Good morning, friends. We have the latest on how Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon is affecting regional aviation traffic as disruption drags on for nearly a year, as well as all the details on Ooredoo’s big financing injection. Let’s dive right in.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- A slew of regional airlines have canceled flights to Lebanon amid Israeli air strikes, with travel activity at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport dropping by 30% to 40%, Memo reports. Lebanon’s flag-carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) will add additional flights to bridge the gaps left by the cancellations, the news outlet quoted Lebanon’s travel and tourist agents association head Jean Abboud as saying. Israel launched air strikes in the country on Monday, including in Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing almost 500 people and injuring some 1.6k on Monday, the Financial Times reports.

Over 30 flights to and from Beirut were canceled yesterday by carriers including Qatar Airways, Emirates, Air Arabia, Royal Jordanian and Turkish Airways, according to Rafik Hariri Airport’s website. MEA and Iraqi Airways flights were operating as usual. Reuters has a master list of cancellations that can be accessed here.

Resumptions are unclear: Egypt’s flag-carrier EgyptAir canceled its flights from Cairo to Beirut effective yesterday and temporarily suspended flights “until the situation stabilizes,” according to a statement. The UAE’s flag- carrier Etihad Airways also canceled flights between Abu Dhabi and Beirut effective yesterday in response to regional tensions, the airline told Gulf News. UAE’s Emirates has listed no flights or fares from Dubai to Beirut from now until Saturday, 28 September, despite usually operating 12 weekly flights, Gulf News reports. Qatar Airways also temporarily suspended flights to Beirut yesterday, NNA reported.

Israeli ports are still open for business: Israel’s seaports, including the Red Sea port of Eilat and the Mediterranean ports of Haifa and Ashdod, are still operational at normal capacity despite the Israeli military escalation in Lebanon, Reuters reports, citing a letter by the Israeli port authority.

Israel says it will compensate shippers: Israel says it will provide war damage compensation to commercial vessels within its economic waters, according to the letter.

#2- Implementation of the first phase of Egypt’s Dekhila dry bulk terminal superstructure will reach USD 50 mn, including supplying the essential operational equipment and completion of the remaining works, Al Mal reports, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The terminal will be implemented in three phases, with operations expected to begin in the second half of 2025.

Remember: A consortium of four local private and state-owned firms — Mediterraneo Egypt, LattTrading and Shipping, an Elsewedy company, and the Transport Ministry’s Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport — signed an agreement on Monday to invest USD 450 mn to build, operate and manage the dry bulk terminal.

IN OTHER EGYPT NEWS- Cairo 3A will build a EGP 60 mn, 15.3k sqm dry bulk warehouse covering at Damietta Port to increase their storage capacity, Al Mal reports, citing an unnamed source it says has knowledge of the matter. The project — set to be completed in 2025 — is the second of its kind in Damietta port this year, with the ongoing construction of a vegetable oils storing warehouse.

#3- Aramco and China National Building Material Group (CNBM) have signed a five-year agreement to set up manufacturing facilities in the kingdom for wind turbine blades, hydrogen storage tanks, lower-carbon building materials, and energy storage, it said in a press release. The pair will also create a training and inspection center and joint tech development center.

Building on an existing friendship: Aramco and CNBM established the Nonmetallic Excellence and Innovation Center for Building Materials (NEXCEL) back in 2021 in Beijing. The center aimed to foster the development of non-metallic technologies that offer better efficiency and environmental advantages.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices fell in early morning trading as investors weighed China’s ability to drive more fuel demand based on its stimulus plans, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures dipped USD 0.17 to USD 75 a barrel by 04.15 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate fell USD 0.24 to USD 71.32 a barrel. Oil traded 1.7% higher yesterday after China rolled out its more aggressive economic stimulus package since 2020.

#2- Baltic index continues upwards trajectory: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — climbed 0.8% to 2,014 points on Monday, its highest point since July. The capesize index increased 26 points to 3,301 points, while the panamax index added 8 points to 1,560 points. The smaller supramax index rose 11 points to 1,312 points.

DATA POINTS-

#1-Bahrain’s Khalifa bin Salman Port handled 39k TEU in August 2024, a 7.5% y-o-y increase, according to reports here (pdf). This is a 7.5% increase compared to last year (pdf). General cargo at the port dipped 38.9% y-o-y to 47.2k tons.

#2- AD Ports’ Ro-Ro vehicle volumes grew by 30% in H1 2024 at Autoterminal Khalifa Port, according to a statement. Autoterminal Khalifa Port built an extra 90k square meters of yard storage capacity to accommodate a rise in demand in the automotive trade.

#3- Iran’s imports of basic goods saw a 7.7% y-o-y increase in volume in the first six months of the Iranian calendar 2024 year (21 March to 21 September), with a value of USD 7.3 bn, IRNA reports, citing Iran Customs Administration data.

PSA-

Saudi’s Transport General Authority has established four key regulatory requirements for foreign trucks operating in the Kingdom, according to state news agency (SPA). The requirements include:

• Obtaining an electronic transportation document from the Logistics platform,
• Limiting transportation of goods to the return route from the designated city,
• Adhering to established transportation systems and requirements in the Kingdom,
• Cooperating with authorities.

Penalties: Foreign carriers or trucks that break the rules must pay any fines before they can enter or leave the country's land ports. Settling violations is essential for smooth border operations.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Bahrain to host the Routes World forum from Sunday, 6 October to Tuesday, 8 October. The event will bring together VPs and network planning heads from some 250 carriers to discuss global air route networks.

Saudi Arabia to host the Global Logistics Forum from Saturday, 12 October to Monday, 14 October in Riyadh. The forum will gather key industry players, government officials, and industry experts to discuss optimizing operations and driving growth in the logistics sector. The event will take a specific look at how the sector can adapt with regards to global climate change and incorporate sustainability into their supply-chain operations.

Saudi Arabia to host the Global Airport & Aviation Forum from Wednesday, 16 October to Thursday, 17 October in Jeddah. The forum will bring together aviation leaders and experts to discuss future projects in the aviation industry, including new airport developments, capacity upgrades and expansions, new aircraft orders, and important airport services.

Saudi Arabia will host the Smart Ports & Logistics Transformation Summit on Monday, 21 October and Tuesday, 22 October in Riyadh. The two-day conference aims to discuss strategies, innovation, and technologies in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to position KSA as a logistics hub in the MENA region.

The UAE will host the International Conference on Tourism, Transport, andLogistics on Saturday, 26 October and Sunday, 27 October in Dubai. The event will gather scientists, scholars, and engineers from around the world to discuss new ideas and research development projects in the industry.

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