4 feb 2016 EGYPTAIR News

http://english.ahram.org.eg/

New explosive detectors to be installed outside Cairo Airport Head of Cairo International Airport Mohamed Said announced on Tuesday the purchase of two explosive detecting devices at a cost of 18 million Euros ($19.6 million) to boost security measures around the airport.

Said explained that the devices will be located at outside checkpoints that inspect all vehicles and cars prior their entry to the airport.

For the past months, airport officials have been taking numerous measures inside and outside the airport aiming to increase security measures.

In November, new x-ray baggage scanners were installed in the departure hall of the airport.

The new measures were put in place following the 31 October crash of a Russian plane in Sinai which killed all 224 people on board.

Following the crash, Russia suspended all its flights to Egypt; while Britain suspended their flights to Sharm El-Sheikh.

France and Germany have also warned their citizens against visiting Egypt.

Since then, the tourism and the aviation ministries have been inviting security experts to evaluate the new security measures recently installed.

The measures have been hailed by Russian and Dutch airport security experts who arrived late November to review security at Cairo International Airport.

http://www.iata.org/ Air Freight Growth Slowed to 2.2% in 2015 Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released figures for global air freight markets showing cargo volumes measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) expanded 2.2% in 2015 compared to 2014. This was a slower pace of growth than the 5.0% growth recorded in 2014. The weakness reflects sluggish trade growth in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

After a strong start, air freight volumes began a decline that continued through most of 2015, until some improvements to world trade drove a modest pick-up late in the year.

Cargo in Asia-Pacific, accounting for around 39% of freight traffic, expanded by a moderate 2.3%. The key markets of Europe and North America, which between them comprise around 43% of total cargo traffic, were basically flat in 2015. Latin America suffered a steep decline (-6.0%) while the Middle East grew strongly, up 11.3%. Africa also saw modest growth of 1.2%. The freight load factor (FLF) was at times the lowest for some years, falling to an average 44.1% compared to 45.7% in 2014, driven down by weak demand and capacity expansion.

“2015 was another very difficult year for air cargo. Growth has slowed and revenue is falling. In 2011 air cargo revenue peaked at $67 billion. In 2016 we are not expecting revenue to exceed $51 billion. Efficiency gains are critical as the sector adjusts to shortening global supply chains and evermore competitive market conditions. We have to adjust to the „new normal‟ of cargo growing in line with general rates of economic expansion. The industry is moving forward with an e-freight transformation that will modernize processes and improve the value proposition. The faster the industry can make that happen, the better,” said Tony Tyler, IATA‟s Director General and CEO.

The industry‟s key challenges will be discussed in detail at the World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Berlin, 15-17 March. The world‟s largest gathering of air cargo professionals, the 10th WCS will bring together 1,000 delegates under the theme of „The Value of Air Cargo‟ to debate solutions for strengthening air cargo and the vital service it performs for the world economy.

Dec 2015 vs. Dec 2014 FTK Growth

AFTK Growth

FLF

International

%0.7

%6.6

47.4

Domestic

%1.4

%6.2

30.8

Total Market

%0.8

%6.5

43.9

AFTK Growth

FLF

YTD 2015 vs. YTD 2014 FPK Growth International

%2.5

%6.4

47.6

Domestic

%0.1

%4.6

29.6

Total Market

%2.2

%6.1

44.1

Regional Analysis in Detail The global freight growth rate in December was 0.8% compared to December 2014. Within that range there were considerable regional fluctuations.

African airlines FTKs declined by 8.4% in December although for 2015 as a whole the region grew by 1.2%. The FLF in 2015 was 29.7%, the lowest of any region. The underperformance of the Nigerian and South African economies was a challenge throughout the year, but trade growth to and from the region was sufficient to drive a modest expansion in FTKs. Asia-Pacific carriers were basically flat in December, expanding just 0.1%. For the whole of 2015, the region grew 2.3%. The FLF for 2015 was 53.9%, the highest of any region. Cargo expansion in the region has been hampered by a shift in Chinese economic policy to favour domestic consumption. A mid-year fall of 8% in trade to/from emerging Asia also led to declines but this appears to have bottomed out, with a rebound in the second half of the year.

European airlines grew by 1.2% in December but the performance for 2015 in total was a fall of 0.1% compared to 2014. The FLF in 2015 was 44.9%. Economic conditions in the Eurozone have been subdued, leading to suppressed demand for air freight, but imports have improved in recent months.

Latin American carriers continued the weak performance of recent months, declining by 6.2% in December and by 6.0% for 2015 as a whole. This was the weakest performance of any region. The average FLF for 2015 was 38.3%. Economic and political conditions in Brazil have worsened, and regional trade activity has been volatile.

Middle Eastern carriers grew 4.0% in December and for 2015 in total the region expanded 11.3% compared to 2014. The FLF was 42.8% for 2015. The region enjoyed a strong year as network expansion into emerging markets was supported by economic growth in local economies. Political instability and the fall in the oil price may impact on some economies in the region but growth as a whole remains robust enough to support further expansion in 2016.

North American airlines saw FTKs expand 1.4% in December compared to December 2014.

For the year as a whole, North America grew just 0.1%. The 2015 FLF was 34.3%. Growth in 2015 faded after a strong start that was flattered by the West Coast ports strike. Recently there have been mixed signals from economic data, indicating an uncertain outlook for air freight in the coming months.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/

Qatar Airways offers refunds to pregnant flyers as Zika crisis deepens Qatar Airways has become the latest Gulf airline to offer refunds to selected passengers who have bought tickets to countries hit by the Zika virus.

Etihad Airways, meanwhile, said in a statement that it is “monitoring the situation”.

Qatar Airways said it is offering to refund tickets or change the travel date free of charge for pregnant women and their companions.

In a statement on its website on Tuesday night, the company said: “Qatar Airways is offering travel options to pregnant women and their travel companions who have been ticketed by 02 February 2016 for travel through 31 March 2016 to countries known to host the Zika virus, including one free change of date or a refund.

“Eligible passengers are encouraged to discuss options with Qatar Airways by contacting their travel agent or Qatar Airways‟ 24-hour call centre on +974 4023 0000.”

It added that passengers considering travel to Zika-affected nations can find further information by visiting the websites of the World Health Organisation, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and the United Nations‟ World Tourism Organisation.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways said it is operating its normal schedule of flights to the Americas and Africa.

It said in a statement: “The Zika virus situation in South America has had no impact on Etihad Airways services.

“However, the airline will continue to monitor the situation.”

Earlier this week, Emirates Airline announced it was refunding tickets for all passengers who had intended to travel to Zika-hit regions. The airline currently services three South American cities, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.

The World Health Organisation on Monday declared the mosquitoborne Zika virus a global public health emergency.

It told the first meeting of the International Health Regulations committee: “A coordinated international response is needed to minimise the threat in affected countries and reduce the risk of further international spread.�

The virus has been linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil and other countries in the Americas are likely to see babies with Zikalinked birth defects as the outbreak spreads.

Countries affected by Zika are Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, US Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Samoa and Cape Verde, according to official reports.

http://buyingbusinesstravel.com/ British Airways threatens London City exit British Airways is threatening to pull most of its aircraft from London City airport after fears that new owners could raise airline charges to cover the costly £2 billion price tag.

The airport, popular with business travellers for its location close to Canary Wharf, is currently up for sale with a number of interested parties reportedly ready to make bids.

However, Willie Walsh CEO of BA parent company IAG told The Financial Times its margins would not support any increase in landing charges.

“If the owners succeed in selling this for 2 billion pounds, we cannot see how a buyer will be able to recover or make any return on that investment unless they make a significant increase in airport charges," said Walsh.

“We will not stay in London City at the levels we are today if these charges increase. Quite honestly the margins we make at London City would not support any increase in charges,” he added.

Walsh admitted he had concerns over the £2 billion cost for London City, which was put up for sale by owners Global Infrastructure Partners in August.

British Airways is the largest airline at London City with around two-thirds of traffic made up by business travellers.

London City declined to comment.

http://www.nst.com.my/ Kuwait Airways retires 1,350 Kuwaiti nationals, targets profitability DUBAI: Loss-making Kuwait Airways has let go of 1,350 Kuwaiti nationals during the last two years, part of a plan to cut costs and return to profit by 2019, the chief executive of the state-owned carrier told Reuters on Thursday. The airline has struggled to recover from Iraq‟s 1990-91 invasion of Kuwait. Complex bureaucratic procedures have further sidelined it from the boom in Gulf aviation over the last two decades. Staff cuts of nationals are extremely rare in Kuwait, which redistributes significant oil wealth to citizens through high-paying jobs with state entities and social welfare programmes. The number of people employed by the airline, however, is one of the main drawbacks to its turnaround plan, industry experts say. “Since two years, almost 1,600 people left the airline, taking the golden handshake,” said Chief Executive Abdullah al-Sarhan, referring to redundancy packages. The airline, however, obtained special government approval to call back into service 250 of the retired pilots, crew and engineers, due to shortages created by the aviation boom in the region, he said. It currently employs 5,800 people. Kuwait Airways is still reviewing a plan to let go of 1,000 non-Kuwaiti staff under a plan first announced in 2014, Sarhan added.

PROFITABILITY Kuwait Airways has posted losses each year bar one since the Iraqi invasion, which saw aircraft and parts stolen, and since 2012, the government has strived to improve the airline‟s finances. Sarhan said the turnaround measures were starting to bear fruit, noting that Kuwait Airways would post a narrower 2015 loss. The carrier posted a 33 million dinar (US$109.2 million) loss in 2014, versus 67 million dinars the year before. “We have an initial target of three years from now to be positive, so we‟re talking about 2018-2019,” he said. The turnaround measures included converting Kuwait Airways to an independent, albeit stateowned company and allowing it to circumvent the audit bureau, which enabled the carrier to order new planes for the first time since the Iraqi invasion. The government is also funding a new fleet, and Kuwait Airways ordered 35 Boeing and Airbus aircraft in 2014, and also agreed to lease 12 Airbus aircraft. The airline also plans to review its flight routes, and cut out unprofitable ones while boosting flights on more popular segments. -- Reuters

http://nypost.com/ EgyptAir murder-suicide pilot inspired Osama bin Laden and 9/11

Osama bin Laden‟s inspiration for the 9/11 attacks was an Egyptian airline pilot who deliberately crashed his plane in 1999, killing 217 people, including 100 Americans, according to a new al Qaeda report.

The terror group‟s weekly magazine, al-Masrah, reported that EgyptAir Flight 990 co-pilot Gameel Al-Batouti‟s murder-suicide in the Atlantic Ocean spurred bin Laden to ask: “Why didn‟t he crash it into a nearby building?,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

Bin Laden later met with Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the principal mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, who had started working on a plan to crash 12 airliners simultaneously, the Post reported.

Al Qaeda‟s final plan to strike the World Trade Center with airliners combined elements from bin Laden‟s and Sheik Mohammed‟s ideas, the report said

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