The air defense maneuvers, entitled Sarallah, began in southern Iran on Monday, the public relations department of the Khatam-ol-Anbiya Air Defense Base has announced.

According to the statement, the maneuvers are meant to enhance the country's integrated network of air defense with a focus on modern defensive tactics.

The other purpose of the war games is to increase the country's preparedness in the face of military threats, particularly possible attacks on densely populated areas, sensitive and vulnerable centers, and nuclear facilities.

The exercises are also aimed at increasing...

Emirates celebrated its first full year of operations to Basra today, marking the occasion with a celebratory cake for the station’s employees.

Since the operation began on 2nd February 2011 Emirates has operated over 400 flights between Dubai and Basra, flying thousands of passengers on the route.

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The daily Dubai-Dublin service is currently operated with a 237-seat Airbus A330-200, arranged in a three class configuration.

"Normally, this would provide enough capacity for the first 2-3 years of a new route operation," said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation. "However, Dublin is exceeding our expectations much faster than was predicted and we need more seats to satisfy demand."

From July onwards, the replacement Boeing 777-300ER provides a total of 360 seats, representing an increase in capacity of 52%. The...

The chief executive of Qatar Airways said he was confident Airbus would fix the cracks discovered on the wings of its flagship A380 superjumbo but did not rule out delaying delivery if the problem persists.

'I'm sure that it (the cracks) is something that has emerged and that Airbus is capable of putting it right soon,' Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said at the opening of the airline's new premium lounge at London's Heathrow airport on Thursday.

'If they don't put it right we will delay taking an"...

Qatar Airways is eyeing more investment in Europe and has identified an acquisition target, the Gulf carrier's chief executive said on Thursday, while declining to comment about Spanish airline Spanair.

There has been speculation Qatar Airways may be after a stake in Spanair whose Scandinavian partners said in November it was in talks with a possible industry partner.

"I cannot talk about that," said Baker, when asked about Spanair at the Bahrain Air Show. "We need to look at every business opportunity we get ... we have a strategy going forward. I want to make sure that Qatar Airways...