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April 19- Qatar is delaying its plan to discontinue its visa on arrival rules for nationals of 33 countries. The Gulf State earlier this month announced new rules that were to take effect on May 1st, but the old system will remain in place for now. The new rules would require nationals of 33 countries to apply for a visa prior to arriving in Qatar. These countries include the UK, US and GCC expat…
Bahrain’s Gulf Air said Monday that it would give one free ticket to passengers who were stranded because of Iceland’s volcanic ash cloud. CEO Samer Majali said the ticket will be equal in value to the original ticket held by the passenger. “This is a very unusual situation, which is beyond our control and we fully understand how frustrating it is for our passengers.” Majali said. Gulf Air said it has…
April 19- The has announced the signing of an aircraft management agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Royal Jet, a luxury flight services company. According to the agreement, Royal Jet will manage the everyday operations of Al Habtoor's Embraer Lineage 1000 aircraft. Mohammad Al Habtoor, Chief Executive Officer of Al Habtoor Group and Shane O'Hare, President and CEO of Royal Jet signed the agreement. "In 2008, Royal…
April 19- Flydubai will launch its services to Kabul, Afghanistan and Luxor, Egypt, from May 17 and May 19 respectively. Flights to the Afghan capital will start from AED725 and will be five times per week, whereas flights to Luxor will be from AED350 and will be thrice a week. Speaking on the occasion, Ghaith al Ghaith, CEO of Flydubai, said: "It is great to be able to announce another two routes today. This…
April 19- Oman Air will launch its daily service from Muscat to Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) from May 2, it was learnt on Sunday. This will be Oman Air’s 34th international destination and the third in UAE, the other two being Abu Dhabi and UAE. Speaking on the occasion, Peter Hill, CEO, Oman Air, said: "Ras Al Khaimah is the 4th largest emirate in the UAE in terms of area and population and is a growing leisure…
April 19- Airfares are expected to increase by 20 per cent this summer, starting from mid-May, while the demand for air travel could increase by 10 per cent, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Sunday. A renewed interest in leisure travel, coupled with capacity cuts and rising fuel prices is expected to give the aviation sector that much-needed boost post 2009, which saw the industry incur…
April 19-Syrian Airlines has received its second delivery of the ATR 72-500 aircraft, a French carrier, which got to the Damascus International Airport on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, Syrian Air Director General Ghaidaa Abdullatif said the two aircrafts will be operational in a few days. Syrian Airlines is expecting 14 Airbus planes which will arrive subsequently. Abdullatif also said that the airline is…
April 19- Emirates Airline has lost a "significant amount of money” because of the cancellation of its flights to several European countries including the UK, the result of the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, said the airline’s president on Sunday. "About 30 of our aircrafts are grounded which represents about a fifth of our fleet. I would estimate that somewhere in the region of 20 per cent of airline…
April 19- Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways will launch its direct flight to Iraq from April 26, according to a press release released on Sunday. Given the fact that there has been a surge in air travel to Iraq largely due to the reconstruction in the country, Etihad plans to make use of that rising demand. Iraq Airways, the national airline of the country, has been slow to expand its services. "We expect to see…
April 18- Oman Air cancelled flights to the UK, France, and Germany on April 15 and 16, after the air traffic control authorities closed their airspace. The suspension of flights is the result of an ash cloud hovering over Europe, the result of a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Talking about the suspension, an Oman Air spokesperson said: "We are doing everything we can to ensure our booked and stranded…
April 18- Scores of Qatar Airways passengers remain stranded in Doha after Qatar Airways decided to ground all its flights to London. The cancellations are the result of an ash cloud lingering over Europe that developed soon after the volcanic eruption in Iceland on Wednesday. Sunil Menon, who works for Qatar’s travel industry, said that Doha-London flights of Qatar Airways were fully booked until at least…
April 17- The huge cloud of ash, the result of a volcanic eruption in Iceland has suspended the first commercial flight between Baghdad and London that was slated to take off after a 20-year gap, said Iraqi officials. The Iraqi Airways flight to the British capital, via Malmo in Sweden, would have been the first such journey since sanctions imposed by the UN after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait came…
April 17- Iceland’s volcanic eruption on Wednesday and the lingering ash cloud has caused airlines to lose as $1 billion in revenue given the suspension of all flights to Europe, said the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA). “The lost revenue for the industry could be in the hundreds of millions, possibly as high as $1 billion,” said Derek Sadubin, Chief Operating Officer (CEO), CAPA. According to…
Emirates Airline flights to the UK, scheduled to leave Dubai early on Friday morning, have been cancelled due to the continuing problems associated with the Icelandic volcano eruption. According to the airline’s website, Friday's flights from Dubai to London Heathrow, scheduled to leave at 2.30am, 7.45am and 9.50am, have been cancelled. Flights to London Gatwick, which were due to depart Dubai at 2.50am and 8am,…
April 16- The ash clouds from a volcanic eruption in Iceland has affected the flight schedules of several airlines across Saudi Arabia playing to European destinations. As the clouds of ash and smoke from the volcanic eruption in Iceland moved south, scores of airlines suspended their flights on Thursday, the biggest cancellation of its kind since 9/11. All flights in and out of the UK and several other European…
April 15- Kuwaiti budget carrier, Jazeera Airways announced its first quarter results yesterday which said that the airline was on time 93 per cent of the time. This makes Jazeera Airways one of the most punctual airlines in the world. The airline flies to to 22 destinations across the Middle East, West Asia, North Africa, Iran and Turkey, and operates a fleet of 11 Airbus A320s. Speaking on the occasion, CEO…
April 15- A Saudi Arabian airplane landed safely at Kuwait International Airport after a technical glitch caused a failure of the landing gear to open, said Airport Operations Director Essam Al-Zamil. The plane, said Al-Zamil, was carrying 104 passengers and flew for 50 minutes before it landed.
April 15- Etihad Airways has announced its partnership with the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) to launch co-branded visa credit and debit cards for the benefit of its frequent flyers. The features of the payment options will be unveiled at the time of the launch of the card, expected at the end of the second quarter. The agreement was signed by Chief Executive Officer ADCB, Ala'a Eraiqat, and CEO, Etihad…
