MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) announces two independent contract awards worth $43.9 million from Army Contracting Command-Redstone supporting the Afghan Air Force’s MD 530F Cayuse Warrior light attack helicopters.
The first contract, a six-month extension worth $14.5 million, continues MDHI’s longstanding efforts to provide program management, and contractor logistics support (CLS) services, material, and remote operations to support the Afghan fleet. Work will take place in Mesa, Arizona; Kabul, Afghanistan; and Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates. The contract was awarded on May 28, 2021.
The second contract, worth $29.4 million, modifies MDHI’s original maintenance capabilities support contract. Under this six-month contract, MD Helicopters will provide continued maintenance, repairs, updates, and overhauls of the Afghan Air Force’s MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters in Mesa, Kabul, and Al-Ain. The contract was awarded on June 10, 2021.
The enhanced MD 530F Cayuse Warrior is a light armed attack helicopter respected for its power, safety, speed, agility, and unparalleled confined area capabilities. The aircraft supports a wide range of training and operational missions, providing safe, efficient multi-mission support with an increased performance profile.
Dubai, UAE, March 2021 – Emirates and TAP Air Portugal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand the codeshare partnership currently in place between both airlines. The new agreement will see customers of both airlines benefit from seamless connectivity on many new routes across the Americas, North Africa and East Asia. Emirates and TAP Air Portugal will also explore ways to enhance the co-operation on their respective frequent flyer programmes including reciprocal earning and redemption opportunities and popular benefits such as lounge access.
In addition, both airlines plan on supporting each other’s stopover programmes in Dubai and Lisbon, with Emirates also supporting TAP Air Portugal as it looks at potential expansion opportunities in the UAE.
Subject to required regulatory approvals, the expanded agreement is expected to come into effect from 01 May 2021, will provide customers with seamless booking, ticketing and travel benefits across 70 destinations on both airlines’ networks.
Under the expanded partnership, TAP Air Portugal will place its code on Emirates’ flights to popular East Asia destinations such as Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Mumbai, Delhi, Dhaka, Male, Jakarta, Denpasar, Manila, Hanoi, as well as Barcelona, and Mexico City.
Emirates customers will be able to seamlessly access additional domestic destinations in Portugal, as well as TAP Air Portugal’s flights to cities in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Morocco, Tunisia, Gambia, and Cape Verde.
Dubai, UAE, 22 February 2021 –Emirates has announced it will resume daily services to Newark via Athens from 1stJune 2021. The resumed flight will provide global travellers with another access point to the popular New York Metropolitan area, serving the large Greek-American community in the United States while offering a convenient connection to travellers headed towards the Middle East, West Asia, and Africa via Dubai.
The addition of Newark via Athens will take Emirates’ US network to 10 destinations following the resumption of services to Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Washington DC, Dallas and San Francisco (to resume on 2nd March).
The Dubai-Athens-Newark flight will operate daily with a three-class Boeing 777-300ER, complementing Emirates’ double daily flights to New York (JFK) as the airline continues to expand across North America. The resumed link between Greece and the US will open up year round connectivity, facilitate trade, boost tourism and benefit consumers by providing them with choice and convenience. Emirates will also increase its flights to the Greek capital, Athens, flying daily to support the newly resumed service.
Emirates flight EK209 will depart Dubai at 1050hrs, arriving in Athens at 1500hrs before departing again at 1735hrs and arriving into Newark Liberty International Airport at 2120hrs on the same day. The return flight EK210 will depart Newark at 2355 hrs, arriving in Athens at 1605hrs the next day. EK210 will depart once again from Athens the next day at 1805hrs bound for Dubai where it will arrive at 2335 hrs (all times are local).
Emirates has safely and gradually restarted operations across its network. Since it safely resumed tourism activity in July, Dubai remains one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, especially during the winter season. The city is open for international business and leisure visitors. From sun-soaked beaches and heritage activities to world class hospitality and leisure facilities, Dubai offers a variety of world-class experiences. It was one of the world’s first cities to obtain Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) – which endorses Dubai’s comprehensive and effective measures to ensure guest health and safety.
DUBAI, UAE 21 February 2021: Honouring its commitment to the health and safety of its employees and customers, Emirates today has become among the first airlines in the world to operate a flight with fully vaccinated frontline teams servicing customers at every touchpoint of the travel journey.
This morning, the full airport and onboard customer experience for flight EK215, which departed Dubai at 0830hrs for Los Angeles, was safely supported by check-in, security, Business and First Class lounge and boarding gate employees, as well as engineers, pilots and cabin crew who made the choice to be fully vaccinated.
Also supporting the flight’s operations were fully vaccinated aircraft appearance, loading and special handling teams from dnata, as well as SkyCargo teams working on the cargo and logistics requirements for EK215.
The Emirates Group rolled out its vaccination drive at pace just over a month ago, and since then, close to 26,000, or 44%, of the Group’s UAE frontline aviation workforce have received both doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Sinopharm vaccines.
Nearly 5,000 Cabin and Flight Deck Crew have opted to receive both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. In addition, thousands more Emirates Group employees in other roles have taken their COVID-19 vaccine through the company’s clinics and vaccination centres, while others have opted to take their vaccine at one of the many vaccination centres across the UAE.
The Emirates Group vaccination programme is the latest in its series of safeguards and protections to deliver on its health and safety promises to its customers, employees and the communities it serves around the world. The Group’s vaccination centres have been running 12 hours a day, every day of the week to prioritise and provide aviation frontliners with the vaccine.
The UAE currently has one of the world’s highest rate of vaccinations for its citizens and residents as it fights to curb the spread of Covid-19. So far, the UAE has administered over 5.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, and Our World In Data, a research website based at Oxford University, recently reported that the country’s distribution rate stands at 55.27 doses per 100 people, ranking it the second highest in the world.
Agreement comprises a rail system with a network of around 1000km – first being a 460km project valued around 3bn$
Turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction project including 15 years of services
Siemens Mobility to provide high-speed and regional trains, locomotives, rail infrastructure, system integration and other services
The National Authority for Tunnels, a governmental authority under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport of Egypt, and Siemens Mobility have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) – together with the local companies Orascom Construction S.A.E. and The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.) – to design, install and commission Egypt’s first ever high-speed rail transportation system. Additionally, Siemens Mobility will be providing maintenance services. The agreement comprises a rail system with a network of 1000km, with the first being a 460km high-speed line. The order value of this initial high-speed line is around 3bn$.
The MoU was signed by Essam Waly, Chairman of Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels, and Michael Peter, CEO Siemens Mobility, in a meeting on January 14, 2021 in Cairo. This was witnessed by His excellency, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, His excellency, Minister of Transport Egypt Kamel Al Wazir, as well as Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser and Siemens Deputy CEO Roland Busch.
The first 460 km long high-speed line will connect the vastly developing cities of El-Alamein on the Mediterranean Sea to Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea, while also passing through the New Administrative Capital. The line will also be operable for freight transport purposes which will further foster economic growth in the region.
Siemens Mobility is the global leader in high-speed rail operations and is one of the leading companies in the Egyptian mobility market since the 1960s. The company has also extensive experience in delivering high-speed rail projects in the Middle East and Africa region.
As a leading global rail turnkey project provider with a proven track record of delivering projects on time, Siemens Mobility integrates its portfolio elements and delivers complete rail systems reliably and from one single source. So far, the company has successfully completed around 50 turnkey projects all over the world – delivering many ahead of schedule. Latest projects include the Extension of the Blue Line metro in Bangkok finished last year and the Copenhagen Light Rail project.
Emirates has announced it will resume non-stop services to Seattle (from 1st February), Dallas and San Francisco (from 2nd March), offering its customers seamless connectivity via Dubai to and from popular destinations in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The addition of these three destinations will take Emirates’ North American network to 10 destinations following the resumption of services to Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Toronto and Washington DC.
Flights to/from San Francisco will operate four times weekly on Emirates’ Boeing 777-300ER while flights to/from Seattle (operating four times weekly) and Dallas (three times weekly) will be operated with the two-class Boeing 777-200LR, offering 38 lie-flat seats in Business and 264 ergonomically designed seats in Economy class.
The airline will also be providing its customers more options and choice with additional flights to New York , Los Angeles and São Paulo. Effective 1st February, Emirates will be operating double daily flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and a daily flight to Los Angeles (LAX). Emirates customers also have seamless access to other US cities via the airline’s codeshare agreements with Jetblue and Alaskan Airlines.
In South America, Emirates will be introducing a fifth weekly flight to São Paulo (from February 5th), offering customers in Brazil even more travel options with greater access to its expanding network. Beyond São Paulo, Emirates customers can enjoy seamless connectivity and access to 24 other cities in Brazil via the airline’s codeshare partnership with GOL and its interline agreements with Azul and LATAM.
Emirates has safely and gradually restarted operations across its network and currently serves 114 destinations on six continents.
Since it safely resumed tourism activity in July, Dubai remains one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, especially during the winter season. The city is open for international business and leisure visitors. From sun-soaked beaches and heritage activities to world class hospitality and leisure facilities, Dubai offers a variety of world-class experiences. It was one of the world’s first cities to obtain Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) – which endorses Dubai’s comprehensive and effective measures to ensure guest health and safety.
Saab has today received a follow on contract with the United Arab Emirates regarding the sale of two GlobalEye systems, Saab’s advanced airborne surveillance system. The order value is USD 1.018 billion and the contract period is 2020-2025.
The original contract with the United Arab Emirates for GlobalEye was signed in 2015. This contract is an amendment to that signed in 2015.
“We are proud that the United Arab Emirates continues to show great trust in Saab and our solutions. It shows that Saab remains on the cutting edge regarding advanced technology. The GlobalEye program is running according to plan and we have an efficient cooperation with the customer”, says Micael Johansson, President and CEO Saab.
The work will be carried out in Gothenburg, Linköping, Arboga, Järfälla and Luleå in Sweden and in Centurion, South Africa.
The contract was signed by the customer on the 30th of December 2020, hence the order was booked during the fourth quarter 2020.
GlobalEye provides simultaneous air, maritime and ground surveillance. It combines sophisticated radar technology with the ultra-long range Global 6000 aircraft from Bombardier.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the newest national airline of the United Arab Emirates, today confirmed that Athens will be its inaugural destination, with flights from Abu Dhabi International Airport starting on 15 January 2021. Fares start as low as AED 129*, with tickets already on sale on wizzair.com (which also has an Arabic booking website) and the airline’s mobile app.
The airline is also to start flights from Abu Dhabi to Thessaloniki, starting on 4 February 2021 with fares starting at AED 149*.
Kees Van Schaick, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, said: “The waiting is almost over for Abu Dhabi fans of our ultra-low fare airline. From 15 January 2021, a new model of air travel comes to Abu Dhabi, offering new choices and new competition, demonstrating that things are looking up for next year.
Our network from Abu Dhabi will expand rapidly as destinations on our planned network are added to the ‘green countries’ list. Thanks to the support of the government and our local business partners in Abu Dhabi, we are fully prepared. We have the aircraft, we have the crew, we have the partners, and we are ready to fly.
We look forward to building a new travel segment in this important market.”
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is a joint venture established between ADQ and Wizz Air Holdings plc.
It initially announced a route network that also includes Alexandria, Kutaisi, Larnaca, Odesa and Yerevan. Flights to these cities will launch as each destination joins the ‘green countries’ list. Further destinations will be launched as the airline adds to its Abu Dhabi-based fleet over the coming months.
With a fleet composed of brand new Airbus A321neo aircraft, the airline will have the lowest environmental footprint among its competitors in the region.
Wizz Air introduced a new era of sanitized travel across its network this year, with enhanced hygiene measures to ensure the health and safety of passengers and crew. Throughout flights, both cabin crew and passengers are required to wear facemasks, with cabin crew also required to wear gloves. Wizz Air’s aircraft are regularly put through an industry-leading disinfection process with an antiviral solution and, following WIZZ’s stringent daily cleaning schedule, all of the airline’s aircraft are further disinfected overnight with the same antiviral solution. Sanitizing wipes are handed to each passenger upon entering the aircraft, onboard magazines have been removed from the aircraft, and any onboard purchases are encouraged to be made by contactless payment. Passengers are also requested to follow physical distancing measures introduced by the local health authorities and are encouraged to make all purchases prior to the flight online (e.g. checked in luggage, WIZZ Priority, fast security track), to minimize any possible physical contact at the airport. Click here to view Wizz Air’s new health and safety video, for more information.
Confirmed routes
Days
Start date
Fares from*
Abu Dhabi – Athens
Monday, Friday
15 January 2021
AED 129
Abu Dhabi – Thessaloniki
Thursday, Sunday
4 February 2021
AED 149
*One way price, including administration fee. One carry-on bag (max: 40x30x20cm) is included. Trolley bag and each piece of checked-in baggage is subject to additional fees. The price applies only to bookings made on wizzair.com and the WIZZ mobile app.
– Air cargo carrier responding to market demand for additional cargo capacity
– Demonstrates agility and innovation in business response to the pandemic
Emirates SkyCargo has started utilising its Airbus A380 aircraft on select cargo charter operations to transport urgently required cargo across its network. The first dedicated Emirates A380 ‘mini-freighter’ successfully transported medical supplies between Seoul and Amsterdam via Dubai.
Working collaboratively with the Engineering and Flight Operations teams within Emirates, the air cargo carrier has optimised the cargo capacity of the Airbus A380 to safely transport around 50 tonnes of cargo per flight in the bellyhold of the aircraft.
Emirates SkyCargo has introduced dedicated cargo operations on the A380 aircraft in response to the surge in the demand for air cargo capacity required for the urgent transportation of critical goods, including medical supplies for combatting COVID-19 in regions experiencing a second wave of the pandemic.
Emirates SkyCargo is working on further optimising the capacity of its Airbus A380 aircraft through measures such as seat loading of cargo and has planned more dedicated cargo flights on aircraft for the month of November.
A leading player in the global air cargo industry with a destination network spread across six continents, Emirates SkyCargo has continued to introduce innovative cargo solutions in line with rapidly evolving market conditions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The freight division of Emirates offers a variety of options for cargo capacity and connectivity to best match its customers’ requirements. Emirates SkyCargo operates dedicated cargo flights on its Boeing 777-F and its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft including 14 modified Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft with seats removed from Economy Class for additional cargo volume.
Through its responsiveness and agility, the air cargo carrier has been able to maintain the flow of essential goods and trade across international markets during the pandemic, often providing a much required helpline to communities around the world.
Taking a lead in the supply chain for the global distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, Emirates SkyCargo announced recently that it set up the world’s largest EU GDP compliant airside hub in Dubai dedicated for the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition to world-class fit for purpose infrastructure for the storage of the vaccine, the facility would also be able to offer value added services such as repackaging, re-icing and redistribution of the vaccine. The air cargo carrier has also set up a rapid response team to coordinate requests for the movement of the vaccine.
Emirates SkyCargo currently offers cargo capacity on scheduled flights to 135 destinations across the world.
Emirates’ iconic flagship A380 landed at Queen Alia International (AMM) yesterday afternoon as the airline resumed the operations of its popular aircraft to Amman.
Customers can fly the Emirates A380 between Dubai and Amman three times a week on Wednesdays, Thursday and Fridays as part of the airline’s newly introduced expanded schedule of 10 weekly flights. The expanded schedule also includes flights EK 905 and EK 906. Emirates flight EK 905 departs Dubai at 22:15 and arrives in Amman at 23:40 local time. The return flight, EK 906 departs Amman at 01:45 and arrives in Dubai at 06:40 local time.
Timings have been scheduled to facilitate more effective onward connections to destinations in the United States such as well as vital connections to European points popular with Jordanian travellers.
