Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo airport, Africa’s largest, was evacuated on Monday and passengers forced to wait for two hours to return after South African officials identified a suspect bag. Images of the deserted terminal were posted to social media while other photographs showed crowds of …
Read More »Deadliest plane crashes in Iran since 2003
Tehran, Iran | AFP | An Iranian passenger plane on a domestic flight crashed on Sunday into the country’s Zagros mountains, with all 66 people on board feared dead. Here is a recap of the deadliest plane crashes in Iran since 2003. – 2014 – On August 10, an Antonov …
Read More »Plane crashes in Iran killing all 66 aboard
Tehran, Iran | AFP | An Iranian passenger plane on a domestic flight crashed into the country’s Zagros mountains on Sunday killing all 66 people on board, officials said. The Aseman Airlines flight left Tehran’s Mehrabad airport around 0800 (0430 GMT) for the city of Yasuj in Isfahan province, said …
Read More »London City Airport closed after WWII bomb found
London, United Kingdom | AFP | London City Airport announced its closure on Sunday after a World War Two bomb was discovered in the nearby River Thames. The ordnance was discovered in King George V Dock, close to the runway of London’s most central airport, during planned works. “A 214m …
Read More »DR Congo tells Brussels Airlines to cut flights as tensions spiral
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday told Brussels Airlines to reduce by nearly half the number of its weekly flights to Kinshasa, in a ramping up of tensions with its former colonial power Belgium. The move comes after Belgian and EU officials condemned a …
Read More »Africa aims for cheaper air travel with free market launch
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Africans have for years paid sky-high airfares when travelling within the continent but a major aviation trade agreement launched Monday by the African Union aims to change that. Twenty-three African countries have signed on to the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), which is …
Read More »Emirates, Flydubai moves 165,000 passengers
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Top executives of Emirates and flydubai Airlines plan to offer travellers more connectivity and flight options in 2018, with new codeshare flights planned for various destinations across the globe including Entebbe. Both Dubai-based airlines currently offer customers with codeshares to 81 destinations. The partnership of …
Read More »Expert behind new MH370 search hopeful of find within a month
Sydney, Australia | AFP | After years of futile efforts, a fresh hunt for MH370 has set off for the remote Indian Ocean — and the top Australian scientist who helped pinpoint the new search zone is hopeful the missing jet can be found within weeks. Armed with oceanographic analyses and …
Read More »KQ starts flights to New York in October
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways, is set to start daily flights between Nairobi and New York on October 28. The carrier, which started selling tickets for the inaugural flight on Jan 11, becomes that first airline to offer a non-stop flight between East Africa and …
Read More »African airlines experienced a 7.9% rise in demand
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | African airlines experienced a 7.9% rise in demand compared to November 2016, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) latest analysis. Data supplied by airlines around the world last November indicates that volumes started to trend upwards strongly again in seasonally-adjusted terms in recent …
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