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May 17 - A Saudi Arabian Airlines plane had to make an emergency landing after the pilot discovered smoke in the cockpit, it was learnt. The plane, carrying 79 passengers and crew, was forced to go back to Sharourah in the southern Najran province 18 minutes after take-off. “All passengers and members of the crew disembarked safely while a female passenger was treated for a nervous breakdown. She was…
May 17 - Bahraini police are on the look-out for a Gulf Air passenger who faked a heart attack to get into Bahrain. The man identified as 29-year-old M.D. Khair ul Islam pretended to get chest pains and had to get off the Gulf Air flight headed to Bangladesh from Cyprus when it landed in Bahrain for refuelling. The man pretended to throw up blood so he was taken to the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) from where…
May 17- Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways announced on Sunday that their services to the UK are once again facing disruptions as the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud returned to affect UK airspace. At the moment, the Manchester Airport to which Emirates flies twice a day is closed while Newcastle and Glasgow airports will be closed from 9pm UAE time. Passengers travelling to Europe are being asked to check…
Manama, KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN – Qatar Airways has made its presence felt at this year’s Bahrain International Travel Expo (BITE) as Gold Sponsor of the annual event. The sixth edition of the regional travel show took place under the patronage of Her Excellency Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Culture and Information of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The three-day show attracted thousands…
May 16 - Sri Lanka has offered $55 million to buy back the 43.6 per cent stake that Emirates airline holds in the country’s national carrier SriLankan Airlines. Emirates had indicated earlier this week that it was willing to sell the stake for the right price. "Sri Lanka is going to buy it ... $55 million is the price we have indicated," P.B. Jayasundera, secretary of the finance ministry and the treasury, told…
May 16 - National carrier Tunisair announced net profits of 60 million dinars (MTD) in 2009, compared with 33 MTD in 2008. Speaking about the results, the airline’s CEO Nabil Chettaoui said that the disruption of air traffic resulting from the Icelandic volcanic ash clouds caused 18,000 travellers to cancel their trips, which represented a 5-MTD shortfall in earnings. Despite that, the earnings are an…
May 15 - Qatar Airways is increasing flights and capacity despite the depressing economic scenario, said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al-Baker on Friday. Al-Baker was talking to reporters at the Bahrain International Travel Expo (BITE 2010), pointing out that the economic downturn has opened up several venues for Qatar Airways. "When there is an economic crisis there is an opportunity and…
May 15 - Saudi Arabian Airlines will receive the promised Airbus A330 aircraft, the first of eight ordered by the carrier next week in a bid to update its fleet with 70 new airbus and Boeing aircraft. “The A330 has 36 seats in the horizon class and 262 in the hospitality class and will serve as an additional boost to the company’s potential to implement its current and future marketing and operating plans,” Saudi…
May 14 - Emirates Airline announced yesterday the launching of its flights to Prague in six weeks. The service will start from July 1 and will be served by an Airbus A330-200 aircraft with 27 seats in Business Class and 251 in Economy. "Prague is one of six new routes Emirates has announced so far for 2010. Not only is this a new route, but for us it is a new part of Europe. We have been keen to fly to the…
May 14 - Etihad Airways will no longer provide accommodation allowance to new staff choosing to live outside Abu Dhabi, a media report said on Thursday. The new policy gives the staff a grace period of 12 months to move to the UAE capital, was conveyed to them by the Vice President of facilities, Frank Dwyer. The move is expected to affect the 8,500 people working for the airline who live in Dubai at the…
May 14 - Etihad Airways signed a codeshare agreement with Olympic Air that will allow passengers to Greece easy access to Romania and Bulgaria for the first time. The new deal comes into effect on Tuesday May 18. According to the agreement, Etihad will place its two-letter 'EY' code on services operated by Olympic Air between Athens and Rhodes and Thessaloniki in Greece, the Romanian capital Bucharest, and…
May 14 - Kuwaiti carrier Jazeera Airways launched its flight between Kuwait and Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday. The inaugural flight left from Kuwait International Airport to the first Pakistani destination, Lahore. Speaking on the Occasion, the airline’s CEO Stefan Pichler said: "In keeping with Jazeera Airways’ vision to expand our regional network, we are very pleased to inaugurate our latest non-stop route to…
May 13-The Emirates group reported a record 248 per cent jump in its net profit for the year 2009-10, it was learnt on Thursday. The 2009-10 Annual Report of the Emirates Group - comprising Emirates Airline, Dnata and their subsidiary companies – was released on Wednesday at a news conference. According to details, the group’s net profit increased to Dh4.2 billion for the financial year ended March 31, 2010.…
May 13- Emirates Airline may order more aircrafts at the upcoming Farnborough Airshow, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group. “In eight weeks’ time, we will make an announcement on this,” Shaikh Ahmad said. “We are talking to both the aircraft manufacturers and you will know then,” he added. The airline, which has 145 aircraft on the fleet, has 146 on firm…
May 13- Flydubai and Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) have signed an agreement that will allow travelers to collect their visas by email or phone. The service is an effort to make the visa acquisition process a tad easier, it was learnt. The service will be launched on a trial basis for three months starting from May 19. The airline will offer M-visa at no additional charge to passengers.…
May 13 - Iraq’s first private carrier, Alnaser Airlines began its daily flights from Dubai to Iraq last week and is running to its full capacity of 140 passengers. The airline is owned by an Iraqi national, Shaikh Hussain Al Khawam, who has collaborated with US-owned FK Gryphon Airlines. The flight’s first stop was Kuwait, which was attacked by Iraq in 1991. "We wanted Kuwait to be the first [stop], to break…
May 11- The impending British Airways (BA) strike will affect the airline’s passengers in the Gulf as the airline’s cabin crew has announced four new periods of strike in May and June. In fact, over the weekend, 81 per cent of BA crew voted against the latest offer made by the airline and Unite, the cabin crew union, and has announced that there will be five-day periods of industrial inaction in May, which is the…
May 12 - Budget carrier Flydubai announced on Tuesday that it will start its first route to India from June, a good 10 months after the flights to the country were first scheduled to operate. Flights to Lucknow will start from June 2 and Flydubai is looking to operate more routes to India. Flights to Lucknow, Coimbatore and Chandigarh were due to begin last July but were postponed owing to operational issues.…
