Opinion Aviation 2023: the year airlines said goodbye to the pandemic The Middle East is one of the regions leading the global aviation recovery September 25, 2023
Transport Qantas warns rising fuel costs may hit fares Australia’s biggest airline Qantas Airways said on Monday it will spend more than previously planned to improve “customer pain points” but warned spiraling fuel costs may force it to raise fares from already-elevated levels. The update sent its shares down as much as 2.5 percent to a one-year low as investors questioned the airline’s ability […] September 25, 2023
Manufacturing Dubai 3D factory muscles in on aviation sector A new 3D printing facility in Dubai, certified to produce airplane components, is anticipated to cut into a portion of traditional global aviation manufacturers and maintenance hubs. Paradigm 3D has invested AED20 million ($5.5 million) to establish a factory using technology from Stratasys, an American-Israeli maker of industrial 3D printers that are used by industry […] September 22, 2023
Aviation Aviation offset rules face shake-up as doubts persist An imminent change to rules governing aviation carbon offsets ahead of the Cop28 climate conference may not be enough to convince airlines and others they have a meaningful effect, it has emerged. Aviation, like steel- and cement-making, is a hard-to-abate industry. It is difficult for companies within the sector to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide […] September 21, 2023
Transport Sharjah airport targets 20m passengers by 2026 Sharjah airport will implement several expansion plans to raise its passenger handling capacity to 20 million by 2026 to become one of the top five regional airports, according to Ali Salim Al Midfa, chairman of Sharjah Airport Authority. The authority remains dedicated to boosting the airport’s facilities, infrastructure, and services, he said in a statement. The AED2.4 […] September 21, 2023
Transport Erdoğan lauds $17bn link between Turkey and Iraq Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has lauded plans for a $17 billion infrastructure and transportation project linking southern Iraq to Turkey as an opportunity to “build a new world”. The Development Road project will link Grand Faw Port, a commodities port in Iraq, by rail and road to the border with Turkey. It will transform […] September 20, 2023
Aviation Flydubai passenger traffic up 30% despite jet order delays UAE carrier flydubai has reported a 30 percent year-on-year rise in passenger numbers this summer. A senior executive said the airline would have seen an even larger increase if the new aircraft it ordered had been delivered as scheduled. The low-cost airline carried more than four million passengers between June and mid-September 2023, and operated […] September 20, 2023
Industry Musk terms Tesla’s Saudi factory talks ‘utterly false’ Billionaire Elon Musk has termed a media report about Tesla Inc. being in talks with Saudi Arabia to set up a production facility in the kingdom as “utterly false”. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday, citing informed sources, that the kingdom is in early talks with US electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla. “Yet […] September 19, 2023
Aviation Saudi airlines issue $15m refunds to passengers Refunds of SAR58 million ($15.5 million) for flight cancellations, delays and loss of luggage have been issued by Saudi airlines over the past two years, it was revealed on Monday. The figures were announced by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca). Enhanced passenger rights protection regulations, which come into force in November, will result […] September 18, 2023
Transport Dubai’s Hala reports 36% rise in trips as user numbers up Hala, Dubai’s e-hailing taxi service on the Careem app, has reported a 36 percent annual growth in trips in the first six months of 2023 and a 21 percent rise in new users year on year. Khaled Nuseibeh, CEO at Hala, said that the performance has been “tremendous” this year so far, with March 2023 […] September 15, 2023
Finance Lumi’s retail IPO tranche orders hit $333m Saudi-based car rental company Lumi said the retail tranche of its initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed 11.5 times, with demand reaching SAR1.25 billion ($333.25 million). The retail subscription, which took place on September 12, was subscribed by 124,888 investors. It comprised 1,650,000 shares, representing 10 percent of the total offering. Based on the results […] September 15, 2023
Transport DAE detects corrosion in leased plane to Indian airline Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Capital has told an Indian court it detected corrosion of some parts and “a greenish deposit” on a plane leased to bankrupt airline Go First, after another lessor complained about “robbed” parts. Foreign lessors have been engaged in a legal tussle to repossess their aircraft after the Indian airline was granted […] September 15, 2023
Aviation Moving from Kidman to Kaif, Etihad looks east Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has appointed Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif as its new brand ambassador, showing the Abu Dhabi carrier’s increased focus on the fast-growing eastern markets. The association was unveiled through a series of videos showcased on social channels. Amina Taher, vice-president of brand, marketing and sponsorship at Etihad Airways, […] September 12, 2023
Logistics Saudi logistics company SAL announces IPO Saudi Logistics Services Company – known as SAL – said on Tuesday it would launch an initial public offering of 30 percent of its shares on the Saudi market. It was not clear when the SAL IPO will take place. A statement said the price of each of the 24 million shares would be determined […] September 12, 2023
Opinion Trade Meanwhile, on the G20 sidelines, history in the making The proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor could become a 'green and digital bridge across continents and civilisations' September 11, 2023
Transport India-Middle East-Europe transport link announced World leaders have announced a shipping and rail transportation corridor linking countries across the Middle East, South Asia and Europe at the G20 summit in New Dehli, India, on Saturday. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (Imec) aims to integrate railway routes and link ports along a route spanning from India to Europe, through the UAE, […] September 11, 2023
Logistics Logistics companies targeted in latest global cyber fraud Logistics companies in the Middle East and Africa are being targeted by a worldwide scam that impersonates businesses’ websites in order to defraud consumers. According to Group-IB, a global cybersecurity company based in Singapore, the fraud – known as Classiscam – has targeted 251 brands in 79 countries. This includes 15 countries across Middle East […] September 11, 2023
Renewable Energy Aramco and Dutch car maker make low-carbon fuel Saudi oil major Aramco and Dutch car maker Stellantis have developed an e-fuel that will work without modifications in the engines of some 24 million vehicles already on European roads and using conventional petrol. Recent tests showed the low-carbon fuel could reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing internal combustion vehicles by at least 70 percent, […] September 6, 2023
Transport Qatar leads $150m funding for Indian industrial park fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has led the $150 million fundraising round for the new fund of IndoSpace, which develops grade-A industrial and logistics parks in India. QIA is the world’s 10th largest sovereign wealth fund with $475 billion of assets under management, the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute said in May. The fundraising round also included […] September 6, 2023
Banking & Finance DP World to hire banks for 10-year debut green sukuk DP World intends to issue its first 10-year US dollar-denominated benchmark-sized green sukuk, as the ports operator expands its global reach. The Dubai-based company held investor meetings on September 4 and 5, Reuters reported, citing a bank document. Citi, Deutsche Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, J.P. Morgan and […] September 5, 2023
Opinion Logistics Act now to protect your supply chain against severe weather It would be foolish not to give serious scrutiny to your business September 4, 2023
Infrastructure Contract awarded to modernise Egyptian railway A consortium of Egypt’s Orascom Construction and Paris-based Thales Group has signed a new $323.50 million contract with Egyptian National Railways to modernise the double-track railway. The track, located on the east bank of the river Nile, 115 km from the country’s capital, will link Cairo with Giza and Beni Suef. The project will be […] September 4, 2023