 on lease
Israir Group is negotiating the purchase of an Airbus A320 from one of its lessors, in exchange for an extension of the lease on the twinjet. The Israeli company states that the discussions have led to a draft agreement under which Israir would pay around $16.5 million for the aircraft ...
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NewsBahrain picks H145 for law-enforcement missions
Bahrain is to acquire nine Airbus Helicopters H145s for law-enforcement and medical-services missions.
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NewsKuwait’s Jazeera to purchase older A320s operated on lease
Kuwaiti budget carrier Jazeera Airways is to purchase six older Airbus A320s which the airline currently operates on lease. Jazeera’s board states that it will fund the purchase from its own resources as well as loans from local banks. It values the transaction at KD55.57 million ($180.6 million). Jazeera chief ...
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NewsKuwait Airways becomes first operator of both A330neo variants
Kuwait Airways has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-900, becoming the first carrier to have both A330neo variants in its fleet. The carrier says its initial -900 is part of a batch of seven to be introduced under its delivery plan. Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the aircraft ...
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NewsIsrael strikes hit Syrian navy amid leadership uncertainty
The Israeli ministry of defence has confirmed it sank at least 15 Syrian naval vessels in the ports of Al-Bayda and Latakia as the region waits to see who will take control of the war-torn country’s new government.
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NewsUS Air Force strikes central Syria as Assad emerges in Moscow
The US Air Force has mounted air strikes in Syria as the nation’s fallen dictator Bashar al-Assad has emerged in Russia, and questions mount about Russia’s airpower foothold in the Middle East.
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NewsSyrian Il-76 disappears from flight tracking as ousted president defects to Russia
With a lightning advance of rebel fighters reaching Damascus, the country’s dictatorial president Bashar al-Assad fled the capital around the time a Syrian Air flight originating in Damascus disappeared from tracking over the rebel-controlled city of Homs.
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NewsQatar broadens defence partnership with the UK, including pilot training
Qatar and the UK have broadened their defence partnership, with new initiatives including “extending and expanding collaboration and knowledge sharing across the joint UK-Qatar [Eurofighter] Typhoon and [BAE Systems] Hawk aircraft squadrons”.