All Africa articles
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News
SAA pilots threaten strike over salary demands despite carrier’s fragile finances
South African Airways is warning that it is not financially strong enough to support a salary demand from pilots, who have threatened to strike from 5 December. The carrier has been negotiating with the SAA Pilots Association, but claims the association’s initial request for a 30% wage increase – subsequently ...
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News
Airlink finance head to lead carrier as veteran chief Foster steps down
South African regional carrier Airlink has named its finance head, de Villiers Engelbrecht, as the successor to long-term chief executive Rodger Foster who is stepping down next year. Foster has led the company for more than three decades since he co-founded the operation with Barrie Webb in 1992. But Airlink ...
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Analysis
How the global military fleet shapes up in our 2025 World Air Forces review
Our annual World Air Forces directory – published in association with Embraer – details the military aircraft fleets of 161 nations, and analyses the main events of the last 12 months.
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News
SAA claims positive full-year results for first time in over a decade
South African Airways has disclosed its full-year results for the fiscal year to March 2023, claiming a net profit of R252 million ($14 million). The carrier’s management board unveiled the performance during its annual general meeting in Johannesburg on 20 November. SAA emerged from business rescue in September 2021. But ...
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News
Investigators probe SAA A330’s pitch oscillation during cruise
Investigators are probing an in-flight oscillation at cruise altitude which affected a South African Airways Airbus A330-300 operating a domestic service. The aircraft – flying from Cape Town to Johannesburg on 27 October – had been cruising at 41,000ft when it started to oscillate in pitch, between nose-up and nose-down. ...
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News
Congo Airways wet-leasing pair of 737-800s as bridge capacity
Congo Airways is to lease a pair of Boeing 737s from Avia Solutions Group as part of an effort to restore capacity. Both aircraft are being taken on a six-month wet-lease from Avia’s KlasJet division. KlasJet says Congo Airways’ pair of Airbus A320s have been grounded for engine maintenance, and ...
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News
Angola’s TAAG starts shifting flights to new Luanda airport
Angolan flag-carrier TAAG has commenced operations from the capital Luanda’s new Agostinho Neto international airport. The airline transferred its domestic Luanda-Cabinda flight to the new hub on 10 November, operating the initial service with a Boeing 737-700 before switching to a De Havilland Dash 8-400. Source: TAAG TAAG ...
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News
ITA restarts flights to Libyan capital as EASA deems coastal airports less risky
Italian carrier ITA Airways is to open a service to the Libyan capital Tripoli, despite much of the country still considered risky for air transport. ITA intends to operate to Tripoli’s Mitiga airport, on the coast, rather than the city’s main international airport which lies some 13nm inland. The European ...
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News
H225 continues oil and gas comeback with Westair lease deal
The Airbus Helicopters H225 has continued its incremental return in the oil and gas market with Westair Helicopters to lease a single offshore-configured example from Milestone Aviation Group.
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News
EgyptAir A320 inquiry urges review of cockpit procedures to tackle oxygen fires
Investigators analysing the fatal loss of an EgyptAir Airbus A320 are recommending a review of cockpit firefighting procedures – particularly regarding oxygen-fuelled fires – and believe greater research is needed on alternative extinguishing agents to halon. The Egyptian air accident investigation commission’s recommendations draw on analysis by French counterpart BEA ...
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News
Ethiopian Airlines receives first of four A350-1000s
Ethiopian Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000, the initial example of the largest family member on the African continent. The airline is to receive three more -1000s along with another 11 A350-900s. Ethiopian, which has 21 A350s in its fleet, converted four previous -900 orders to the ...
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News
EgyptAir A320 crash: Circumstances of oxygen leak and ignition source remain unclear
While French investigators believe an intense oxygen-fuelled cockpit fire brought down an EgyptAir Airbus A320 eight years ago, they have yet to determine fully the reasons for the oxygen leak and pinpoint the source of ignition. Investigation authority BEA has dismissed the Egyptian air accident commission’s official explanation – detonation ...
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News
French investigators dismiss Egyptian findings that explosion brought down A320
After an eight-year inquiry, Egyptian investigators have controversially concluded that ignition of explosive material behind the cockpit of an EgyptAir Airbus A320 resulted in a fire and the loss of the aircraft, an explanation dismissed by French counterparts. The twinjet – operating from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Cairo on ...
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News
Nigeria outlines M-346FA delivery schedule
Nigeria anticipates receiving its first of 24 Leonardo M-346FAs in early 2025, with six examples of the light-attack variant of the advanced jet trainer already in production.
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News
SAA chair: South African domestic market strong despite Mango absence
South African Airways’ chairman is uncertain whether budget carrier Mango will be revived, but believes that the country’s domestic market is strong and signals that SAA is more focused on regional and intercontinental services.
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News
SAA striving to recover R1bn from Zimbabwe as it seeks funds for development
South African Airways is keen to recover some R1 billion ($59 million) in funds from a Zimbabwean legacy debt, but admits it has achieved only minimal success. The carrier’s senior management appeared before a parliamentary public accounts committee on 22 October, laying out the need to source funding after a ...
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News
SAA floats possibility of selling Heathrow slots to fund fleet expansion
South African Airways has raised the possibility of selling slots at London Heathrow in order to help address the airline’s financial pressures. SAA is government-owned and has been forced to revise its business strategy after a long-running attempt at privatisation collapsed earlier this year. The carrier’s chair, Derek Hanekom, told ...
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News
Sierra Leone government unveils new carrier with plans for London operation
Sierra Leone’s transport ministry has unveiled a new carrier for the West African state, which is set to commence services to various cities – including London – before the end of this year.
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News
Nigerian carrier Air Peace’s chief faces charges over alleged bid to halt fraud probe
Nigerian carrier Air Peace’s founder and chief executive, Allen Onyema, has been indicted by US authorities alleging obstruction of justice by filing false documentation intended to end a previous investigation.
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News
Mwari has key counter-insurgency role for Mozambique, Paramount says
Paramount has disclosed limited details about its Mwari aircraft’s operational performance for customer Mozambique, describing the type as having “played a key role in counter-insurgency operations”.