Aircraft News - Africa / Middle East

Airguide Online, August 27, 2007

Aug 27, 2007

Turkish Court Charges Plane Hijackers. A Turkish court has charged two men with hijacking after they sought to seize control of a plane heading for Istanbul from northern Cyprus at the weekend, state-run Anatolian news agency said on Thursday. Aug 23, 2007

ACT Airlines, Airbus

ACT Airlines, based at Istanbul Ataturk, signed an MOU for two Airbus A330-200 freighters, Airbus announced. ACT currently operates seven A300B4 freighters and will use the new aircraft for flights to Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. Aug 20, 2007

Atlas Jet

A Turkish court has charged two men with hijacking after they sought to seize control of a plane heading for Istanbul from northern Cyprus at the weekend, state-run Anatolian news agency said on Thursday. The two hijackers surrendered and released their hostages after forcing the Atlas Jet plane to land in southern Turkey on Saturday. They had said they had a bomb, which turned out to be modeling clay with wires attached. Hijackings are not uncommon in Turkey, where a number of radical groups ranging from Kurdish separatists to far-left islamist militants operate. Aug 23, 2007

Atlas Jet

Atlas Jet McDonnell Douglas MD-83 jet hijacked in Turkey, the officials said the pair had demanded to be taken to Tehran. Broadcaster CNN Turk said the two had met in northern Cyprus a year ago and their ultimate goal was to reach Afghanistan and join al Qaeda. It quoted police officials in the southern city of Antalya as saying one of the hijackers was Turkish and the other an Egyptian born in Cairo in 1974, who had received training in al Qaeda camps. It did not specify where the camps were. Newspapers carried similar reports. Previous reports have said one of the hijackers was a Syrian passport-holder, thought to be Palestinian. Aug 20, 2007

Atlas Jet

Atlas Jet McDonnell Douglas MD-83 jet was hijacked as it brought 136 passengers from northern Cyprus -- a destination popular with Turkish and foreign tourists -- to Istanbul. One of the hijackers had tried to force the cockpit door open 15 minutes after takeoff and told passengers he was a member of al Qaeda. Most passengers were quickly released or escaped through emergency exits but six crew and passengers were held hostage until the hijackers surrendered about five hours after forcing the plane to land. Hijackings are not uncommon in Turkey, where a number of radical groups ranging from Kurdish separatists to far-left militants operate, and several incidents in the last year or so have ended without casualties. Aug 20, 2007

Atlas Jet

Turkish Aircraft Hijacked, Passengers Freed. One of two men who hijacked a plane heading for Istanbul from northern Cyprus was trained in camps run by al Qaeda militants and planned to flee to Afghanistan, Turkish media reports said on Monday. The two hijackers surrendered and released their hostages after forcing the Atlas Jet McDonnell Douglas MD-83 plane to land in southern Turkey on Saturday with the threat of a "bomb" which turned out to be modeling clay with wires attached. Aug 20, 2007

Emirates Airlines, Boeing

Boeing is in discussions with key new potential customers, including Emirates, about 747-8 orders, with the airline understood to be closing on a major deal for the -8 Intercontinental passenger version. According to industry sources, Boeing is confident it is close to securing additional airline orders for the 747-8I in the coming months to add to the sole existing deal from Lufthansa for 20 aircraft. More deals for the 747-8 Freighter are also imminent, say sources. Aug 20, 2007

Emirates Airlines, Boeing

Emirates, which has orders for 10 Boeing 747-8Fs for its cargo arm, has been in long-running talks with Boeing about a deal for the passenger version. Although the airline is Airbus's largest customer for the ultra-large Airbus A380 with 47 on order, it has a need for a 400 seater for certain long-haul routes. Chances of an early Emirates 747-8I deal were dropped last year when the airframer traded range for capacity and stretched the aircraft slightly, as this prevented it from being able to operate Emirates' planned Dubai-Los Angeles route with a viable payload. However, industry sources say that an Emirates 747-8I deal is back on, with the airline in talks for up to 20 aircraft and November's Dubai air show seen as the likely venue for any announcement. Aug 20, 2007

Ethiopian Airlines, Boeing

In Africa, Ethiopian Airlines plans to open its new hub in Lome by October. "We will lease two Boeing 737-300s or -400s for this operation and try to fly from Lome to five stations," he said. Opening further hubs on the continent is under discussion, with Lusaka and Harare among the options. Ethiopian, which operates 24 Boeing jets and five turboprops, will take delivery of its 12th 767-300ER in about two weeks, with a 13th to follow. It introduce its first 787 in September 2008 and will take a second the following month. "By 2010, I expect to have a total fleet of 30 jets," Wake added. Aug 20, 2007

Iran Air Tours, IFC