Aviation

Lockheed Martin Corp and the Pentagon missed their end-of-March target for reaching agreement on $15 billion in new F-35 fighter jets, but should complete work on the contracts in April, according to sources familiar with the matter.

"We're closer now than we were at the beginning of the month," said one of the sources, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Bulgaria will spend about BGN 2.42 B (EUR 1.24 B) to keep airborne its MiG-29s fighter jets and acquire new warplanes as well as patrol ships under a defence procurement investment plan approved by the government, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

The cabinet approved the three investment projects earlier on Wednesday.

Bulgaria's government approved three investment projects to modernizing the country's navy and air force worth over 2.4 billion leva [around 1.2 billion euro] on Wednesday.

The projects concern buying new fighter jets and multi-functional patrol ships, as well extending the lifespan of a minimum of ten MiG-29 fighter jets.

The Bulgarian government has started procedures for the acquisition of new armaments for the needs of the country's air force and navy.

At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the government approved three investment projects, which concern the extension of the lifespan of the MiG-29 fighter jets and the acquisition of new types of fighter jet and multi-functional module patrol ship.

Air France has renewed its direct daily flights between the Bulgarian and French capitals starting from Sunday.

The flights between Sofia airport and Charles de Gaulle airport have been added to the airline's summer flight schedule and will be serviced between March 27 and October 29.

The flights will be carried out by an Airbus A319 with a capacity of 143 seats.

While the whole world was holding its breath and hoping for a bloodless outcome of the EgyptAir MS181 plane hijacking in Cyprus, one British passenger on board the plane seemed unfazed from all the hype and was taking a selfie with 59-year old eif Eldin Mustafa!

As Turkey prepares to phase out its fleet of F-16 fighters by 2030 due to high upgrade, repair and maintenance costs, it faces challenging options to rebuild a solid fleet with deterrent firepower. 

Airplane hijackings such as the one that unfolded on March 29 involving an Egyptian airliner have become relatively rare since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks led to increased security.

The hijackings have been carried out mostly by individuals trying to resolve personal issues, and almost all ended swiftly and safely.
 
Here are some examples:      

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades ruled out that the hijacking of the EgyptAir plane on Tuesday constituted a terrorist attack, saying that the hijacker seemed to have personal motives.

Instead of conducting the scheduled domestic flight MS181 between Alexandria and Cairo, the Airbus A320 landed at the airport in Larnaca after being hijacked and forced to divert to Cyprus.

An airplane of EgyptAir conducting domestic flight MS181 has landed at the airport of Larnaca on Tuesday after being hijacked and ordered to divert its route to Cyprus.

It is believed that there is at least one armed man on board, with the hijacker claiming he was wearing a suicide belt.