Erection of Karoo telescope dishes to start in early 2024

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope project is, in terms of scale, undoubtedly the biggest astronomy programme in the world today. What was once a dream, and then a hopeful project, is... 

IATA determined to help improve aviation safety in Africa

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is the global representative body for the airline industry, “is still very focused on Africa”, assured IATA regional VP Africa and Middle... 

IATA is urging governments to prioritise the production of sustainable aviation fuels

The production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) is not receiving the priority it needs, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned. SAF is essential if commercial aviation is... 

Air passenger traffic continued a strong recovery in October

The International Air Transport Association (IATA – the representative body for the worldwide airline industry) reports that total global air passenger demand continued to recover strongly in... 

Global air cargo demand continues on an upward trend

October was another month that saw increased year-on-year (y-o-y) air cargo demand, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported. (IATA was the global representative body for the... 

South African woman appointed to head Brussels aircraft maintenance facility

Aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company ExecuJet MRO Services Europe has appointed South African Nadia Coetzee as GM of its facility at Brussels International Airport. She was... 

Space sector representatives from four African countries currently touring the UK

Space innovators, entrepreneurs and government officials from Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa are currently in the UK to meet their British counterparts, to exchange insights and... 

Airbus awarded contract for next phase of 'standards laboratory in space' project

Airbus Space has been awarded a €109.3-million (including options) contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the latest phase of its Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial and Helio... 

Global nuclear energy summit announced for early next year

The intergovernmental International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo have... 

Airlink has upgraded its Johannesburg – Richards Bay service

South African regional and domestic airline Airlink has announced that it has significantly upgraded its service on its Johannesburg-Richards Bay route, with effect from Monday. Previously operated... 

Campaign launched to promote tourism to George, the Garden Route and Klein Karoo

Inter-agency and public private partnership Cape Town and Western Cape air connectivity initiative Cape Town Air Access (CTAA) has announced it is partnering with Cape Town-based and leading... 

ACSA urges airline passengers to adhere to hand baggage regulations

With the high-demand Christmas season about to start, the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has called on airline passengers to adhere to the regulations regarding hand baggage (the bags that... 

Chinese communications company considering assembly operations in South Africa

China-based mission-critical communications hardware and software company Hytera Communications is in early-stage discussions to hopefully start basic assembly operations in South Africa. Based in... 

Rolls-Royce says all its commercial aero engines can run on 100% green fuels

UK-based global major propulsion and power systems group Rolls-Royce announced on Monday that it has successfully tested every one of its current production commercial (including business) aircraft... 

Sierra Leone to get its first wind farm next year

UK-based renewable energy group Octopus Energy has announced that it has entered a partnership to develop the first ever wind farm in the West African country of Sierra Leone. Its partner in the... 

Canadian airline orders another 25 jetliners from Embraer

Brazil-based major aerospace group Embraer has announced that Canadian carrier Porter Airlines has ordered a further 25 E195-E2 airliners, which will take its fleet of this type to 75. The airline... 

FlyNamibia to link Windhoek with Victoria Falls in joint strategy with Airlink

Independent Namibian airline FlyNamibia has announced that it is to institute a new route on April 4 next year. This will connect the country’s capital, Windhoek, to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.... 

South African food inflation is accelerating again

South African food and non-alcoholic beverage (NAB) inflation – hereafter to be referred to as food inflation, for short – continued its renewed acceleration in October, the Bureau for Food and... 

Rolls-Royce seeking a 'step change' in its mid-term financial performance

UK-based global major propulsion and power systems group Rolls-Royce announced on Tuesday, as part of a Capital Markets Day that it is hosting, that it is targeting a major uplift in its... 

South Africa seeks re-election to council of global shipping regulator

The Department of Transport (DoT) has announced that it has launched a campaign to get South Africa re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), for the period... 

IATA welcomes aviation decarbonisation conference agreements, but demands States act

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is the global representative body for the airline industry, has welcomed the outcomes of the intergovernmental International Civil Aviation... 

South Africa has hosted major nuclear energy school for African countries

The fourth International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nuclear Energy Management (NEM) school for Africa was held in Cape Town, from November 13 to November 24, the South African Nuclear Energy... 

Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s fourth CubeSat project well on track

The Africa Space Innovation Centre (ASIC) of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) is currently busy with its fourth nanosatellite programme, ASIC Chief Engineer Nyameko Royi tells... 

Satellite constellation project to support African farmers highlighted

South African space infrastructure company SCS Space, based in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, is highlighting its SCS-Agrisense project at the 2023 Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Week and... 

GMES Africa initiative stimulating use of satellite data on the continent

Intergovernmental organisation the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Africa is attending the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Week and Ministerial Summit 2023 (being held at... 

UK researchers adapt astrophysics technology to look for icebergs

Lancaster University in the UK has successfully adapted artificial intelligence (AI) technology, developed to hunt for and characterise galaxy clusters deep in space, to detect and track icebergs... 

UK company wins major satellite and space debris monitoring contracts

UK space domain awareness (SDA) services company Spaceflux (founded in 2022) has won two important contracts from Britain’s military and civilian space organisations, UK Space Command and the UK... 

Kenya Airways has resumed services to Bangkok

Kenya Airways (KQ), the national flag carrier of the East African country, has announced that it has resumed flights from its hub in Nairobi to Bangkok, in Thailand. This service will be operated... 

Winners of the 2023 Irish Tech Challenge South Africa announced

South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the Embassy of the Republic of Ireland have jointly announced that five South African growth-stage technology startup companies, out of... 

Africa has huge potential for the production of sustainable aviation fuels

In the drive to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions aviation by 2050, Africa potentially has a great advantage, International Air Transport Association (IATA) regional VP Africa and the... 

Aviation safety in Africa is improving, but airline industry seeks to always get better

African airlines need to become more active in the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA’s) regional safety and flight operations groups (which are action oriented), IATA regional VP... 

African airlines still face government-imposed financial pressures that exceed global norms

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is the global representative body for the airline industry, has again highlighted the problem of high commercial aviation costs in Africa... 

Global packaging industry is dynamic, says new head of representative body

Incoming World Packaging Organisation (WPO) President Luciana Pellegrino has highlighted the dynamism of the global packaging industry. Speaking in Cape Town on Monday, she pointed out that it had... 

Global packaging sector facing five major trends

As far as the global packaging industry is concerned, there are currently five top trends, outgoing World Packaging Organisation (WPO) president Pierre Pienaar highlighted, at a press briefing in... 

Chinese communications company considering local assembly in South Africa

China-based mission-critical communications hardware and software company Hytera Communications is in early-stage discussions to hopefully start basic assembly operations in South Africa. Based in... 

Egyptair has ordered next-generation Airbus airliners

Europe-based global major aerospace group Airbus announced on Tuesday that Egypt’s national flag carrier, Egyptair, had ordered ten next-generation A350-900 widebody airliners. Next-generation... 

Rolls-Royce has announced that all its commercial aero engines can run on 100% green fuels

UK-based global major propulsion and power systems group Rolls-Royce announced on Monday that it has successfully tested every one of its current production commercial (including business) aircraft... 

Airbus reports strong demand for its airliners during the first three quarters of this year

Europe-based global major aerospace and defence group Airbus has released its results for the first nine months of this year (9M23). Consolidated group revenues, at €42.56-billion, were up 12%,... 

IATA has reported that air passenger traffic growth continued to be strong

In September, global air passenger demand continued to recover strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported. IATA is the global... 

Kenya Airways has achieved IATA ground handling services accreditation

Kenya Airways, the East African country’s national flag carrier, announced on Thursday that it, and its Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi) hub, have been accredited by the IATA Safety...