November 18, 2022

Flight MH17: Australia demands extradition of convicts

Granite Pireci 18 November 2022 19:47

The Australian government has called on Russia to extradite the men sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting down flight MH17 over Ukraine. Yesterday's verdict shows that Russia bears responsibility for the shooting down, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said today. "No amount of evasion, cover-up or disinformation" can erase this fact. Moscow should extradite the three men so that they can face judgment for their "heinous crimes". "We are telling Russia: the world knows that you are harboring murderers - and that says something about you, Mr Putin," Wong told ABC television. When the passenger plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, all 298 people on board were killed, including 196 Dutch nationals. In its verdict, the court found it proven that the plane was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from a Russian military base in Kursk.

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Mönchengladbach wants to become a real laboratory for electric flying

Amely Mizzi 18 November 2022 19:21

The small Mönchengladbach airport wants to establish itself as a competence center for aviation with electric propulsion. On Friday, an electric aircraft flew its circuits at MGL for the first time. Since 2019, Mönchengladbach Airport has been researching the opportunities and necessary innovations for air taxis in the Euregio Rhine Maas region as part of the SkyCab project funded by the BMVI under the direction of the FH Aachen. The benefits of such maneuverable electric aircraft are beyond question. They take people to business meetings in a climate-neutral way, deliver vital medicines or evacuate people from hard-to-reach areas. Now the FH Aachen and Mönchengladbach Airport have strengthened their cooperation in the field of electric flying and successfully completed the first test flight with a manned electric aircraft from Aachen to Mönchengladbach. The route is well suited due to the distance and battery range and, in a dense metropolitan area, also provides meaningful results for later areas of application for electric aircraft such as SkyCab. The project is supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is funding the electric aircraft used by Westflug Flight Training GmbH & Co.KG (Velis Electro from the Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel). Velis Electro is the first electric aircraft in the world to be approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). With a wingspan of 10,50 meters, the two-seater aircraft corresponds to the dimensions of the future SkyCab. Electric mobility needs the appropriate charging infrastructure. The district government has therefore also funded a battery charger, which was installed at Mönchengladbach Airport in early November. The aim is to develop NRW into a hub for green mobility and electric flying. Mönchengladbach Airport is making great strides here as part of the nationwide charging network and is feeding the electric charger

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Maleth-Aero is adding another A330-200

Amely Mizzi 18 November 2022 19:10

The Maltese airline Maleth-Aero is expanding its fleet with an Airbus A330-200. The aircraft was previously used by Qatar Airways, Air Italy and Luke Air. The long-haul aircraft has already arrived at Luqa Airport. It is to be registered in the Maltese register as 9H-EFS. Maleth-Aero specializes in operating cargo and charter flights. The fleet currently consists of six A330-200s, four A340-600s and one Embraer 145EP. Two A330s and the four-engine aircraft are pure cargo aircraft.

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Salzburg entrepreneur soon to be new “airport world champion”

Granite Pireci 18 November 2022 18:34

The railway, rail logistics and transport entrepreneur Gunther Pitterka will soon be the new world champion in worldwide "collecting" airports. The 54-year-old is currently number two in global airport collecting. But that will change very soon. Next Saturday he will fly as a passenger on a LET 410, a Czech-made turboprop aircraft with two engines, from Portoroz to Venice - and will have used 1.582 airports internationally in 27 years. After this flight he will be at the top of the podium, displacing the current number 1 from the top position. At the beginning he even suffered from extreme fear of flying, as the ORF reports. The Salzburg native is part of an international community of aviation enthusiasts whose goal is to fly to as many different airports around the world as possible. The verification platform is the website flugstatistik.de. With a total of 1.063, most of Gunther Pitterka's tours started at Salzburg Airport - his home airport. To reach the current ranking, he traveled on 566 different aircraft types and flew with 743 different airlines. On these trips, the Salzburg native landed or took off in 189 countries.

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Corendon announces cash flow improvement measures

Jan Gruber 18 November 2022 18:08

For the Turkish holiday airline Corendon, the summer of 2022 does not seem to have gone as planned. According to the group, it had considerable additional costs due to the sharp rise in fuel prices and the sometimes acute shortage of staff at European airports. In an internal circular published by Airporthaber.com, management announced further measures. Among other things, it reads: “During the winter season, high inflation in Europe, economic and social uncertainties, the energy crisis, tour operators' low expectations for this period, the expected global recession and weakening demand, the persistently high fuel price trend and staff shortages at airports have prompted many airlines to revise their operations, just as we have done. A number of financial, organizational and operational measures have been taken to bring our cash flow back to a healthy level for the winter and next summer. As a result of these actions, we believe 2023 will be a more positive year for our company, our employees and all of our stakeholders.”

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Comeback: Holiday Europe has its operating license back

Amely Mizzi 18 November 2022 18:06

The Bulgarian charter airline Holiday Europe was supposed to be the door opener to the EU market for the Turkish Onur Air. The company wanted to expand the branch on a large scale, but everything turned out completely differently because the Turkish provider went bankrupt. This also had an impact on the Bulgarian branch. The civil aviation authority had withdrawn Holiday Europe's operating license. This meant that it was no longer allowed to operate commercial flights. Since there were close ties with Onur Air, the Bulgarian company had to do a lot to be able to break away. This includes the fleet. The measures taken by the Bulgarian majority owner were obviously successful because Holiday Europe got back the coveted operating license, which is required in addition to the AOC to be allowed to operate commercial flights. The company wants to continue to concentrate on providing ACMI and charter services. Nothing is known yet about potential customers, but the airline wants to be active again, especially in the 2023 summer flight schedule, and it can be assumed that management will try to "warm up" contacts with tour operators for whom it has flown in the past.

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ITA Airways: Government appoints new CEO

Granite Pireci 18 November 2022 17:36

The Italian government has appointed a new boss at the state-owned airline ITA Airways. Antonino Turicci will lead the airline, in which Lufthansa, as an investor, continues to express interest. He succeeds Alfredo Altavilla, who recently resigned after a dispute in the board of directors over the privatization of the Alitalia successor. Under Altavilla, negotiations with the US investor Certares over a takeover were stalled for weeks. Italy's new right-wing government, however, wants to finalize the privatization by the end of the year. The new ITA boss is an expert in complex privatizations, as the aviation portal Aero reports.

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Air Serbia connects Belgrade with Chicago

Granite Pireci 18 November 2022 17:03

Air Serbia is adding the US connection to Chicago O'Hare to its summer flight schedule. The flights will start on May 17, 2023 - this day is not just chosen by chance. The resumption of the route to Chicago will take place exactly 31 years after the flights were discontinued by JAT Airways, the former national airline of the former Yugoslavia and the predecessor of today's Air Serbia. The last scheduled flight between Belgrade and Chicago was operated on May 17, 1992. Initially, the Serbian airline's planes will take off to the United States every Wednesday and Saturday until June 11, 2023. After that, an increase to three weekly flights, with an additional flight every Monday, is planned. An Airbus A330 will be used. This is reported by the online portal Ex-Yu-Aviation.

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Norwegian flies from Skopje for the first time

Granite Pireci 18 November 2022 16:32

The Norwegian airline is competing with Wizz Air in Skopje. Norwegian will launch a new seasonal connection between Oslo and Skopje next summer, thereby entering the North Macedonian market. The route will be offered twice a week, Mondays and Fridays, from June 23, 2023 to August 18, 2023, according to the online portal Ex-Yu-Aviation. The airline is thus indirectly competing with Wizz Air, as the low-cost carrier connects the North Macedonian capital with Sandefjord and is also a major driver in North Macedonia's aviation. This year alone, Wizz Air has already transported more than a million passengers from the airports in Skopje and Ohrid and plans to expand its base in the capital with another aircraft next year.

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Climate stickers have blocked the highway access to BER

Jan Gruber 18 November 2022 16:09

The self-proclaimed "climate saviors" blocked the entrance to Berlin-Brandenburg Airport on Friday morning. Some people stuck themselves on the motorway, just before the exit to the airport. There was a long traffic jam and, according to reports, many people missed their flights from BER as a result. The "climate stickers" repeatedly cause a stir because their actions are usually not registered and cause traffic chaos. Only recently, one person died because the emergency services were unable to arrive in time because of the stickers. A representative of the "Last Generation" group made downright condescending comments on social media about the death. The "climate stickers" actions are extremely controversial because, according to numerous media outlets, they are financed from dubious sources. In some cases, there are even jobs with social insurance as "professional activists". The actions are causing anger in many cities in Germany and Austria and are becoming increasingly aggressive. Damage to property, for example in museums, is also said to occur. At the beginning of this week, the self-proclaimed "climate saviors" announced that they wanted to shut down airports. The first step is likely to have been taken at BER, with access via the motorway being made extremely difficult. Passengers could still reach the airport - for example by train or other roads. In any case, the latest action is likely to have ensured that airport operators will pay more attention to security, because the "last generation" almost always arrives completely unannounced.

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More articles from the category

Flight MH17: Australia demands extradition of convicts

Mönchengladbach wants to become a real laboratory for electric flying

Maleth-Aero is adding another A330-200

Salzburg entrepreneur soon to be new “airport world champion”

Corendon announces cash flow improvement measures

Comeback: Holiday Europe has its operating license back

ITA Airways: Government appoints new CEO

Air Serbia connects Belgrade with Chicago

Norwegian flies from Skopje for the first time

Climate stickers have blocked the highway access to BER

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