► SUDAN: Sun Air wet-leasing A320 from Jordan Aviation.

Sudan's Sun Air (S9) has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320 (MSN 2061 | JY-JAT) wet leased from Jordanian ACMI outfit Jordan Aviation (R5) writes aviation newswire CH-Aviation.

► COTE D'IVOIRE: Egyptair to start Abidjan via Accra from June; boosts Kano, Tunis capacities.

AirlineRoute reports that Egyptair (MS) is to start daily flights from Cairo to Abidjan via Accra with effect from 1 June 2013. In addition, the Star Alliance carrier will also boost capacity to Kano, Nigeria and Tunis also effective 1 June.

►► NETHERLANDS: KLM announces changes to Accra, Cairo, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Johannesburg and Lagos from Winter 2012.

[UPDATE 7 FEBRUARY] Further to KLM's (KL) previously announced Summer Timetable changes, so they have announced equipment i.e aircraft changes to their Winter 2012 timetable.

► GREECE: Egyptair boosts Athens flights from June.

Egyptian national carrier Egyptair (MS) will from 01JUN13 increase its Cairo – Athens service. The Star Alliance member will operate this route 14 weekly flights, compared to 10 weekly in same period (June – October) in 2012.

►► SPAIN: Iberia to drop Cairo; to boost capacity to Casablanca, Algiers, Dakar, Nouakchott, and Malabo.

[UPDATE 30 JANUARY] Spanish carrier, Iberia (IB), has announced details of its new commercial and routes policies under the Transformation Plan it announced recently with various routes in Africa to be affected, for better and for worse.

► SAUDI ARABIA: Egyptair to boost services for Summer 2013.

Egyptian national carrier EgyptAir(MS) is to tentatively expand its service to Saudi Arabia during the Summer 2013 season. Planned new routes and/or additional flights as follows.

► EGYPT: AlMasria Universal Airbus A321 declares fuel emergency after protracted military exercises exceed their time allocation.

Bungling on behalf of air traffic control at Cairo International Airport almost caused a serious incident today when an AlMasria Universal Airbus A321-200, (MSN 666 | SU-TCC) operating flight UJ-107 from Yanbu, Saudi Arabia to Cairo, was forced to declare a fuel emergency after a forewarned military exercise at the airport, surpassed its allocated time.

► SAUDI ARABIA: Saudia announces changes to Addis Ababa, Cairo, Kano routes for Summer 2013.

Initial changes to Saudi Arabian airlines Saudia (SV)’s Summer 2013 International operation are as follows, though additional changes, including planned Boeing 777-300ER service entry dates to selected markets, remain subject to change.

► EGYPT: AlMasria Universal Airlines calls in AFI KLM E&M for tricky CFM56 repair job.

AlMasria Universal Airlines (UJ) has called on the services of Air France Industries/KLM Engineering & Maintenance to deal with an AOG (Aircraft on Ground) situation concerning CFM56-5B engines fitted to one of the aircraft operated by the Egyptian carrier.

►►► EGYPT: Korean Air resumes Seoul - Cairo from January 2013.

[UPDATE 9 JANUARY] South Korean airline Korean Air (KE) is to resume its 2x weekly Airbus A330-300 Seoul Incheon - Cairo, Egypt nonstop flights, which from October 28, will be upgraded to a Boeing 777-200ER.

► CANADA: Egyptair to start Toronto flights from June.

Egyptair (MS) will from 2 June 2013 introduce a 4x weekly Cairo – Toronto service on board Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The Star Alliance member previously planned to launch Toronto service in 2011, but postponed it due to political instability in January 2011.

► SUDAN: Kenya Airways B737-700 suffers engine failure after take off, returns to Khartoum; no casualties.

A Kenya Airways Boeing 737-700 (MSN 32371 | 5Y-KQG) operating flight KQ320 bound for Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday 1 January 2013, was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after take off from Khartoum International Airport, Sudan, following an engine failure. No casualties have been reported.

■ GHANA: Decision on EgyptAir's deal for 49.9% stake in CTK CiTylinK deferred to 2013.

Egyptian national carrier, Egyptair (MS), is expected to announce in early 2013 a decision on whether it will purchase a 49.9% minority stake-holding in grounded Ghanaian carrier CTK CiTyLinK (CTQ), following the submission of a Due Diligence report by accounting firm, Ernest & Young, last week.

► ZIMBABWE: Egyptair to resume Harare from June 2013.

Egyptair (MS) has joined the list of foreign carriers returning to the Zimbabwean capital with plans to tentatively start a 4x weekly Boeing 737-800 operated Harare via Dar Es Salaam service from 1 June 2013. The Egyptian national carrier last served Harare in 2003 as an intermediate stop between Cairo and Johannesburg using an Airbus A340-200.

► UNITED KINGDOM: Egyptair launches Manchester from June 2013.

EgyptAir (MS) will from 1 June 2013, launch a new service to the United Kingdom, with 5x weekly Cairo – Manchester flights on board Boeing 737-800 aircraft. 

► TURKEY: Egyptair increases Istanbul from 14x to 17x weekly from January 2013.

Egyptian national carrier, EgyptAir (MS), from 16 January 2013, will increase its frequency between Cairo and Istanbul, Turkey, from 14x to 17x weekly.

► DUBAI: Afriqiyah to launch 2x weekly Benghazi, Tripoli - Dubai flights from 20 December.

According to their official Twitter account, Libyan airline Afriqiyah (8U) has announced that its inaugural flight to Dubai will operate from both Benghazi and Tripoli twice weekly using an Airbus A330-200.

■ EGYPT: Snake bites passenger on Egyptair flight to Kuwait; forced diversion to Hurghada.

A Jordanian man, who had smuggled a snake aboard Egyptair (MS) flight MS610 from Cairo (Egypt) to Kuwait City (Kuwait) with 91 passengers, was bitten by the reptile after it managed to escape the bag he was carrying it in.

► ITALY: Egyptair increases Rome frequency from Spring 2013.

Egyptair (MS) will from 31 March 2013, increase frequencies on its Cairo – Rome Fiumicino route, with overall service to rise from 11x to 14x weekly. The service increase comes with the afternoon departure.

► NIGERIA: Egyptair boosts capacity to Abuja over December/January period.

Egyptian national carrier, Egyptair (MS) will, over December 2012 and January 2013, increase its capacity on its Cairo – Abuja, Nigeria route with an Airbus A330-200 operating for selected periods instead of the usual Boeing 737-800 aircraft.