The final aerospace and defence podcast for the Middle East and Africa for this year closes on a positive note.Kenya’s Aberdair Aviation which has been delivering ACMI charter operations for almost two decades is expanding its business with a new base in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The airline’s CEO Adrian Wilcox talks to Alan Peaford about his fleet plans and the strategy of multi-AOCs from Kenya, Ghana and now Kinshasa with Tanzania and Uganda in the pipeline.Steve Nichols takes a look at JSSI, the company that brought power-by-the-hour to the business aviation world and talks to Pascale Barhouch the new head of business development based in DubaiDemand for engine maintenance saw MTU opening a new office in Dubai just ahead of the March lockdown. MRO editor, Chuck Grieve asks Sami Ben-Kraiem, vice-president marketing and sales, for MTU in Middle East & Southeast Asia whether they regretted the timing of the investment – and discovers that there is strong demand for narrowbody services in the region and MTU expects double digit growth for CFM56 and V2500 shop visits.The news round-up for the region includes plans for a fleet of unmanned freighters to serve Saudi Arabia with hopes for manufacturing to move to the region.

Tourism provides an enormous boost for a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East. In Africa, safaris have been the lifeblood for the GDPs of countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Namibia.The coronavirus pandemic put a stop to that. So what happens to an airline that almost exclusively has a business model that focuses on serving tourists. The CEO of Kenya’s Safarilink, Alex Avedi explains the impact the virus had on the boutique airline to African Aerospace correspondent Edward Njeru. He also outlines the strategy going forward and plans for new aircraft to fuel the growth when tourists return.Another airline looking to the future is the UAE’s flagcarrier Etihad Airways. Guest experience and delivery vice president, Linda Celestino explains how passengers may have different expectations on their return to travel – and how the cabins could change.We also hear from Boeing’s president for the Middle East & Turkey, Bernie Dunn, on how Al Ain aerostructure manufacturer Strata has grown to become a Tier One supplier to the US airframer.

As Dassault rolls out its first new business jet of a generation, which legitimately can claim to be a game changer, we hear how the 6X took its place in Falcon familyBut while business aviation is looking at new horizons, the airline business has been in survival mode – or as Akbar Al Baker, the CEO of Qatar Airways group says it is about doing the right thing.Qatar kept flying throughout global lockdowns and in this piece he explains just how that was done.We also get to talk to French company Moment who have a now portable wireless IFE system and have been selected by Air Senegal to introduce this to its fleet.This plus all the news for the aerospace industry across the Middle East and Africa

With encouraging news around the world regarding approvals of different Covid-19 vaccines, attention swings to distribution of the vital cargo.The UAE has already developed airside warehousing to act to as a hub for the distribution. But what about Africa?We talk to Sanjeev Ghadia, the CEO of Africa’s largest cargo carrier, Astral Aviation and the chair of AFRAA’s cargo committee and vice chair of industry body TIACA, about the situation across the continent.Astral has been one of the few airlines in the world to have seen positive growth during the pandemic and Ghadia also explains why he believes Africa’s airlines need to pay attention to the cargo markets as a pathway to growth and recovery and beyond.In the programme we also talk to Rolls-Royce head of aftermarket technology, Dr Ian Mitchell about a new approach with technology to keep next-gen engines performing. The innovation could have an impact on the MRO industry and Chuck Grieve finds out why.This plus all the region’s aerospace news from the Times Aerospace newsdesk.

As IATA holds its AGM there are clear signs of change. CEO Alexandre de Juniac is stepping down and will be succeeded by the loquacious former IAG chief Willie Walsh who takes no time to take off the diplomatic gloves and point figures at misguided governments. In this week’s podcast we hear from both of them as they lay out future direction IATA will take.While airlines have been seen to be bearing the brunt of the travel collapse, CANSO reports that air navigation service providers have lost more than $9 billion so far since the start of the pandemic.We talk to Ryyan Tarabzoni , the CEO of Saudi Arabia’s air navigation provider SANS about solutions.Five BAE-146 jets are being brought into the fleet of Uganda’s Zone Four International as the Entebbe flight services operator swings toward approval for commercial freight flights around central and east Africa and beyond. We meet Kaires “K” Odom, the founder and CEO of the airline and hear about his plans for the future.When it comes to the future, planning is a nightmare right now. Especially if you are in the MRO business.Rapidly changing circumstances such as we’re seeing at the moment play havoc with the kind of scheduling that airlines and MROs are used to, forcing them to adopt ‘duck and weave’ tactics that could well become another of these ‘new normals’ that we hear about every day. Our MRO editor, Chuck Grieve talks to Aerogility CEO Gary Vickers about the situation.This plus all the news from aerospace, aviation and defence across the Middle East and Africa.

As the true green shoots of recovery begin to show we look at how some old links will prosper as travel restarts in earnest. For Middle Eastern markets the Indian sub-continent will be vital.Special guest for this week’s programme is Sanjiv Kapoor, who is now senior advisor at global consulting firm Alton Aviation. Sanjiv has been a key figure in India’s airline industry having been chief strategy and commercial officer of Vistara – the joint venture airline between TATA and Singapore Airlines, and was previously chief operating officer for successful low cost carrier SpiceJet. Kapoor tells Alan Peaford that in some ways, India been one of the “proxy home markets” for the Gulf ‘Big Three’ carriers and Indian carriers have not been able to compete very well. But in this in-depth interview he explains why India’s low cost carriers are positioned to compete very well against the Middle East’s LCCs, especially with more carriers joining the competitive market in the Gulf.Also in this programme, MRO editor Chuck Grieve steps out from the comfort of the workshop into the front office, where he looks at how one company, Web Manuals, is working on removing paper from the aviation world and catching up with other industries on digitisation.Web Manuals CEO Martin Lidgard, explains how the company is also involved in an exciting CSR programme in Uganda to develop young people – especially girls – to achieve education levels that will benefit the industry and the continent in the future.Also, all the week’s top news headlines from the Times Aerospace newsdesk

This week’s programme comes from the African airline industry’s AFRAA annual general assembly. Although on a virtual platform this year, airline CEOs and representatives from governments, associations and the whole aviation supply chain logged in.Our air transport editor Victoria Moores and airports editor Chloe Greenbank were there too and they give their overview on the future for the industry.In the programme we hear from Sanjeev Ghadia the CEO of Astral Aviation, Yvonne Makolo, CEO of Rwandair and Angola’s Minister of Transport Ricardo de Abreu, as they individually call for action not word.De Abreu says Angola is embracing principles of greater connectivity even though it hasn’t progressed with SAATM, while Makolo argues collaboration is more inclusive than just airlins and needs governments and airports to join in. Ghadia – one of the few airlines to have grown during the pandemic argues that this past eight months has shown the need for airlines to take cargo seriously and make sure the sector is recognised at board level.But if airlines are to recover their passenger business, then passenger confidence is key. Niels Steenstrup, senior vice president of inflight business for Inmarsat revealed the results of a global passenger survey by the technology company to Steve Nichols and outlines why attitudes to recovery will be different depending on where you live.There are also news highlights from across Africa and the Middle East

This week’s Insight programme, hosted by Marcelle Nethersole, looks at the world of two of the major players in the Middle East and Africa regions.Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans to develop its defence industry and has given GAMI – the Kingdom’s General Authority for Military Industries – a mandate to to localize 50% of Saudi Arabia’s military spending over the next decade.A key part of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy GAMI will act as the regulator, enabler and licensor for the defence industry and will work with international defence companies and specifically the OEMs to see this change through.The Governor of GAMI, His Excellency, Ahmad Al Ohali, talks to defence editor Alan Warnes about the three strategic focus pillars: industry regulation; acquisition; and technology and also explains why the organisation is fully behind the World Defense Show which will take place in Riyadh in 2022.Meanwhile, in Africa, Nigeria is preparing to enter a new era in its air defence. The Chinese-Pakistan fighter, the JF-17 Thunder has been painted and ready to be delivered to Abuja imminently. But defence editor Jon Lake looks at whether this is the start of something bigger. With new models in the pipeline and greater demands on the Nigerian air force to fight the Boko Haram insurgencies, the Nigerian Air Force could be widening its sights.This week’s Insight programme is brought to you with the support of Alsalam Aerospace Industries, the diversified maintenance service provider based in Riyadh.

In this week’s look into the world of aerospace and defence across the Middle East and Africa, Peter Mohring, managing director of transport at Serco Middle East, explains why it has never been timelier for the air transport sector to embrace outsourcing to help with post pandemic recovery.Serco provides services across the Gulf from the UAE to Iraq including air traffic management services in Dubai, Sharjah and Baghdad.Mohring says as one of the first industries affected, overnight the pandemic sent the aviation industry into crisis mode, with overall air traffic levels down by about 80 percent globally. This obviously came with a huge economic price tag for the industry and all its adjacent segments, such as tourism, hospitality and supply chains that depend on and support the sector. Unsurprisingly cost cutting measures have seen the halting of recruitment and training, reducing workforces, and the cancelling of contracts.“But despite this, what we have seen is the resilience and adaptability of the sector. It has forced us as well to reimagine outsourcing, and it has stressed the need for service providers to adapt to deliver even greater value than ever.”Meanwhile Space Editor, Steve Nichols, finds out about the latest plans for another UAE satellite and Chuck Grieve learns about remarkably hi-tec tools that are now necessary for non-destructive testing in the MRO arena.This plus all the news from the industry across the region

Safety is always a priority for airlines and while technology has made giant strides to aid flights – sometimes just shouting can make a difference.That’s what Airports Editor Chloe Greenback discovered when she looked at how bird-strikes and other wildlife incursions at airfields impact aviation safety.These represent as much as 3% of aircraft safety incidents – and cost the industry more than $1.2 billion annually - with the majority of the challenges being from bird strikes.IN this week’s programme Chloe talks to Cerian Henshaw, Director of Operations at Aviare a wildlife hazard management company working with airports around the world.Africa in particular has a wide variery of wildlife challenges and Cerian is talking from Banjal in The Gambia and shares some of the strategies employed to keep runways safe.Meanwhile MRO editor Chuck Grieve hears from the Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance – IAMA – which was launched last year to promote uniform standards and visibility in the worldwide retrofit market. It’s focused on modifications carried out under Supplemental Type Certificates, or STCs, which is of particular interest now as airlines face significant pressure on their balance sheets. This, plus all the news from around the Middle Eastern and African aerospace industries.

Will aerospace and defence shows continue or will virtual conferences take their place? That has been a big debate around an industry spending a lot of time at home. This week we hear from Douglas Emslie, the chief executive of Tarsus, the owner of F&E in the UAE and the organiser of the Dubai Air Airshow.He talks through the challenges facing events in the world but outlines his hopes for revival in the Middle East region.Mark Brown, managing director of Times Aerospace also offers an optimistic view of African revival and the forthcoming Aviation Africa Summit and Exhibition.There is also a chance to hear the ‘inside story’ from defence editor Jon Lake, who gives his ‘from our correspondent’ insight about the current quandary facing the USA over potential export sales of the F-35 fighter aircraft to Gulf states. This plus all the news from the region including views of Muhamed Albakri, the regional vice president for IATA on the $30 billion aid for African airlines which has been locked in and therefore putting the African revival at risk.

Airlines need to be planning now for the revival in connectivity. The newly appointed vice president for Embraer’s commercial jet business in Africa, Middle East and Europe, Cesar Pereira joins Alan Peaford to talk about the changing demands on air travel and how right-sizing the fleet will lead to greater flexibility and profitability for the airlines.As former head of Embraer Commercial’s consulting division, and until recently vice president for Asia, Pereira has in-depth knowledge of the airline industry and shares his thoughts about the future.We also talk about changing to the regulations for voice and data recorders – the black boxes – and from January newly registered aircraft will be expected to have up to 25 hours recording time on voice recorders – and us much as 70 hours for data. We hear from L3Harris’s senior sales director avionics, Stephane Chartier, about the new changes.This, plus all the news from around the region – including a bid for Israel’s third biggest airline from a UAE aviation business.

In recent years the “black box: Flight data recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) has come under scrutiny in a number of high-profile aircraft crashes – or disappearances.Questions have been asked – has technology kept up with changing profile of airline routes and range profiles ? Is there now so much data being picked up by sensors and downloaded to the airlines or their maintenance partners? Is there analysis paralysis? And shouldn’t we be sharing data more?Technology company L3Harris – the combined business of L3 Technologies and the Harris Corporation - have been in the aviation technology market for more than six decades. The company’s civil arm ranges from pilot training through to leading avionics solution.Among these are those flight recorders. Alan Peaford talks to L3Harris’s senior sales director avionics Stephane Chartier and Everett Brady, general manager for flight data services.They talk about the company’s new SRVIVR25 series of recorders introduced to meet the 25-hour global mandate. Now combined with the in-house flight data services group the guests explain how the move enables operators to leverage the larger data sets now available to identify safety, maintenance, training and fuel saving opportunities quickly and economically.

It is international space week and the Middle East and Africa region has been doing its bit. Space Editor Steve Nichols looks at how a university in Ras Al Khaimah is doing its bit for the environment by sending its own satellite into space.Things are speeding up in the airlanes as well with this week’s launch of the first flight test article – the XB-1 – for Boom Supersonic’s Overture jet.CEO Blake Scholl outlines why the successor to Concorde could appeal to the passenger and the pockets of the Gulf carriers.A key component of the supersonic aircraft – with tickets that match business class fares – is that it brings people together.That has been a challenge during the Covid pandemic.But Chuck Grieve, our MRO editor, talks to Etihad Engineering about how the Abu Dhabi based company has been able to maintain the close relationships with its airline customers.This plus all the news from across the region.

Defence takes centre stage at this week’s news and feature programme for the Middle East and Africa’s aerospace, aviation and defence podcast.Times Aerospace’s defence editor Alan Warnes sniffs out the only airshow taking place in the world and heads to the eastern reaches of the Czech Republic in search of stories from Africa and the Middle East.And all works out well. A coffee with Micael Johansson, CEO of Swedish manufacturer Saab reveals more about the company’s relationship with the UAE as the second Global Eye aircraft is delivered to the emirates this week.Local Czech OEM Aero Vodochody were celebrating the European certification of the L39ng – the next generation of the Albatross. Jakub Hoda explained to Alan how the Nigerian Air Force was upgrading its existing Albatross aircraft and could be in the market for the new aircraft with its light attack potential.Host Alan Peaford also found defence on the agenda at the Global Aerospace Summit which broadcast the virtual edition of the biennial event from its normal home in Abu Dhabi. We hear from the head of Edge, the UAE defence conglomerate; from the president and CEO of Lockheed Martin and get some encouraging words of comfort from Etihad Airways’ chief executive Tony Douglas.Plus, of course, all the news headlines from across the region.

With the region’s biggest business aviation event MEBAA Show postponed until February, this week’s programme hears just how strongly the sector is bouncing back with optimism. Our special guest is Rob DiCastri, the president and CEO of Royal Jet, the Abu Dhabi-based luxury carrier with the world’s biggest Boeing Business Jet fleet.The carrier has established a strong position in Africa as well as the Middle East and had widely published plans for establishing bases in Eswatini and Saudi Arabia and DiCastri explains how Covid has impacted plans but shops how it has also created opportunity.Enquiries from new potential customers are on the up. But can they be converted to a new customer base?Also looking for not just a customer base, but also technology partners is Airbus. This week the European manufacturer launched concepts for a family of hydrogen-powered airliners. Glen Llewellyn, the head of the European manufacturer’s zero emissions business talks about the need for collaboration but also of the importance of a zero emission strategy for the industry.And if you have ever wanted to create a name for an airline – there are opportunities now as we find out in our news trawl around the whole region.

This week’s programme for the African and Middle East aerospace, defence and aviation market takes a look at changes in the cabin that should affect passenger confidence and safety.Roger Patron from the UK’s completions company RAS – an interiors business known for its work on head of state cabins, most recently with two West African countries – has turned its attention to commercial aircraft cabins and developed a shield which sits between seats and protects fellow passengers from droplets that could escape masks.Already one Gulf carrier has sets being trialled on an aircraft.RAS’s Roger Patron explains the background to the protectors and how they work. In last week’s programme we heard that Flydubai – the UAE hybrid carrier – has introduced RFID (radio frequency identification) tracking on its seat covers to monitor the cleaning cycles of each seat cover and help maintain the highest standards of in-flight hygiene and safety.The managing director of ASD – the Irish aerospace software developer – Dave Browne is a guest on the programme to explain how RFID works and enhances the safety benefits – and cost savings – to airlines and MRO operations.This, plus all the news highlights from across the region.

This week training takes the centre stage in our weekly news magazine programme for the Middle East and Africa.A leading light in the Women in Aviation movement in the Middle East, Kinda Sarrage, joins us in her ‘day job’ role as vice president sales, for the commercial aviation arm of L3 Harris in Middle East, Africa and South Asia.She talks about the latest initiative to increase pilot numbers for Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom shows great prospects for recovery.Meanwhile in Africa, safety remains a key talking point and training need. Tom Kok, director of the AviAssist Foundation introduces next month’s virtual; safety conference over four days and talks about the challenges and success of safety culture across the continent – and explains how listeners could win a watch as they learn about safety.And on the technology front, our space and tec editor Steve Nichols looks into the challenges of face recognition as airports try to improve passenger experience and safe security.This plus all the news from across the region.

The former CEO of Kenya Airways, Sebastian Milosz, joins his IATA colleagues for The overview of the industry recovery – or lack of it – as passengers ignore safety rules and put public confidence in doubt.Mikosz explains the law – and how crews should respond to such behaviour.As IATA’s CEO Philippe de Juniac outlines a new three-point plan for global recovery, Chief economist Brian Pearce and Mikosz explain how the Middle East and African connectivity is faring.Getting aircraft back into the air is certainly no easy matter as Chuck Grieve discovers when he listens to Martin Bell from Gama Aviation’s Flyer Tech.This plus all the news from across the region.

This week’s programme features Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East who talks to Alan Peaford about the challenge of persuading governments across the region to invest in their aviation industry now and keep airlines and airports alive, rather than delay and pay more later.Albakri, who will be taking up a new role with IATA, speaks about the progress that had been underway in Africa with SAATM and explains how connectivity will help Africa fight back, despite the enormous blow to the continent’s GDP as a result of Covid19.Also, the latest news from across the region and an update on the Mars Hope project.