Qatar gets first batch of Boeing F-15 fighter jets

• The rollout took place on Wednesday in a ceremony at Boeing’s headquarters in the US state of Missouri
• Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah was in attendance

UAE helps 28,000 flee Afghanistan: official

• The UAE and Qatar have been instrumental staging posts for evacuation flights for Western countries' citizens as well as Afghan interpreters, journalists and others
• Of the headline 28,000 to have passed through the Emirates, some 12,000 were evacuated by Britain, and 9,000 by the US

Etihad arm to convert Boeings

• Etihad Engineering will use its expertise and capabilities for the specialized Boeing 777-300ERSF conversion
• It will initially facilitate two conversion lines to accommodate multiple aircraft conversions per year

Saudi Arabia to accept IATA Travel Pass from Sept 30

• Eventually this acceptance will be expanded to vaccine certification
• Travelers to and from Saudi Arabia will soon have the choice of using either the Pass or the national health app

Teenage pilot takes off on solo round-the-world record bid

• The intrepid 19-year-old Zara Rutherford dreams one day of becoming an astronaut
• The first leg was a short hop across the Channel from her Belgian hometown of Kortrijk to England

GCC airlines may continue to fly into losses

• The regional carriers will benefit from rapid vaccination rates on home markets
• Net losses of the airlines in all regions are expected to come down in 2021

Qatar Airways forced to ground 13 Airbus aircraft over surface issue

• The aircraft will remain grounded till the root cause can be established and a satisfactory solution made available
• Qatar Airways said in June that it had pulled some of its A350 jets from service until the issue could be understood and fixed

Airlines suffer $126.4bn loss amidst Covid-19

• IATA said passenger numbers were down 60 percent year-on-year
• The Middle East was the worst impacted, with a 67.6 percent fall in passenger numbers compared to Asia-Pacific, the least impacted with a decrease of 53.4 percent

Jordanian flight, with 133 passengers on board, ‘forced’ to make landing