Transport Abu Dhabi’s non-oil trade rises 8% as economy expands Non-oil foreign trade through Abu Dhabi ports grew 8 percent to AED282 billion ($77 billion) in 2023 from AED260 billion in 2022, as the UAE’s economic diversifation plans continue to bear fruit. Imports grew by 19 percent year on year, reaching AED136 billion, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, quoting Abu Dhabi Customs data. […] April 22, 2024
Transport Alstom to upgrade driverless transit system at Jeddah airport French train maker Alstom will upgrade the automated and driverless passenger transit system at King Abdulaziz International Airport, as the Jeddah airport aims to receive 114 million passengers by 2030. As part of the contract, Alstom will design, engineer, supply, integrate, test and commission a complete system upgrade of its Innovia automated people mover (APM) at the airport’s terminal […] April 19, 2024
Video length: 03:08 Infrastructure UAE president orders review after flooding The UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered an urgent review of the country’s infrastructure after historic levels of rainfall brought the Gulf state to a standstill, with some areas seeing more than a year’s worth of rain in one day. The president has contacted authorities “to quickly work on studying the […] April 18, 2024
Tourism Beirut airport arrivals drop as Westerners stay away The daily arrival rate at Lebanon’s only functioning international airport is down by 4 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, according to Marwan Haber, the head of Middle East Airline’s (MEA) commercial division. Speaking at the Horeca hospitality conference in Beirut on Tuesday Haber said 95 percent of arrivals were […] April 18, 2024
Aviation Turkish Airlines nears $20bn deal with Airbus and Rolls-Royce State-backed Turkish Airlines is expected to sign an agreement with UK’s Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc and European planemaker Airbus to manufacture $20 billion worth of aircraft components locally. The deal will be announced in Istanbul later this month, Bloomberg reported, quoting Turkish officials who were aware of the agreement. Last December the Turkish national carrier announced […] April 18, 2024
Opinion Sustainability The Gulf is well-placed to soar on SAF – but not yet Sustainable aviation fuel is in its infancy but the Gulf has a hydrogen trump card April 16, 2024
Aviation DXB remains world’s busiest international airport Dubai International (DXB) has maintained its status as the world’s busiest international airport, beating London and Amsterdam, the Airports Council International (ACI), an association of world airports, said in a new report. DXB has secured the top place for the 10th consecutive year, with the number of international passengers reaching nearly 87 million in 2023, […] April 16, 2024
Logistics Transportation costs fall as Suez disruption eases Global transportation costs fell last month to their lowest level since December as the diminishing impact of Suez Canal disruption led container rates to decline. Latest data shows no discernible impact on supplies from either the Red Sea attacks or from reduced capacity on the Panama Canal, with businesses adjusting to longer delivery schedules. The […] April 16, 2024
Aviation Third Chinese airline to launch flights to Saudi Arabia Air China is set to begin flights to Riyadh in May, becoming the third Chinese airline to establish a route to Saudi Arabia. It joins China Southern and Eastern Airlines in connecting China with the kingdom. Air China’s Airbus A330-300 will serve the Beijing-Riyadh route three times a week. The expansion in capacity between the […] April 12, 2024
Logistics Egypt building seven logistics corridors says minister Egypt is building seven integrated logistics corridors as part of its plan to become a regional centre. The logistics corridors are under construction and will connect production facilities with ports, Egypt Today newspaper reported, quoting transport minister Kamel El Wazir. The corridors are located in Sokhna/Alexandria, Arish/Taba, Cairo/Alexandria, Tanta/Mansoura/Dameitta, Gargoub/Salloum, Cairo/Aswan/Abu Simbel, and Safaga/Qena/Tartour, the […] April 12, 2024
Logistics Volumes up at Saudi ports in spite of Red Sea attacks Container volumes at Saudi Arabia’s ports were up last month compared to March 2023 despite continuing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, data from the kingdom’s ports authority shows. The Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani, oversees 10 ports. These include facilities in Jeddah, Yanbu and Jazan on the country’s Red Sea coast, and […] April 11, 2024
Opinion Aviation Saudi Arabia’s 2030 passenger target is a hard climb The kingdom will view hard-to-achieve passenger growth figures as a challenge, not a deterrent April 11, 2024
Construction Egypt allocates land for airport at ADQ’s metropolis The Egyptian government has allocated two plots of land for the development of Ras El-Hekma international airport by UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ. The land plots in Matrouh, a governorate in the north-west of Egypt, were handed over to the country’s civil aviation ministry, Ahram Online newspaper reported. The airport development is part of the […] April 11, 2024
Logistics DFDS acquires transport network of Turkey’s Ekol The Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS is to acquire the international transport network of Turkey’s Ekol Logistics for 1.9 billion crowns ($277 million). The acquisition will add road transport to its Mediterranean ferry network, DFDS said. DFDS’s chief executive, Torben Carlsen, said his company believed Turkey’s role as a manufacturing hub for Europe “will become […] April 10, 2024
Aviation Oman Airports profit up 45% in 2023 on higher revenue The combined net profit of Oman Airports surged 45 percent to OR18.5 million ($48 million) in 2023, compared to almost OR13 million in 2022. Consolidated revenue increased by 39 percent year on year to OR150 million last year, as subsidiaries reported higher income. Oman Airports Management Company generated over OR124 million, Oman Ground Handling contributed […] April 9, 2024
Aviation UAE airlines increased Saudi flights during Ramadan Weekly flights from the UAE and Saudi Arabia rose 13 percent to 383 in March, compared to 338 in February. The increase was driven by growing demand from Umrah performers during the last 10 days of Ramadan, which started last month, state-run Wam news agency reported, quoting the General Civil Aviation Authority’s (GCAA) statistics. Flydubai […] April 9, 2024
Tourism Morocco denies subsidising Ryanair domestic flights Morocco’s Ministry of Tourism has denied claims that it is subsidising the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair’s expansion across the country. Ryanair will open domestic flights throughout Morocco from the summer as part of its $1.4 billion investment in the North African country. It had been reported that the Moroccan National Tourism Office would be providing […] April 8, 2024
Aviation Saudi Arabia and China strengthen ties with extra flights Saudi Arabia is strengthening its ties with China with the launch of new passenger and cargo flights between the two countries. Beginning on April 16, China Southern Airlines (CZ) will operate four commercial passenger flights and three cargo flights connecting Beijing Daxing and Riyadh, according to a report on the Saudi Press Agency website. This […] April 8, 2024
Transport UK’s Global Ports to operate Casablanca cruise terminal A consortium led by British cruise operator Global Ports Holding (GPH) has secured preferred bidder status for operating a new cruise terminal in Casablanca. The consortium was awarded a 15-year concession agreement with Morocco’s state-owned Agence Nationale des Ports (ANP). The consortium and ANP are working towards finalising the concession terms, the London stock exchange-listed […] April 8, 2024
Opinion Lifestyle Emirates at its premium best When you’re paying for yourself, premium economy really is the only way to fly April 5, 2024
Infrastructure Egypt chooses British Steel for Green Line rail track British Steel, the UK steel products producer, has secured a multi-million-pound deal to supply parts for a new rail route stretching across Egypt. In total 9,500 tonnes of track will be delivered for Egypt’s Green Line, its first fully electrified mainline and freight network from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. The exact value of […] April 4, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Manufacturing Stellantis boss hails ‘massive untapped potential’ in Gulf Samir Cherfan tells AGBI about his plans to lift car sales across the GCC April 4, 2024