#Aviation

Dubai partners with Magzter to introduce world’s first ‘smart reading airport’

Customers have free access to over 7,000 titles

Ban on entry of foreigners into Kuwait remains in effect – civil aviation authority

The ban was imposed by the country on February 7 as part of measures to curb the spike in the number of coronavirus cases

Saudi’s AlUla airport receives inaugural flynas flight from Riyadh

Flynas will operate two weekly flights between Riyadh and AlUla on Wednesdays and Saturdays

Flydubai tirana

Flydubai to begin twice weekly flights to new destination in Europe

It is the first UAE-based airline to offer direct flights between Dubai and Tirana

Emirates Dubai

Emirates suspends flights between Dubai and Nigeria, South Africa

Those who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days are not allowed entry into the UAE, including connecting to onwards flights through Dubai

Air Seychelles Dubai flights

Air Seychelles to begin weekly direct flights to Dubai this month

Travellers will not be required to quarantine upon arrival in Seychelles

Sharjah Airport

Sharjah Airport handled 4.2 million passengers in 2020, down 69%

Cargo traffic through the airport reached 99,600 tons, and the airport achieved an increase in the volume of non-scheduled flights by 635.9 per cent year-on-year

Etihad Abu Dhabi Covid-19

UAE’s Etihad extends global Covid-19 insurance until September 30, 2021

Passengers are covered for up to EUR150,000 of medical costs in case of a positive diagnosis 31 days from the date of travel

Etihad

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad reports $1.7bn loss for 2020, passenger traffic down 76%

The airline reported $1.2bn in passenger revenues in 2020, down by 74 per cent from $4.8bn the previous year

Etihad Hub71

Etihad to become official partner of Abu Dhabi’s tech startup venture Hub71

Hub71, is a flagship initiative of Ghadan 21, Abu Dhabi’s accelerator programme for business in the capital

Emirates Dubai Khartoum

Emirates to operate daily flights between Dubai and Sudan’s capital Khartoum

The daily flights will commence from March 9, 2021

Astral Aviation Sharjah

Kenyan cargo airline, Astral Aviation, begins flights to Sharjah

There will be two flights per week from Nairobi in Kenya to Sharjah using Boeing 767 aircraft

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to process 100% cash refunds within a week of cancellation

The airline also offers customers the option to refund 120 per cent of the original fare in airline credit

Emirates Dubai Health Authority

Dubai Health Authority to share Covid-19 medical records with Emirates

The two entities signed an MoU to share, store and verify passenger health information related to Covid-19 infections, testing and vaccination

Cluj-Napoka

Flydubai to launch flights to Romania’s Cluj-Napoka from March

With the start of flights to Cluj-Napoka, the carrier will serve the Romanian market with a total of 16 weekly flights

Boeing 777 P4000

No aircraft with Boeing 777 PW4000 engines operating in UAE airspace – GCAA

The aviation regulator added that the country does not have any UAE registered aircraft operating with the PW4000 engines

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise

Dubai Aerospace leases 7 Airbus A321neo aircraft to Indian carrier IndiGo

The aircraft will be delivered in 2021

Dubai Airport facial recognition technology

Dubai airport launches facial recognition technology to fast-track immigration process

Deployed at 122 smart gates at arrival and departure terminals, pre-registration is required to avail the service

IATA travel pass etihad

UAE’s Etihad to begin trials for IATA Travel Pass on select routes in March – official

Etihad recently became the first airline in the world with 100 per cent of its operating pilots and cabin crew vaccinated

Air Arabia

Air Arabia Egypt to launch direct flights from Cairo to Muscat

The carrier will launch a twice-weekly service between Cairo to Muscat, starting March 11, 2021

Kuwait adds 33 countries, including UAE, US to Covid-19 ‘high-risk’ list – reports

On Sunday, Kuwait extended its entry ban on foreign nationals indefinitely

Saudi opens new Arar airport with the capacity to serve one million passengers annually

The project, built at a cost of SAR382m, has the capacity to handle more than 10,000 flights per year

Etihad Gulf Air

UAE’s Etihad and Bahrain’s Gulf Air to expand codeshare agreement

By June 2021, Etihad and Gulf Air will be able to offer up to an additional 30 combined destinations beyond the Abu Dhabi and Bahrain hubs

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi

UAE low cost carrier Air Arabia resumes flights to Egypt’s Luxor

Twice weekly flights from Sharjah, operated using an Airbus A320 aircraft, will resume from February 23

Mandatory hotel quarantine in Kuwait for all incoming passengers to begin next week

The costs for the hotel quarantine will have to be borne by the passengers

Oman Air abandons plan to expand fleet as pandemic poses risks

The carrier will target a fleet of 36 planes, down from the current 50

Emirates

Emirates suspends flights from Nigeria to Dubai until February 28

However, Emirates flights from Dubai to Lagos and Abuja will continue to operate as per the normal schedule

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to begin flights to new destination in Egypt this month

One way fares from Abu Dhabi to Alexandria begin from Dhs182

Denmark UAE flights

Denmark lifts ban on flights from UAE

All passengers must present a negative Covid-test no older than 24 hours before boarding a flight to Denmark

Emirates mulls swapping a third of Boeing 777X orders to 787

The carrier is seeking to switch between 30 and 40 of its 115 commitments for the 777X to the Dreamliner as it calibrates fleet plans