Category Archives: Aviation

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will add two new Jordanian destinations to its ever-growing list of routes. Flying to the extraordinary cities of Amman and Aqaba, the new routes will strengthen travel links within the region by bringing in a bold new frontier for ultra-low fare travel. The flight to Amman will operate two times a week on Tuesday and Saturday. Flights to Aqaba will operate two times a week on Sunday and Thursday. Tickets are on sale on wizzair.com and the airline’s mobile app (also available in Arabic), with fares starting as low as AED 70*. Home to ancient treasures and monuments, lush green landscapes and staggering mountains, the beautiful country of Jordan is a great place for visitors looking to discover the region and experience a new adventure. Jordan has something for everyone from floating in the beautiful and world famous Dead Sea to experiencing the awe-inspiring rose-red sandstone rock facades and temples of Petra, one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. Michael Berlouis, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi said: “We are all very excited to be adding Jordan to our network and look forward to offering our customers the opportunity to experience such an incredible and culturally rich destination. Jordan really has it all, from hiking, sightseeing to relaxing on the beach. The wonders at Petra are incredible and something everyone should experience. The whole Wizz Air Abu Dhabi team are pleased to offer these travel and adventure opportunities to UAE residents at great prices and making them more accessible to everyone. We will continue to add to our flight schedule as travel restrictions begin to ease across the world – we’re looking forward …

Raising its bar for the triumph more and more by interconnecting its wide wide flight network that sweeps the continents with the unrivaled geographical advantage of Turkey, Turkish Cargo now incorporates all of its air cargo transportation operations in SMARTIST, the Mega Cargo Facility. Having moved the cargo operations, it carries out by means of the passenger flights, to the Istanbul Airport following its opening in April 2019, Turkish Cargo remained to continue its freighter operations at the Ataturk Airport. Since its infrastructure has been made available entirely, the air cargo brand moved also its freighter operations to its Mega Cargo Facility at the Istanbul Airport by means of a relocation operation that took 72 hours. Having said goodbye to the Ataturk Airport by such a massive relocation, Turkish Cargo will from now on carry out all of its operational processes as based in SMARTIST, the new hub for the air cargo logistics. Turhan Ozen: “With SMARTIST, our new home, we are ready for the future more than we have been ever before.” Regarding the start of the full-capacity operation of SMARTIST, Turhan Ozen, Chief Cargo Officer of Turkish Airlines, remarked as follows; “During the last 3 years, we carried out a highly substantial operation in both of our hubs. While we made use of our freighters at the Ataturk Airport, we benefited from our passenger aircraft and the paxfre* capacity at the Istanbul Airport. We performed approximately 30 thousand flights, 23 thousand of which were performed by making use of our freighters and 6 thousand of which were by paxfre, and we transported more than 4 million air cargo shipments, 2.5 million tons of which were transported from/to the …

Oman Air has moved to the new Terminal 1 at King Abdulaziz International Airport, signaling the airline’s ongoing commitment to scheduled passenger service linking Muscat and Jeddah. The transition was marked by an official ceremony attended by His Excellency the Consul General of Oman Mr. Mubarak AlHanai along with a number of Omani and Saudi officials on 29 January 2022, and coincided with the arrival of Oman Air flight WY1675 which was welcomed with a traditional water salute. Passengers disembarking the flight were presented flowers while the flight’s crew had their photo taken with His Excellency during an Oman Air-themed cake cutting. Hamad Al Harthi, Oman Air Senior Manager of Sales (GCC, Middle East & Africa), said, “We’re delighted that our flights will now arrive and depart from the new Terminal 1 in Jeddah, which offers passengers a seamless travel experience in a truly state-of-the-art facility. Oman Air has a long-standing presence in Jeddah and this transition reflects our renewing of that presence as we look forward to growing our flight frequencies in the years ahead.” Originally launched in December 1998, direct wide body flights between Muscat and Jeddah have proved popular with passengers. Prior to the pandemic, Oman Air operated four daily flights between the two cities, a schedule that has since been scaled back to five weekly flights following decreased demand for travel resulting from COVID-19 restrictions in place around the world.

Emirates will make a full return of passenger services to and from Casablanca from 8 February. The return of Casablanca in Morocco marks a full restoration of Emirates’ pre-pandemic African network including 21 cities spread across the continent. Customers flying to and from Casablanca can safely travel on Emirates to Dubai, and enjoy an array of onward connections to Europe, the Middle East and GCC, the Americas and West Asia. Emirates will operate to Casablanca with daily flights using its modern Boeing 777-300ER. EK 751 will depart Dubai at 0730hrs, arriving in Casablanca at 1315hrs. EK 752 will depart Casablanca at 1505hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0130hrs the next day.* Tickets can be booked on emirates.com, the Emirates App, Emirates sales offices, via travel agents as well as online travel agents. *Subject to government approval

Emirates signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turespaña, Spanish Tourism Institute, to help boost trade and tourism to Spain. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group welcomed Her Excellency María Reyes Maroto Illera, Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, at the Emirates Group Headquarters. The MoU was signed by Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President, International Affairs at Emirates and Miguel Ángel Sanz Castedo, Director General of Turespana. The ceremony was also attended by Juan Ignacio Diaz Bidart, Cabinet Chief to the Minister, Ministry of Industry; Iñigo de Palacio, Spanish Ambassador to the UAE; Andres Salinero, Trade and Economic Counsellor, Embassy of Spain; and  Daniel Rosado Bayon, Director, Spain Tourism Office, Tourism Counsellor, Embassy of Spain. Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President, International Affairs at Emirates, said: “Emirates launched operations to Spain more than 12 years ago and the country remains an important market in our global network. We’re very happy to be exploring mutually beneficial initiatives that will drive tourism to Spain, and also offer Emirates more opportunities to serve the market. Thank you to our partners for their ongoing support and we look forward to continue growing our long-standing partnership.” Mr. Miguel Angel Sanz, Director General Tourspain Madrid said: “Spain and Emirates are strategic partners of the recovery of travel. Spain, as one of the most visited countries in the world, and Emirates, one of the world’s leading airlines, will work together to improve the connectivity and generate confidence, which are key factors for recovery.” Mr. Daniel Rosado Bayon, Director Spain Tourism GCC & Iran said: “We are happy to sign this MoU …

flydubai announced the start of flights to Al Ula in Saudi Arabia, becoming the first UAE carrier to operate this route from Dubai. The carrier will also resume its operations to Yanbu growing its network in the Kingdom to six points including Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah and Riyadh. Flights to Yanbu International Airport (YNB), also known as Abdul Mohsin bin Abdulaziz International Airport, start on 24 February with a three times weekly service. Flights to Prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz Airport (ULH) will start on 02 March 2022 and will operate twice a week from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB). Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said: “we are pleased to be able to offer passengers from the UAE and our network the opportunity to visit and explore one of the world’s most beautiful and untouched destinations. We are also looking forward to the resumption of our operations to Yanbu in the Al Madinah Province. flydubai is dedicated to further strengthening the cultural, trade and tourism ties between our two countries by making travel more accessible. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the authorities for their ongoing support.” Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations (UAE, GCC, Subcontinent and Africa) at flydubai, added: “we are looking forward to the start of our twice weekly service to Al Ula from March. This route will be popular for our passengers from the UAE, as well as for travellers from the GCC, Russia and Central Asia. Al Ula offers passengers great options for seeking immersive cultural and historical experiences as well as outdoor adventure activities, especially in the cooler winter season.” Al Ula is an unseen wonder of the …

Al Naboodah travel and tourism agencies, the GSA for Turkish Airlines recently celebrated their 40 year partnership. The inaugural flight to Dubai was operated on 5th November 1983, while the daily Sharjah route was launched on 11th April 2019. Currently Turkish Airlines operates 28 weekly flights to the UAE (21 weekly flights between Istanbul Airport and Dubai Airport, 3 weekly flights between Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport and Dubai Airport and 4 weekly flights between Istanbul Airport and Abu Dhabi Airport). Al Naboodah Travel & Tourism is proud to be a GSA of Turkish Airlines in Dubai and the Northern Emirates since 1983. Al Naboodah Travel is part of one of the UAE’s most renowned and innovative groups, the Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group. With over 45 years of experience, the dynamic travel and tourism company enjoys an unparalleled reputation for quality and excellence encompassing all aspects of the travel industry. Turkish Airlines, famed for flying to more countries than any other airline, celebrates its 40-year anniversary of flying to the UAE in tandem with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. The airline, established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft launched its first Middle East flights to Beirut and Cairo in 1951, while the first Turkish Airlines flight landed in Abu Dhabi on 7th January 1981 with the route relaunching on January 25th, 2006. Nasir Jamal Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Al Naboodah Travel & Tourism said, “On behalf of the entire organisation at Al Naboodah Travel, we extend our sincerest congratulations to our partner Turkish Airlines for completing 40 glorious years of success in the UAE. We hope to continue our wonderful relationship for years to come. This is …

Starting 20th February 2022, Air Arabia will commence flights from Sharjah to Osh, Kyrgyzstan. The bookings are now open in their website. The new destination will operate from Sharjah at 21:45 to Osh at 03:15 on Fridays and Sundays. The return from Osh will be at 04:25 to reach Sharjah by 06:25 on Mondays and Saturdays. The new service represents the second city that Air Arabia flies to after Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. Located in the south of the country and referred to as “the capital of the south”, Osh is considered the second largest and oldest city is Kyrgyzstan which represents a major economic and cultural center of the country. Osh invites business and leisure travelers to enjoy its unique charm and mystery of the ancient East. Featuring an epic mountain panoramic view, architectural marvels and bazaars. Customers can now book their direct flights between Sharjah and Osh by visiting Air Arabia’s website, by calling the call centre or through travel agencies. Ensuring the highest standards of safety at every step of the journey by following all health and safety protocols, Air Arabia has also added to the convenience and confidence of passengers by introducing free COVID-19 insurance coverage. The insurance is automatically included as part of the booking and no additional documents are required from passengers.

Etihad Airways which has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and halving its 2019 emission levels by 2035, is one of only nine airlines globally to complete stage 2 of the assessment. Etihad Airways has successfully completed IATA Environmental Assessment stage 2 and received accreditation in four key operational areas: facilities management, flight operations, Etihad technical division, Etihad Catering Services. The IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) programme is a blueprint for airlines to achieve sustainability in all air and ground operations. It is an evaluation system designed to independently assess and improve the environmental management of an airline. Stage 2 represents the highest level of IEnvA compliance and requires an airline to demonstrate ongoing environmental performance improvement. Mariam Al Qubaisi, Head of Sustainability and Excellence Division, Etihad Airways, said: “Our world is becoming more environmentally conscious by the day. Etihad is proud to play a major part in reducing the carbon impact of the aviation industry, in the UAE and around the world. We have recorded many great achievements, from our first ecoFlight from Abu Dhabi to Brisbane in 2019, to the recent launch of our Sustainability-focused loyalty programme, Conscious Choices, to reward guests for making sustainable choices when they travel and in their everyday life.” Over the last two years, despite the challenges of Covid-19, Etihad has introduced significant CO2 reduction initiatives under its Greenliner sustainability programme. This includes adopting thousands of mangroves, using sustainable fuels, reducing contrails, flying optimised flight paths, operating electric vehicles and working with partners who share its vision for cleaner skies.

Gulf Air announces that it has added an additional daily flight from London Heathrow to Bahrain on March 16, 17, 21 and 22 to operate three daily services during the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix weekend taking place on March 18 – 20. Gulf Air currently operates double daily flights to London Heathrow, a direct route that has been part of the airlines network since 1970 and these additional special flights will take off from London Heathrow at 1510 local and land in the Bahrain at 0050 local, and the flight from Bahrain will take off at 0830 local and land in London Heathrow at 1255 local. Passengers with a valid Formula One ticket and flying on Gulf Air flights to Bahrain from London Heathrow during this period will receive free lounge access at London Heathrow and at Bahrain International Airport. On this occasion, Captain Waleed Abdulhameed AlAlawi, Gulf Air’s Acting Chief Executive Officer commented: “The demand for attendance to the season opener has definitely been significant and we are excited to welcome our global visitors to the Kingdom of Bahrain to witness the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix race. The race has always been an important global event for the Kingdom of Bahrain, Gulf Air and our partners the Bahrain International Circuit and adding an extra flight with our Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to match the demand for the race as spectator prepare their visits to attend.” On behalf of the Bahrain Tourism & Exhibition Authority, Dr Nasser Qaedi, Chief Executive Officer commented: “2022 is proving to be an exciting year for tourism in Bahrain and the great reception we have been receiving from international travelers …