Middle East

Tim Clark, Emirates' president, said that the airline would consider ordering a bigger version of the A350 if Airbus?moved forward with a new wide-body model. He reiterated calls for manufacturers and aircraft makers to make larger planes. Airbus announced in November that it was studying a so-called A350 2000 after Boeing agreed to examine a larger version its largest aircraft in production, the 777X as part of an agreement to secure?65 in new orders for the delayed plane. A larger A350 could potentially overtake the A350-1000 – currently the largest model Airbus’ portfolio – which Emirates has refused to purchase...

Saudi Arabia is investing in a private Syrian airline, as part of a multi-billion dollar investment package that will be announced this Saturday. This reflects Riyadh’s?deepening? ties with Damascus. The announcement of the latest investments is the biggest since the United States lifted tough sanctions against Syria in December. The sanctions were a major obstacle to the economic recovery of Syria after a 14 year civil war which caused extensive damage in many parts of the country, and forced millions of people from their homes. Talal Al Hilali, the head of the Investment Authority, said that Saudi Arabia would invest...

Singapore hosted Asia's largest aviation conference on Tuesday, as the industry aims to achieve ambitious regional growth goals despite widespread supply shortages which have delayed many aircraft delivery. The 10th edition?Singapore Airshow? will feature more than 1,000 companies, including industry giants Airbus and Boeing as well as local champion ST Engineering. There is also a new generation of drone-focused defence firms such Asuril Industries and Shield AI. Singapore announced on Monday that it will launch its own space agency at the accompanying space summit. China and India are driving the Asia-Pacific region's rapid growth in air travel. By 2026, passenger...

Qantas Airways announced?on?Tuesday that it would sell a stake in low-cost carrier Jetstar Japan so as to 'focus on its core domestic offerings, given the softer corporate demand for Qantas and increased fuel costs. Qantas, the Australian airline, has announced that it will sell its minority 33.32% stake in Jetstar Japan. Japan Airlines and Tokyo Century Corp. will retain their respective voting rights of 50% and 16.7%, and the Development Bank of Japan plans to become a shareholder. The decision to sell the stakes comes after Jetstar Asia, based in Singapore, closed in July. This will allow Qantas Australia to...

AMSTERDAM, 1 February - Airline KLM has resumed flights to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. It announced this late on Saturday after announcing that it would not fly over many parts of the Middle East because of 'rising tensions in the region. We have adjusted our schedule to resume flights on February 2, 3 and 4. KLM announced that flights to Dubai will be operated from February 1 to 6, with a modified schedule. KLM, Dutch arm of Air France KLM, has announced that it has already resumed flights in other destinations, including Riyadh, and Dammam. The?airline...

EasyJet, a British budget airline, said that summer bookings are increasing, despite the fact that it reported an increased first-quarter loss, mainly due to expansion costs and lower winter prices. The company stated that the "traditionally busy January booking period" saw record numbers in terms of both revenue and volume, as bookings for summer 2026 continue to build. Winter is usually the slowest time for airlines. They rely on the spring and summer season to boost their earnings. EasyJet has reported an operating loss of 76 millions pounds ($105million) for the three-month period ending December 31 compared to a 40...

Adani Airports urged India on Wednesday to relax limits on how many seats foreign carriers can sell?on flights into and out of?the country, saying that the curbs were holding back its ambitions to become a world aviation hub. These limits are part of bilateral agreements to protect domestic carriers, but they have long frustrated overseas carriers. Dubai's Emirates has, for instance, said that demand is much higher than the weekly seat limits under the India-UAE agreement. Arun Bansal, Chief Executive of Adani Airports, said that "in the short-term" bilateral agreements are limiting growth in Indian aviation. He made this statement...

Boeing and Israel's Technion University announced on Tuesday that they are beginning to develop Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) from feedstocks such as green hydrogen and CO2 to allow?the aviation industry's growth over the long term. SAF, which is primarily made from used cooking oil or waste, can reduce emissions by a significant amount compared to traditional jet fuel. It is still two to five time more expensive than conventional jet fuel. Boeing and Technion announced that following completion of the initial feasibility phase development would begin, and move towards "competitive production". Boeing has committed that it will deliver commercial aircraft...

Budget carrier Wizz air has applied for U.S. approval in order to fly between the UK and United States. The company is looking to tap into the lucrative transatlantic markets after reducing its Middle East expansion plans. A?filing on Friday showed that the airline's UK-based subsidiary had petitioned for a foreign air carrier license to allow flights between the US and UK "as quickly as possible". Wizz Air UK sought permission to launch passenger service under the?2020 Air Transport Agreement, also known as the Open Skies Agreement. The carrier is making a second attempt to enter the U.S. market, after...

Israeli airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia announced on Monday that they would allow cancellations of flights due to the uncertainty in the area. Last week, U.S. president Donald Trump announced that an "armada", headed for Iran was on its way. He hoped to avoid using it and warned Tehran to stop killing protesters and restarting their nuclear programme. Airlines are still allowing their customers to cancel new tickets starting Monday or to receive vouchers for future flights. Israel's airspace remained largely closed during a 12-day conflict in June between Israel and Iran due to the incoming Iran missiles, and...

As tensions between Iran and the United States escalate, airlines have been rerouting or cancelling flights in the Middle East. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. was sending an "armada", towards Iran. Senior Iranian officials Friday Iran will treat an attack as "an all-out battle against us" ahead of the arrival of the U.S. aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East and other assets. On January 16, the European Union's aviation regulator advised its airlines to stay away from Iran's airspace, as tensions grew over Tehran's violent crackdown on anti-government protests and U.S. intervention threats. Air...

U.S. firms signed contracts with foreign governments worth $244 billion in 2025, almost triple what they did in 2024, as Boeing saw a huge increase in orders for jetliners, according to the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department. ITA stated that the 121 contracts will also be aided by the foreign spending?commitments?"in recent trade agreements negotiated by Trump administration. The contracts contain approximately $206 billion of U.S. Export Content and will support around 844,000 American Jobs. In 2024, in the final year of the Biden Administration, ITA signed $87 billion worth of contracts, a significant increase from the...

On Monday, U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he had reached a deal with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. The agreement included a stop to the purchase of Russian oil by India. The U.S. is trying to limit Russia's oil revenues to make it more difficult for Moscow to finance the?war? in Ukraine. Here are some important facts about the oil trade between Russia and India. OIL PURCHASES After the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February 2022, India became the largest buyer of Russian oil by sea. After some Indian refiners halted imports in November under pressure from sanctions,...

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad al-Sabah announced on Tuesday that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation plans to invite international oil companies to help Kuwait Oil Company develop recently announced offshore oil discoveries. Al-Sabah said in his opening remarks to the Kuwait Oil and Gas Show, that KPC was in discussions with global financial institutions about a?lease and a?lease-back arrangement for a Kuwaiti crude oil pipeline system. Kuwaiti sources said in January that the country was planning to sell a stake in its oil pipeline network as early as February, a deal which could raise up to $7 billion. Kuwait's Oil Minister?Tariq...

Data from LSEG and market sources showed that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports increased 19% over the previous month. This was due to a seasonal decline in domestic demand, which prompted traders to ship out more. The data shows that exports were 4,6% lower than in January 2025, as drone attacks, maintenance and other factors affected the output. Sources said that the shipment of ultra-low sulphur diesel through the Baltic port Primorsk - Russia's largest port for?diesel imports - jumped 32.4% in one month, to a new record of 2.256 million tonnes, supported by an increase in production. The...

Calculations on Monday showed that the average daily supply of natural gas to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline by Russian energy giant Gazprom rose 10.3% year-on-year in 'January. After Ukraine decided not to renew a five-year deal for transit with Moscow, which expired in January 2025, the only remaining transit route is through Turkey. Calculations show that the total Russian gas supplied to Europe through TurkStream was 1.73 billion cubic meters (bcm) during January, compared with 1.57 bcm in the same period last year. According to calculations based on data from the European Gas Transmission Group Entsog, Russian?gas exported via...

Four people with knowledge of the situation said that the CEOs from Siemens Energy and Thyssenkrupp would join Economy Minister Katherina Riege on a trip to Saudi Arabia. The top European economy is looking to diversify its supply of energy. Reiche will travel to Saudi Arabia between February 1 and 3 to expand the economic relationship, according to a spokesperson from her ministry. This comes just days after Reiche stressed the importance of new alliances due to rising geopolitical tensions. The focus of the trip will be energy. This is a crucial issue for Germany, which is?Saudi Arabia’s most important...

Katherina Reiche, Economy Minister of Germany will be joined by the CEOs from Siemens Energy and Thyssenkrupp on a trip to Saudi Arabia. This trip is to highlight a drive to diversify energy supplies in Europe's largest economy. Reiche will travel to Saudi Arabia between February 1 and 3 to expand business relations, according to a spokesperson from her ministry. This comes just days after Reiche emphasized the need for new alliances due to rising geopolitical tensions. The focus of the trip will be energy. This is a crucial issue for Germany, Saudi Arabia's largest economic partner within?the European Union....

Saudi Aramco is the world's biggest oil company. It has issued a bond worth $4 billion in four tranches, attracting a lot of interest from investors. This was its first venture into global debt markets. IFR, the fixed-income news service, reported on Monday that the state-owned oil giant issued $500,000,000, $1.5 Billion, $1.25 Billion, and $750 MILLION in?bonds, with maturities of 3, 5, 10, and 30 years, respectively. IFR reported that the order books for the offering were over $21 billion. This showed strong investor interest, which allowed Aramco, from its initial guidance of $100 bps, to reduce the spread...

Saudi Aramco offered indicative pricing on four-tranche, dollar-denominated bond, according to a term sheet viewed by. The deal is likely to raise billions for the world's largest oil exporter. The 'indicative' price for the three year debt sale was set at 100 basis points above U.S. Treasuries. For the five-year, it was 115 basis points higher. And the 10-year and 30-year bonds, 125 and 165 basis point over Treasuries. Aramco's last foray into the debt market was in September when it raised $3 billion through a?sale of sukuk or Islamic bonds. This followed a bond issue in May that raised...

The central bank reported that Egypt's deficit on its current account decreased to $3.2 billion between July and September 2025. This is compared to $5.9 billion for the same period one year ago. The 'bank attributed this to an increase in remittances by Egyptians who work abroad, which reached $10.8 Billion in the first quarter, up from $8.3 Billion a year earlier. The Suez Canal's revenues also increased to $1.05billion from July to September of 2025, up from $931.2mil the previous year. Revenues from the canal were hit by attacks?by Yemeni Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, against shipping routes...

The spot premiums for Murban oil produced in the United Arab Emirates have reached their highest level in the past two months. This is due to the?strong demand of Asian buyers who are replacing U.S. supplies now that the arbitrage has closed. Indian refiners also use Murban as a substitute for Russian oil. This is what drives the price of Abu Dhabi's flagship Light Sour Grade despite abundant supply. Data showed that the spot premium for Murban March loading was $2.38 per barley to Dubai quotations on Tuesday. It had reached $2.53 per barrel last Wednesday, its highest level since...

Kazakhstan called on Europe and the U.S. to secure oil transport after drone attacks on tankers headed to a Black Sea Terminal on the Russian coast that handles 1% of the global supply. Unidentified drones attacked at least two oil tankers in Tuesday's Black Sea, including a tanker chartered by U.S. major Chevron. They were sailing toward a terminal along the Russian coast that would load oil from Kazakhstan. In a press release, Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said that three tankers had been hit on their way to the Black Sea marine terminal for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Drones attacked CPC’s...

The oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday as heightened concerns about the major Iranian producer and possible supply disruptions overshadowed the?prospects of an increased crude supply coming from Venezuela. Brent futures rose $1.20 or 1.9% to $65.07 per barrel at 1150 GMT. This is the highest Brent has been since mid-November. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude climbed $1.23 or 2.1% to $60.73. John Evans of PVM Oil Associates said, "The oil markets are building some price protection to counter geopolitical factors." Evans highlighted the possible exclusion of Iran’s?exports as well as the problems in Venezuela, the talks about the...