Egypt seeks Air Serbia’s return to Cairo

GLOBAL AVIATION NEWS

China Eastern crash intentional

Flight data indicates a China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in March was intentionally put into a nose-dive. Investigators have so far not found any mechanical or technical faults with the jet, the reports say, citing a preliminary assessment by US officials. The Boeing 737-800 was flying between the southern Chinese cities of Kunming and Guangzhou when it crashed. All 132 passengers and crew on board the plane died in the crash. "The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit", according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story, citing a person familiar with US officials' preliminary assessment of the cause of the crash. Data from one of the plane's "black box" flight recorders, which was recovered from the crash site, suggested that inputs to the controls pushed the plane into a near-vertical dive, the report said. China Eastern Airlines previously said the three pilots on board were qualified and in good health. The airline separately told the Wall Street Journal that there was no indication that any of the pilots was in financial trouble. Last month, the CAAC said reports that the plane may have been crashed deliberately had "gravely misled the public" and "interfered with accident investigation work". Investigators are still in the process of analysing flight data and the wreckage from the crash, Chinese state media outlet the Global Times reported. It also said the CAAC will continue to "carry out the accident investigation in a scientific, rigorous and orderly manner". The Chinese embassy in Washington, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and plane maker Boeing declined to comment on the Wall Street Journal's report, due to guidelines set out by the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization.

Egypt seeks Air Serbia’s return to Cairo

NEWS FLASH

The Egyptian Ambassador to Serbia, Amr Aljowaily, has said the resumption of flights between Belgrade and Cairo is one of his priorities. The service, which was launched in June 2019, was suspended in March of last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It is yet to be restored. “We are in constant contact with Air Serbia, so we can look into overcoming the challenges of the pandemic and restore nonstop flights. We are also working on other fronts too. Air Cairo has maintained direct flights between Belgrade and Hurghada throughout the year, and during his visit to Serbia this July, its Chairman announced plans to launch nonstop flights from Belgrade to Sharm El Sheikh, while the airline is exploring plans for Niš”. He added, “I have conducted and facilitated numerous meetings in the aviation sector, with the aim of further expanding the network of flights and routes between the two countries. I look forward to positive results in this regard”. Mr Aljowaily met with Serbia’s Foreign Minister yesterday where he said aviation matters were discussed in more detail.

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