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Aviation and transport news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

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Fujairah Oil Industry Zone

Fujairah marine fuel sales hit record low in February

Marine fuel sales in the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah, the world’s third-largest bunkering hub, fell in February to their lowest since data started being published in 2021. Volumes, excluding lubricants, totalled 554,117 cubic metres (about 549,000 metric tons) for February, showed latest Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The […]

A Houthi helicopter flies over a cargo ship in the Red Sea. The group has carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023

Red Sea insurance rates to stay firm amid attack fears

The cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea is expected to remain steady after the US carried out further airstrikes on Yemen on Monday. The US action added to fears of new attacks on ships by the Iran-aligned Houthis targeted by Washington, industry sources said. Responding to the Houthi movement’s threats to international shipping, the […]

Kuwait Airways chairman Abdulmohsen Alfagaan said the airline is cutting costs but improving service

Kuwait Airways rules out profit for at least two years

State-owned Kuwait Airways does not expect to turn a profit for at least another two years as it struggles to recover from losses built up during the Covid 19 pandemic, its chairman said. Abdulmohsen Alfagaan told Kuwait’s daily Alseyassah that the airline is looking into what airplanes it needs and its network of destinations, anticipating […]

Neom Investment Fund CEO Majid Mufti holds a seat on Volocopter’s advisory board

Neom-backed Volocopter bought by Chinese company

Chinese automotive and aerospace group Zhejiang Wanfeng Auto Wheel has acquired failed German air taxi developer Volocopter, a partner in Saudi Arabia’s Neom giga-project, for $11 million. The sale follows Volocopter’s collapse into insolvency in December, raising questions over Neom’s urban air mobility ambitions in its futuristic city development on Saudi Arabia’s north-western Red Sea […]

Air Arabia reported a net profit before tax of AED1.6bn in 2024, up 4 percent from AED1.5bn a year ago

Air Arabia declares 25% dividend as revenue soars

UAE low-cost airline Air Arabia has increased its dividend payout after turnover grew by double-digits in 2024, the company said in a statement. Based in Sharjah and traded on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Air Arabia will pay a 25 percent cash dividend or AED1.2 billion to shareholders. The company’s shares have risen 11 percent […]

Kuwaiti logistics company Agility Public Warehousing has paid out nearly KD9 million ($29.2 million) over the disputed lease

Kuwait’s Agility pays out $30m over scrap site dispute

Kuwaiti logistics company Agility Public Warehousing has paid out nearly KD9 million ($29.2 million) after losing a 2021 court case over leasing a plot of land in Kuwait used as a scrap site. “With this payment, the company will have fully executed the aforementioned ruling in favour of the Public Authority for Industry,” Agility said […]

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas

Riyadh Air seeks tie-up with Indian carriers

Saudi Arabia’s newest airline Riyadh Air is exploring potential tie-ups with Indian carriers IndiGo and Air India, CEO Tony Douglas has said. The conversations are at an early stage but offer a “win-win” proposition, he told The Indian Express news daily. India is a “super important” market, Douglas said, as Saudi Arabia expects India to […]

Jazeera Airways CEO Barathan Pasupathi bought roughly $250,000 worth of shares in the airline

Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways CEO buys shares in his own airline

The CEO of Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways has bought 80,000 shares in his own company as the airline embarks on a five-year plan to boost performance. Barathan Pasupathi purchased the shares between March 9 and 13, according to company disclosures on the Kuwaiti Bourse, buying shares worth $250,000 in a series of transactions last week. Shares […]

The 17 aircraft are expected to reduce DAE's weighted average passenger fleet age to 6.9 years

Dubai Aerospace buys 17 aircraft for $1bn

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), the Middle East’s largest aviation leasing and engineering company, has acquired 17 aircraft for $1 billion from multiple sellers, the company said in a statement. Eighty percent of the aircraft are manufactured by Airbus, while the remaining 20 percent are from Boeing. The aircraft have been leased to 11 airlines in […]

Saudia is investing in 118 new Airbus and Boeing jets to replace its ageing fleet. Riyadh Air will serve the capital and become a flag carrier

Saudia ‘still a flag carrier’ ahead of Riyadh Air launch

Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier Saudia is upgrading its fleet with new Boeing and Airbus aircraft even as the government prepares to start a new airline later this year. The 80-year-old carrier has 118 aircraft on order, most of which will replace older models in its existing fleet of 147, and are scheduled to arrive through […]

DP World's capex reached $2.2 billion in 2024 compared with $2.1 billion in 2023

DP World raises 2025 capex to develop global assets

Dubai-headquartered DP World intends to increase its capital expenditure this year to upgrade its global assets despite geopolitical challenges. DP World’s Capex reached $2.2 billion in 2024 compared with $2.1 billion in 2023, the state-backed ports operator said in a statement published on Nasdaq Dubai. Capex for 2025 is set at $2.5 billion, primarily targeting […]

Dubai luxury transport taxi

E-hailing boosts Dubai’s luxury transport sector

Trips in Dubai’s upmarket transport sector, mainly limousines, rose by nearly half last year, driven by increasing app usage, the state-run Wam news agency reported, citing the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The number of trips reached more than 43 million last year, up from 30 million in 2023, driven by so-called e-hailing, or […]

ADQ can still accept shares from Aramex shareholders who did not tender during the offer period until March 24

ADQ takes majority stake in Dubai-listed Aramex

ADQ, the third-largest of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, has become a majority shareholder in Dubai-listed logistics company Aramex. The fund now owns 58 percent in Aramex following a voluntary tender offer, which includes 23 percent owned by its subsidiary, AD Ports Group, and 35 percent bought from previous shareholders, ADQ said in a statement on Tuesday. […]

Riyadh Air has acquired a substantial number of delivery slots from AirAsia’s backlog of 350 narrowbody aircraft booked with Airbus

AirAsia raises $226m but stays quiet on PIF

The parent company of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia has raised 1 billion ringgit ($226 million) to complete its reorganisation plan, according to a news report. “We have a 1 billion (ringgit) placement,” Capital A group CEO Tony Fernandes said at a press conference. “Don’t ask me questions on PIF’s placement order book – we are not […]

Qatar Airways' commitment to expansion is evidenced by its recent 25 percent investment in Virgin Australia

Qatar Airways strives to avoid Etihad’s mistakes

Like Etihad before it, Qatar Airways is expanding by buying stakes in other airlines. The Abu Dhabi carrier’s acquisition strategy ended badly, however. Three airlines in which it invested went bust and it lost $1.87 billion in one year alone in 2016. Qatar Airways may have better luck, analysts say. The state-owned carrier, which started […]

Passengers disembarking from an AirAsia Airbus A320 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The airline has a $225m fundraising target

PIF plans major investment in Malaysia’s AirAsia

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is to invest $100 million in Malaysia’s Capital A-owned budget airline AirAsia, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Middle East investment forms the majority of AirAsia’s approximately one billion ringgit ($225 million) fundraising target, with the company also in discussions […]

Funds raised are expected to go towards localising manufacturing of Doroni’s H1-X eVTOL in Saudi Arabia

US startup Doroni to bring recreational flying cars to Gulf

Doroni Aerospace, a US developer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, last week secured an additional $150 million from a Saudi investor. The investment came only days after the company announced an initial $30 million deal with Kingdom Aero Industries (KAI). Florida-based Doroni was launched in 2017 and is working to manufacture US […]

Emirates president Tim Clark said the airline is not optimistic about Boeing 777X deliveries in October 2025

Emirates to spend $5bn on refitting 220 aircraft

UAE flag carrier Emirates will spend around $5 billion on refitting 220 of its aircraft in order to sustain its network, president Tim Clark said on Wednesday, as the industry struggles with delivery delays for newer jets. “We have no choice,” Clark told reporters. “This one is the only way we could sustain the network, grow the network.” […]

Airbus is considering establishing maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for the A400M in the UAE

Airbus weighs production of military aircraft parts in UAE

European planemaker Airbus is exploring the possibility of manufacturing components and setting up a maintenance facility for the A400M, a military transport aircraft, in the UAE. The plan includes integrating local entities – including EPI, part of defence company Edge Group, and Strata, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi investment vehicle Mubadala – into the A400M’s global aerospace […]