■ 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: "Leaked" document purportedly shows Turkish Airlines' planned Africa route expansion plans for 2013.

A leaked document (and we use the term "leaked" in the loosest possible way) purporting to show Turkish Airlines' (TK) intended route expansion time line has been published on the web. According to the document, TK is planning an aggressive expansion into West and Central Africa though Southern Africa appears to remain largely neglected for the foreseeable future.

■ EGYPT: Egyptair Express to be liquidated, with E170 fleet returned to Egyptair on the back of poor finances.

According to Egyptian paper, Ahram, EgyptAir Express (MSE) is to be reintegrated into its parent company, Egyptair (MS), six years after it was launched to offer passengers increased frequencies on domestic and thin international routes, such as Cairo-Budapest.

 

► 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. 

► EGYPT: Air Arabia Egypt launches Alexandria - Kuwait, Riyadh ops.

LCC Air Arabia Egypt (E5) this past Monday (25 November 2012) expanded its operations with new services to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. 

► LIBYA: Air Libya gets two B737-400s; an ARJ-100 set to arrive shortly.

Air Libya (7Q), the private Libyan carrier formerly known as Tibesti Air Libya, has announced the lease of 2 Boeing B737-400 for use on its daily Benghazi - Alexandria, Egypt flights.

►► LIBYA: Afriqiyah announces Paris, Casablanca, Rome, Khartoum, Dubai from December.

Libyan carrier, Afriqiyah (8U), has announced plans to launch various new routes ex-Tripoli and ex-Benghazi effective 1 December.

■ UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Air Arabia posts huge $61.5million net profit for Q3 2012.

Air Arabia Group, the largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, today announced a net profit of USD61.5million (AED226 million) for its third quarter (Q3) of 2012, an increase of 126% as compared to USD27.2million (AED100 million) posted in the corresponding period for 2011. 

► DJIBOUTI: Egyptair set to start Cairo - Djibouti flights in near future.

Djibouti Aviation officials on Thursday announced that, following the signing of a bilateral air services agreement between Djibouti and Egypt by the Director of Djiboutian Civil Aviation, Almis Mahamoud Haid, and the Egyptian Director of the Department of Transportation, Khaled Abd El Monem, Egyptian carrier Egyptair (MS) will soon start several direct flights per week between the two countries.

■ TANZANIA: AeroVista, Air Tanzania talks fall through; this time for good?

A photo of AeroVista's Boeing 737-500 (MSN 27354 | 4L-AJB) in Cairo, Egypt has led to speculation that the Dubai-based ACMI company's negotiations with Tanzanian national carrier, Air Tanzania (TC), have fallen through. 

►► EGYPT: EasyJet launches Stansted - Marrakech, Sharm el Sheikh from 2013.

British LCC, EasyJet (EZY) has announced plans to launch two new North African routes from its London Stansted base as of mid February 2013. Both flights will be served with an Airbus A319.

► EGYPT: Midwest set to start scheduled domestic flights in early 2013 with Libya, Saudi Arabia to follow.

Egyptian charter airline Midwest Airlines (MY) is to venture into the domestic Egyptian scheduled flight market with the launch of flights between Cairo and Alexandria effective early January 2013.

► CHINA: Egyptair increases Beijing frequencies from December.

Egyptian national carrier, EgyptAir (MS) will, from 3 December 2012, add an additional 4th weekly frequency on its route between Cairo and Beijing, China.

►► SWEDEN: Ethiopian Airlines incorporating Cairo stop on Stockholm flights.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is currently incorporating a stopover in Cairo, Egypt on its previously direct Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Stockholm, Sweden flights.

The route change has been in vigour since 10 August 2012 and will last until 10 September 2012, though the GDS has it until late October.