A Boeing 707 cargo aircraft belonging to Sudan’s Azza Air crashed in the United Arab Emirates at Sharjah airport on Wednesday while landing, killing all six aboard. The airframe was originally delivered to Lufthansa on February 27, 1969. Since then it has also served with Condor, United Arab Emirates, Sudan Airways and Ibis Air Transport, as well as other carriers. … [Read more...] about MIDDLE EAST: Classic B707 crashes in Sharjah on landing

India’s recovery from the global economic slowdown is rapidly picking up pace, with domestic air freight growing in double digits year-on-year since May, compared with a contraction between October last year and March, according to data released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Overseas freight has also started growing marginally since August. The AAI expects local cargo movement to grow by 5 per cent in the year to March and overseas cargo by two per cent. The buoyant … [Read more...] about INDIA: Indian air cargo market picking up steam

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged the air transport industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to focus on key challenges of growth, including safety, cost control, liberalization and the environment. Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO, made the comments in a keynote address to the region’s leaders at the 42nd Annual General Meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Organization in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “The Middle East … [Read more...] about MIDDLE EAST: IATA sets broad Agenda for the Middle East

Bahrain’s Gulf Air is in talks with Airbus and Boeing over its plane orders and expects to make a decision by yearend, the airline’s CEO said recently. The struggling airline, which is fully owned by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, has 35 Airbus and 24 Boeing planes on order, but said in August it was reviewing its orders as the loss-making airline restructures. … [Read more...] about MIDDLE EAST: Troubled Gulf Air talks with Airbus, Boeing

Air India will begin a daily combined New York/Washington, DC, service linking Delhi and Kolkata from 1 December using B777LR aircraft. The Indian government reportedly is willing to provide the airline with US$1.1 billion in return for $650 million in cost cuts. The airline reported losses of US$875 million for its last fiscal year ending in March 2009 and is forecast to lose up to $1.06 billion in the current financial year. Air India currently operates daily non-stop flights to Mumbai and … [Read more...] about INDIA: Air India to launch daily NY/Washington service

A propeller-driven plane, dating back to the 1930s, crashed in the Philippines, killing four people recently. Officials say the DC-3 plane scraped the roofs of 14 houses in Manila before crashing into an abandoned warehouse and bursting into flames. Minutes after taking off from Manila airport, the pilot asked permission to make an emergency landing. The freight plane was heading towards Puerto Princesa City in Palawan province southwest of the capital, Manila airport security manager … [Read more...] about PHILIPPINES: DC-3 cargo plane crashes in Manila