ICAO Council Approves New And Revised Recommendations In Restarting Air Travel
The International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO Council has made public its revised and new recommendations in the aim to coordinately restart the global air transport industry, which has been battered by the emergence of Covid-19. The United Nation’s aviation agency through its headquarters in Montreal, Canada unveils the new efforts by the Council’s Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART).
The ICAO Council approved six new COVID-19 recommendations today, and amended two others, as countries continue to address the latest information and cooperate to optimize the role of international air transport in global pandemic recovery and ensure the speedy resumption of air travel.
The new and amended recommendations and updated guidelines are contained in the High-Level Cover Document and ‘Take-off’ Guidelines issued by the Council’s Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART), established shortly after the pandemic was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Following the emergence of new virus variants, the vaccine rollouts, and other innovations to battle COVID-19, the work of CART has targeted specific issues related to testing and vaccination of passengers as part of a State’s multilayer risk management strategy with the ultimate objective of restoring public confidence in air travel and getting passengers to fly again. After the 70% decrease in air traffic, international air transport can now see the light at the end of the tunnel thanks also to these new recommendations and guidelines” commented ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano. Read More
IATA Records Success Trialing Travel Pass On International Flight…Advocates Global Standardisation and Automation
In its effort to encourage seamless air passengers’ movement as the globe moves towards a complete restart of movement, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport of the first traveler using the IATA Travel Pass app to manage their travel health credentials.
“The successful implementation of IATA Travel Pass in this trial with Singapore Airlines passengers demonstrates that technology can securely, conveniently, and efficiently help travelers and governments to manage travel health credentials. The significance of this to re-starting international aviation cannot be overstated,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
JoAnn Tan, Acting Senior Vice President, Marketing Planning, Singapore Airlines, said: “Digital health credentials will be essential as borders reopen and travel restrictions get progressively lifted worldwide. The successful implementation of the IATA Travel Pass reflects Singapore Airlines’ goal of using secure digital solutions to verify health credentials, and support a safe and seamless travel experience for our customers.”
IATA explained how Singapore Airlines’ passengers were able to make use of the app before the commencement of their flights. “Passengers on Singapore Airlines flights from Singapore to London during the trial could use IATA Travel Pass to: Create a secure digital version of their passport on their mobile device; Input their flight details to learn of travel restrictions and requirements and receive verified test results and a confirmation that they meet all travel requirements.” Read more
IATA Hopeful Of Face-To-Face Meeting As It Postponed AGM To October In Boston
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) hopes to have in-person meetings and optimistic of the appreciable restart of the global air transport industry as it announced the postponement of the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit. The event will be hosted by JetBlue Airways in Boston, the USA on 3-5 October 2021.
The event was originally scheduled for 27-29 June 2021, also in Boston.
“We believe that it is vital to do all we can to meet as an industry face to face. Doing so will affirm that airlines can safely connect the world, demonstrate our industry’s resilience, and confirm the inestimable value of in-person meetings, facilitated by aviation,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
NiMet Newly Appointed DG Assumes Office…Pledges Continuity Of His Predecessor’s Achievement
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, Professor Mansur Bako Matazu has assumed office as the Director-General/CEO and promised to build on the recorded achievement of the outgone DG, Prof. Sani Mashi.
According to a statement by Mr. Muntari Ibrahim, NiMet’s General Manager of Public Relations, “ Matazu takes over from Professor Sani Abubakar Mashi following an approval by President Muhammadu Buhari for the reorganization of the Aviation Agencies in line with the implementation of his administration’s Aviation Development Roadmap.”
During the handing over ceremony at the NiMet headquarters, Abuja, Professor Matazu acknowledged the great feat achieved by his predecessor, whom he served as Technical Assistant. He added that Professor Mashi has achieved a lot for the Agency and taken it to a great height to become the best Meteorological Agency in the whole of Africa. Professor Matazu pledged to build on this success.
He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve in this capacity and promised to run an all-inclusive administration. He noted that the former DG/CEO has always been his mentor.
The outgone Director General/CEO, Professor Sani Abubakar Mashi gave a report of his stewardship and expressed confidence in the capability of the new Director-General to build on the achievement he recorded and propel NiMet to greater heights. He appreciated every staff for the support given and wished Professor Matazu a successful and eventful tenure. He appealed to all staff to extend the same cooperation he enjoyed to the new Director-General. Read more
How New Airlines Can Fly Pass Old Mistakes
As new airlines join the Nigerian market and 25 prospective operators in the process of marking their presence in the skies, concerns have been raised on how these airlines would remain viable in a market where their counterparts barely survive beyond 10 years.
Records show that domestic airlines in Nigeria have active operations for between five and 10 years and subsequently become more or less incapacitated, barely struggling to stay afloat.
The reasons for their short lifespan are not farfetched as airlines face high maintenance and operational costs as well as multiple taxations. The self-inflicted reasons are often due to lack of corporate governance and financial transparency.
BusinessDay’s checks show that in the last 25 years, over 30 airlines have closed shop in Nigeria.
Some of the defunct airlines include; ADC Airlines, African International Airways, African Trans Air, Afrijet Airlines, Afrimex, Air Atlantic Cargo, Albarka Air, Al-Dawood Air, Arax Airlines, Barnax Air, Bellview Airlines, Capital Airlines, Central Airlines, Chanchangi Airlines, Chrome Air Service, Dasab Airlines, Earth Airlines, EAS Airlines, Easy Link Aviation. Read more
Boeing 787s Come Under Added Scrutiny from Feds
U.S. aviation safety officials ordered unusual inspections of a sample of four Dreamliners amid questions about quality issues on the Chicago company’s carbon-fiber widebody jetliner.
U.S. aviation safety officials ordered unusual inspections of a sample of four Boeing Co. 787s amid questions about quality issues on the company’s carbon-fiber widebody jetliner.
The Federal Aviation Administration wrote to Boeing on Jan. 11, telling the company it was going to conduct Certificates of Airworthiness inspections on four 787s, according to a letter reviewed by Bloomberg News. The final review before an aircraft is handed over to buyers, known as an AC, has traditionally been delegated to Boeing’s own employees.
“The FAA is taking a number of corrective actions to address 787 production issues,” the agency said in an emailed statement. “One of the actions is retaining the authority to issue ACs for four specific aircraft. We can extend the AC retention to other aircraft if we see the need.”
The agency didn’t say in its statement whether the inspections had begun or what, if anything, had been found. FAA also didn’t specify what “production issues” it had discovered. Read more
Tests on New Footwear Security Check Machines Start at Japan’s Narita Airport
NARITA, Chiba — Tests on new footwear security inspection machines — which can check boots, protective shoes and other footwear while travelers wear them — began at Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, on March 15.
Since September 2019, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has required airports to conduct X-ray tests on some footwear to check if dangerous items, such as weapons and explosives, are hidden inside. Under current protocol, travelers remove their shoes, put them on trays for inspection and change into prepared sandals at security checks before boarding.
With the new inspection machines, travelers do not have to take off their footwear, which will help cut inspection time and ease the burden on security personnel. Narita International Airport Corp. will continue the tests until March 30 and look to introduce the machines after verifying the results.
Iran Says ‘Human Error’ Resulted in Downing of Ukrainian Jet
Iran’s civil aviation authority says “human error” is reason for passenger jet being shot down in January 2020.
Iran’s civil aviation authority is blaming “human error” as the reason for a passenger jet being shot down by the Iranian military in January 2020, The Canadian Press reported on Wednesday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard fired two missiles at Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran on January 8 last year, killing all 176 aboard. The agency’s final report into the crash said “the aircraft was misidentified as a hostile target by an air defense unit.”
Iran initially denied having anything to do with the crash, but US officials said early on that the plane had been shot down by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
ran later admitted that it had made a mistake and shot the Ukrainian plane after it flew too close to a sensitive military site and failed to respond to signals.
The crash came shortly after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq that house US forces in retaliation for the US eliminating top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
Victims aboard the Ukrainian plane included citizens of Canada, Sweden, the U.K, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Out of 176 on board, 57 were Canadians. Many of the passengers were scheduled to catch a connecting flight to Toronto. Read more
Ethiopian, CDC To Implement Travel Pass
Ethiopian Airlines has partnered with the African Centre for Disease Control & Prevention (Africa CDC) for the implementation of the African Union Trusted Travel Pass to make continental travel easier and safer amidst the COVID -19 pandemic.
The trusted travel pass solution will help to validate test and vaccination certificates and verify that they are sufficient for their route and share testing or vaccination certificates with airlines and authorities to facilitate travel.
The solution will also circumvent fraudulent documentation and make air travel more convenient.
It would be recalled that the Travel Pass recently launched by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) enables passengers to create a ‘digital passport’ to verify their pre-travel test or if vaccination meets the requirements of the destination.
Commenting on the implementation of travel pass, Chief Information Officer at Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Getinet Tadesse, Said, “We are offering new digital opportunities to our passengers so as to fully and safely restore air travel. Read more
Easter Celebrations: Egypt Air Woos Nigerian Passengers With 50% Discount Fares
EgyptAir has announced that it was offering its esteemed and prospective Nigerian passengers 50% discount fares on all its international routes as an incentive to encouraging them travel to their preferred destinations this coming easter holidays.
The airline attributed the gesture to the fact it understood the challenges passengers had to go through due to the pandemic protocols and money spent in ensuring they get their Covid tests done to enable them travel.
Speaking in Lagos, to unveil the discount and other incentives for passengers as well as the newly renovated office, EgyptAir’s General Manager in Nigeria, Mr. Muharram Abdel Rahman, said the discounted fares was a way of telling the passengers they understood what they were going through and sharing in their expenses and to facilitate their movement during the forthcoming Easter holiday season to spend time with their families and loved ones. Read more
Azman Air Protests Grounding of Planes
Azman Air has written a protest letter to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) demanding the lifting of suspension of its operations, while insisting that the regulatory agency’s decision was too hasty.
In the letter, the airline’s accountable manager, Muhammad Hadi Abdulmunaf, said even though the NCAA investigated two of the three incidents which happened this month and cleared the aircraft for operations, the third incident had not been investigated, hence there is no basis for suspension.
It then asked the Authority to reverse the suspension “in line with the established precedent in respect of other airlines which has similar incidents/experiences in the past. This is particularly necessary in the interest of justice, fairness, and fairplay.”
The letter with the title: Re: Suspension of Parts A3 and D43 of the Operations Specifications Issued to Azman Air” reads: “Shortly after recur of the letter, we received a zoom conference invitation which was held between 1 pm to 2 pm on Tuesday (16/03/2021) surprisingly, the reason or grounds for suspension on Azman operations was not contained in the letter under reference, nor discussed at the zoom conference. In fact, all Azman officials request with reasons or ground was not attended to. Instead, an attempt was made by the chief host (Engr. Ajiboye) to link the Azman Aircraft wheel burst in Lagos on (16/02/2021) with 5N-SYS which occurred on (16/02/2021) with the recent Kaduna wheel burst of flight 5N-YSM which happened on 15/03/2021. Read more