Asian carriers hit as gov'ts restrict int'l flights

Saudi Arabia's flyadeal gears up for international growth

Houthi drone strike damages Saudi A320

An A320-200 operated by Saudi Arabia's low-cost carrier flyadeal (F3, Jeddah) was damaged in a drone attack conducted by Yemen's Houthi rebels at Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia, the Associated Press has reported.

Photos indicate HZ-FAB (msn 7867) suffered extensive damage to the rear part of its fuselage. It is understood that the aircraft was attacked during a turnaround with no passengers on board. Reportedly, there were no victims of the attack.

Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that the 3.5-year-old Airbus narrowbody, one of eleven A320s operated by flyadeal (which also operates a single A320-200N), arrived at Abha from Dammam. Given the extent of the damage, it has been forced to remain at the airport. The aircraft is owned by DAE Capital, the ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows.

Abha is located just over 100 kilometres from the Yemeni border. Iran-backed Houthi rebels control the northern part of the war-torn country and have claimed responsibility for the attack. The airport has been frequently targeted by the Houthis during the...

Saudi sovereign wealth fund eyes new nat'l carrier - report

Qatar Airways resumes use of Saudi, UAE, Bahrain airspace

Following the lifting of a three-and-a-half-year-old embargo against Qatar, Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) has outlined plans to resume flights to Saudi Arabia having earlier resumed flights through its airspace.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates announced reopening their respective borders and airspaces to Qatari-flagged aircraft for the first time since June 2017.

In terms of flight paths, the Qatari carrier has now resumed flights through Saudi and Emirati airspace but has only confirmed the resumption of flights to Saudi Arabia. Bahrain reopened its airspace to Qatari traffic on January 11. The private Egyptian newspaper, Al-Shorouk, quoted sources as saying that the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation had received a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday regarding the reopening of Egyptian airspace to Qatar, and allowing flights between the two countries. The sources suggested the decision could take effect from 0000L on Tuesday, January 12, with the first EgyptAir (MS, Cairo Int'l) flights to resume later in the week.

In a statement, Qatar Airways...