Middle East airlines profits are set to quadruple this year to US$400 million, according to a report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has announced it will expand its codeshare agreement with Royal Air Maroc, the national airline of Morocco, providing customers with access to more destinations in Morocco and West Africa.

Gulf Air has announced that it is on target with its fleet renewal programme, following the delivery of its eighth A320-200 last month. The arrival of the new aircraft marks the final delivery in the first phase of the Bahrain’s national carrier’s order for 15 A320-200s and brings the number of new aircraft in the airline’s fleet in the last 10 months to 10 - eight A320-200s and two E170AR regional jets, according to the company.

UAE Airline, RAK Airways, has announced plans to re-launch services by the end of this year, having been out of action for over 12 months.

Dubai’s low cost airline, flydubai, has announced it will begin flights to Erbil in the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq. Flights to Iraq’s third largest will start on Friday, July 16 with a one-way fare priced at US$333 (AED1,225).