First landing of AN-225 in Zurich 
The Antonov AN-225, the world's biggest aircraft, landed in Zurich (Switzerland) for the first time yesterday. The customer ordering the flight was Alstom, transporting a gas turbine rotor, a turbo generator and other plant parts with a total tonnage of 170 t to Bahrain. The... more
Turkish Cargo opens new storage area
Turkish Cargo, one of the fastest growing players in the global air cargo industry, continues to invest at its Istanbul hub. The inaugural ceremony of the new storage area built at the end of of runway 06/24 at Ataturk International Airport was held on 18 September in the... more
Ukraine International Airlines responds to Swissport
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) and ground handling services provider Interavia consider Swissport's official press release (see ITJ Daily of 12 September 2013) to be a provocation aimed at discrediting Ukraine's largest carrier. UIA and Interavia perceive Swissport actions... more
First landing of B747-8F in Hahn
The first B747-8 freighter is likely to land at Frankfurt-Hahn (Germany) airport at the weekend with a special permit. The new jumbo is the most contemporary and quietest F category freighter, to which many airlines are currently switching, including Hahn customers Nippon Cargo... more
Boeing to close C-17 facility in 2015
Boeing will complete production of the C-17 Globemaster III and close the C-17 final-assembly facility in Long Beach CA in 2015. After implementing this decision, Boeing will continue after-delivery support of the worldwide C-17 fleet as part of the C-17 Globemaster III... more
China Southern increases Istanbul capacity
China Southern is increasing its capacity on the Urumqi-Istanbul route today, 24 September. The thrice-weekly service between Western China and the Turkish economic powerhouse will be operated using an Airbus A330-200 instead of a Boeing B757, thus offering a noteworthy... more
Virgin Atlantic cancels Accra service
The British airline Virgin Atlantic has cancelled its service to Accra, the capital of Ghana. The last flight of this five-weekly operation departed London Heathrow yesterday and will return from Accra today, 23 September. Exceptionally high fuel costs in Ghana, a challenging... more
New freight facility at Seychelles airport
Joel Morgan, the Seychelles' minister for home affairs and transport, last week formally unveiled a new cargo facility, which is part of the ongoing airport modernisation and expansion, to bring 21st century operating standards to the Seychelles' only international airport,... more
Transcarga takes delivery of its first Airbus aircraft
Venezuela's Transcarga International Airways is set to add two Airbus 300B4Fs to its current fleet of three Embraer 120s. According to the airline, the two freighters, one formerly owned by Belgium's TNT Airways and now based in Orlando FL (USA), and the other formerly owned by... more
Southeast Asian airlines draft biofuel roadmap
Policymakers, regulators, industry stakeholders and NGOs gathered last week in Bangkok, Thailand, for the South-East Asia Sustainable Aviation Fuel Initiative (Seasafi) 2013 Workshop on Aviation Biofuel and Sustainable Agriculture, organised by the Association of Asia Pacific... more