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A large fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG)-fuelled luxury buses manufactured by Scania will be delivered long before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Swedish ambassadot to Qatar Ewa Polano told The Peninsula newspaper. The buses “are expected to arrive in Qatar by early 2021 latest,” Polano said. The authorities last year announced plans to replace Doha’s existing fleet of diesel buses used for public transport as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions and prepare for the World Cup.

Etihad Airways is offloading its stakes in two real estate developments that share its name, Etihad Plaza and Etihad Airways Centre, while taking full control of its own headquarters building, in a Dh1.2bn ($327m) deal with the local Aldar Investment Properties. Previously the three properties were owned in a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies. The deal, announced on 27 February, should be wrapped up before the end of June.

More than $5bn-worth of orders were placed at the fifth Bahrain International Airshow, the event’s organisers said. The most active buyer was Saudi Gulf Airlines, which placed an order for ten Airbus A320neo passenger jets and options for a further ten, valued at $2.1bn. Deliveries should begin in 2023.

The High Court of England and Wales granted an injunction on 5 September to stop Port de Djibouti (PdD) from acting as if its joint venture agreement with Dubai’s DP World had been terminated. It is the latest legal victory for DP in its long-running dispute with the Djibouti government over a contract to run the Doraleh Container Terminal.

The chances of Iran being able to take delivery of the 80 jets on order from The Boeing Company seems to have taken a step backwards this month, after the US government signalled its continuing hostility to aviation deals with Tehran. On 5 February, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced a temporary denial order (TDO) against Turkish national Gulnihal Yegane which bars her from exporting goods from the United States.

The first shipment of goods from India to Afghanistan to pass through Chabahar arrived on 1 November. The consignment of wheat represents an important ‘proof of concept’ for the huge investments being made in the southern Iranian port, which forms part of a trade route which will enable India to reach markets in Afghanistan and elsewhere in central Asia while bypassing Pakistan.

Dubai suffered a fall in container traffic last year, with throughput at the emirate’s ports – the most important shipping hub in the Gulf region – dropping by 5.3% in 2016 compared to the year before, according to the 2017 Review of Maritime Transport, published in late October by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). In 2016, Dubai handled 14.8m twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), down from 15.6m in 2015.

Qatar Airways continues to put a brave face on its difficulties, despite being severally hampered by the GCC-3 and Egypt shutting off their airspace to its flights. The airline continues to open up new routes in an effort to maintain passenger traffic through its expensive new hub, Hamad International airport. The most recent additions to its network include Penang in Malaysia and St Petersburg in Russia, but it has also increased frequencies to other destinations in Europe.

Ras Al-Khaimah has appointed auditing and advisory firm KPMG to do a feasibility study for the privatisation of Ras Al-Khaimah International Airport, MEED reported. The RAK government aims to increase the airport’s capacity to 3.5m passengers/yr from 1.5 passengers/yr – not least to serve the emirate’s new free trade area, Ras Al-Khaimah Economic Zone.

In a new report, the US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) has identified seven major ‘chokepoints’ for the worldwide maritime transit of oil, which accounted for about 61% of global petroleum and other liquids movements in 2015 (when total world supply was about 96.7m b/d). Among them, the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf is named as the most important strategic chokepoint by volume of oil transit, with 18.5m b/d of crude and petroleum liquids transiting through the area in 2016.

As Qatar Airways manoeuvres to minimise the damage of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) crisis, its two main rivals, Dubai-based Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, have been struggling to maintain their previously breakneck expansion at a time of slow global economic growth. They will not be helped by the recent partial reinstatement of US President Donald Trump’s travel ban on six counties, ahead of a Supreme Court hearing on the executive order later this year.

Qatar Airways Company is arguably the most public casualty of all sectors of the Qatari economy that are suffering from the GCC-3’s embargo. The national flag carrier serves as a world-wide calling card and marketing machine for an emirate obsessed with projecting soft power, as well as diversifying out of hydrocarbons dependence. A marked slowdown is likely after Qatar Airways’ rapid growth of recent years. However, its response to date suggests it does not plan to meekly lie down – and that Qatar’s huge range of investments made in recent years can be mobilised to the under-pressure emirate’s advantage.

Deputy transport minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan has told local media that nine financial institutions from Europe and Asia have expressed interest in providing finance for Iran Air’s previously announced purchases of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. He did not name the institutions but said they came from Denmark, Ireland, Norway, the UK, China and Japan. Among those thought to be interested in supporting financing for some of the deals is UK Export Finance (UKEF).

Iran has cancelled a preliminary agreement with France’s Bouygues to expand Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) in Tehran, after the French group apparently had difficulty securing backing from international banks. It is the latest sign that US sanctions continue to hamper international businesses wanting to work in Iran. IKIA Airport City Company managing director Mahmoud Navidi told local media the arrangement had been cancelled three or four months ago. Some discussions are ongoing, said a Bouygues spokesman quoted by Reuters.

The European Commission (EC) is planning to publish new competition rules for the aviation sector in April, in a move which could open the way for fines on Middle East carriers and even, in extreme circumstances, bar them from Europe’s skies. In February, Reuters reported that the proposed new rules would allow the EC to impose duties on non-European Union (EU) airlines, or suspend their flying rights, if they are found to have benefitted from illegal government subsidies, favourable airport charges or other unfair business practices.