Good morning, friends. We’re getting closer to the weekend with another busy issue, featuring investment, rail, and earnings updates from across the region. PLUS: We also explore how the private sector can help Egypt achieve its rail freight targets with wider adoption of fixed-schedule services. But first, an update from US airports…

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- US flights disruptions continue, but with less severity: Airlines canceled 1.2k flights and delayed another 1.7k on Tuesday, in a slight improvement from Monday that saw 2.4k cancelations and 9.6k delays. The improvement came despite the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) decision to move ahead with raising its reductions of travel air capacity at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports from 4% to 6% as planned starting Tuesday.

What’s behind the improvement? More airport personnel appear to be reporting in after the US congress advanced a bipartisan bill to end the shutdown, which passed the Senate and now awaiting the House’s vote. US President Donald Trump has also recently threatened to slash the paychecks of absent workers, adding that he welcomed their “resignations.”

What now? If the House fails to pass the current bill, FAA’s reductions are set to increase to 8% on 13 November, and 10% by 14 November. Even with government reopening, it will take some time to return to normal. “The airplanes are in the wrong cities and so forth… So a good deal of the responsibility will be the carriers getting their schedules and the aircraft and personnel back in the right positions to resume normal flying,” former FAA administrator Randy Babbitt said.

The story continued to receive a lot of ink from the int’l press: Reuters | Associated Press | NBC | CBS | NPR

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WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- An energy terminal project at Oman’s Sezad in the works: Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO) and Royal Vopak are currently working on a master plan for a new energy storage and terminal project planned at Duqm Special Economic Zone (Sezad) in Oman, OTTCO’s Operations Vice President Ali Al Maamari told Oman Observer. The new project will be developed through a JV, with OTTCO (51%), a subsidiary of the Omani state energy firm OQ group, and Dutch liquid storage operator Royal Vopak (49%).

What’s in the books? The facility will handle both green and traditional fuels, with green ammonia handling targeted in the first phase. Green hydrogen uptake, however, is not currently in the mix, mainly due to costs and technical challenges.

REMEMBER- Ottco already operates Oman’s largest energy terminal, Ras Markaz at Duqm port, which specializes in petroleum products.

#2- Qatar reroutes Pakistan-bound LNG cargoes: QatarEnergy has reportedly agreed to divert 24 LNG cargoes previously earmarked for Pakistan to other buyers in 2026, Pakistani outlet The Express Tribune reports, citing unnamed sources. The parties have reached an agreement whereby if Doha sells off the cargoes in the open market below the contract price, Islamabad will bear the loss under a net proceeds differential formula.

Not a first: Islamabad canceled 21 LNG cargoes planned for 2026 and 2027 after reaching an agreement with Italy’s Eni, Reuters reported last week.

IN CONTEXT- Pakistan has been in extended talks with several of its LNG suppliers to halt or defer planned cargoes as its demand for the super-chilled fuel continues to slump. The country had previously secured long-term LNG agreements in recent years when it was facing major energy shortages, which have since significantly improved due to higher renewable energy generation — from solar and hydropower production — and lower industrial demand.

DISRUPTION WATCH-

The Houthis signal an end to Red Sea attacks: Yemen’s Houthis have indicated that their attacks on Israeli-linked commercial vessels in the Red Sea have ended, the Financial Times reports, citing a letter published by the Yemeni militant group. The letter to the Al Qassam Brigades vows to resume attacks should Israel continue its aggression in the Gaza Strip following last month’s ceasefire agreement.

The scourge of the Red Sea: The Yemeni group has launched attacks on Israeli-linkedcommercial vessels traversing the Red Sea in response to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The most recent attack claimed by the group occurred in September on a Liberian-flagged, Israeli-owned tanker near Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu.

MARKET WATCH-

Baltic index is on a downward slope: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — dropped 0.6% to 2,072 on Tuesday, buoyed by the bigger-size segment. The capesize was down by 2.2% to 3,192, while the panamax index increased 1.1% to 1,865. The smaller supramax index was up 17 points to 1,344.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the Dubai Airshow on Monday, 17 November until Friday, 21 November in Dubai. The event will host over 1.5k exhibitors and 148k industry experts from over 150 countries to discuss air mobility, new MRO breakthroughs, sustainable aviation, startups, and new tech for aircraft simulations.

Saudi Arabia will host the ShipTek International Conference and Awards on Tuesday, 18 November in Al Khobar. The conference will host policymakers, organizations, suppliers, and experts on maritime, offshore, and oil and gas.

Egypt will host the International Procurement Supply Chain Conference on Saturday, 6 December in Cairo. The event will gather over 1k delegates, more than 400 organizations, and over 30 global speakers to discuss the future of trade through keynotes and panel discussions. The discussions will center on Egypt’s transformation in the logistics sector, the future of smart ports and supply chains, as well as digital ecosystems.

Morocco is hosting the Rail Industry Summit on Tuesday, 9 December until Wednesday, 10 December in El Jadida. The two-day event will gather 130 exhibitors, 250 companies, and over 900 participants from 15 countries. It will feature business meetings, high-level conferences, and workshops focused on new market trends and future strategies.

Saudi Arabia is hosting the Saudi Airport Exhibition on Tuesday, 16 December until Wednesday, 17 December in Riyadh. Upwards of 10k global attendees are expected to participate in the event from over 100 countries. The two-day event will focus on airport-related innovation, and will feature participation from Saudia, SolitAir, and Amadeus.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

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