Qatar Airways flights have been granted limited access to United Arab Emirates airspace in order to ease operations over the Gulf. NOTAMs issued by the United Arab Emirates state that a temporary air traffic services route has been created between Iranian airspace and Bahraini airspace, passing through the UAE flight information region. This corridor, designated T665, extends from waypoint DAPER in the east through ITMUS, some 70nm north-west of Abu Dhabi, to the OVONA waypoint bordering Bahrain. The NOTAM states that the corridor – from cruise altitudes of 22,000-30,000ft – is intended for Qatari-registered long-haul aircraft inbound to Doha. Qatar's civil aviation authority states that the opening of the air route follows an extraordinary meeting of the ICAO Council within the last few days, during which it had considered the impact of the airspace blockade on Qatar's aviation industry.<br/>
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Hainan Airlines plans to open six international routes soon as the Haikou-based carrier continues its expansion to meet the increasing demand of Chinese outbound travelers. The new routes comprise Shanghai-Tel Aviv, Beijing-Prague-Belgrade, Shenzhen-Brisbane, Chongqing-New York JFK, Chengdu-New York JFK and Shanghai-Brussels. In the 2017 first half, Hainan opened 15 international routes, including Chengdu-Los Angeles, California, and Chongqing-Los Angeles in March. To date, Hainan operates 12 Sino-US routes using mostly Boeing 787s. The carrier operates the biggest 787 fleet in China, with 22 aircraft. Hainan Airlines operates from China’s secondary cities to primary foreign cities and vice versa. However, because China’s secondary cities traditionally have low load factors, it is challenging for these international routes to be profitable, especially in business class.<br/>
Scottish carrier Loganair, operator of the world’s shortest scheduled flight and another that lands on a remote Hebridean beach, is repainting its fleet into tartan colors and seeking new allies as it prepares to go solo after almost a quarter of century flying in the livery of other airlines. The Glasgow-based company, known for its routes to the far-flung archipelagos of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, has begun transforming its planes with a red, black and gray tail design and the logo “Scotland’s Airline” as it prepares for independence at the start of next month. The plaid pattern is listed as entry 11,744 on the official Scottish Register of Tartans. Loganair is getting its own brand after flying for British Airways from 1994 until 2008 and then for Flybe Group, with which a franchise deal ends on Aug. 31. While Loganair gets the bulk of its $131m in annual revenue from the tie-up, MD Jonathan Hinkles says it can survive and prosper by leveraging its Scottish credentials more widely. Among the 30-strong Loganair fleet are two eight-seat Britten-Norman Islanders used for services within Orkney, including the 1 1/2-minute, 1.7-mile flight between Westray and Papa Westray that’s the shortest scheduled route in the world, with a record time of 57 seconds in the air in a favorable wind.<br/>
South African regional carrier Airlink has begun operations with the first of its incoming fleet of Embraer E190s, operating scheduled flights on its Pietermaritzburg (South Africa) and Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) routes. Johannesburg-based Airlink has three of the new type on strength and plans to build up a fleet of 13 E190s and E170s, gradually replacing its existing inventory of 12 Avro RJ85s. The airline said the E190 will allow it to introduce a business-class cabin on the Pietermaritzburg and Bulawayo routes, as well as give passengers additional seat pitch. One new route for the E190s, which will have ETOPS certification, will be the Johannesburg to St Helena route. St Helena is a remote British possession in the South Atlantic, which has been searching for a suitable aircraft to serve its new airport after windshear and tailwind problems rendered it unsuitable for the initially planned operator, South Africa’s Comair. <br/>
Malaysia' low-cost carrier AirAsia Group's CEO and co-founder Tony Fernandes has announced that the company had appointed actress Raline Shah as member of Indonesia AirAsia's board of commissioners. Fernandes announced Raline’s appointment through his private Instagram account on Monday, to which he also uploaded a photograph of Raline and himself. Earlier Fernandes made an announcement that Raline has been appointed as the company's director. "Our new director in AirAsia Indonesia @ralineshah. Smart creative humble. A real coup readying our company for IPO," he wrote in the photo caption. Fernandes, however, did not mention the exact position Raline would fill. <br/>