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Amely Mizzi

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Amely Mizzi

FAA gives Boeing 737-Max the green light

Amely Mizzi 18 November 2020 13:20

As announced, the US aviation authority FAA will re-certify the Boeing 737-Max model on Wednesday. Various conditions are imposed. Among other things, different control software must be installed. After two crashes with countless deaths, the FAA and other aviation authorities pulled the plug. The model was banned from flying worldwide. Subsequently, hair-raising defects came to light and the manufacturer Boeing was cast in a bad light, because many of them were obviously known and systematically covered up. The FAA seems to have a certain distrust of the aircraft manufacturer, because the final acceptance of the already completed Boeing 737-Max will be carried out by the authority itself. The authority wants to guarantee that customers and subsequently passengers receive safe aircraft. The FAA therefore makes no secret of the fact that it may take more than a year until the "stock" of around 400 aircraft has been thoroughly checked. Due to the corona pandemic, this delay is unlikely to bother many airlines that much. Incidentally, Boeing has received more than 1.000 cancellations since the two total losses. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has not yet granted re-certification. However, CEO Patrick Ky has repeatedly indicated that this could be granted before the end of the year. The Europeans are conducting their own test program and have stated several times that decisions will be made independently of the results of their American colleagues.

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Strike: United union wants to paralyze Heathrow

Amely Mizzi 18 November 2020 13:03

At the largest airport in the United Kingdom, London Heathrow, several strikes by ground staff are threatened in December 2020. This is an expression of discontent with the planned reduction of around 4.000 jobs. The industrial action is being organized by the Unite union. The union explains that almost all ground-based occupational groups, including the fire service, will take part in the strikes. Heathrow Airport would be brought to a standstill. According to employee representatives, the staff will be pressured using harsh methods to accept lower wages, otherwise they will be dismissed. According to Unite, this will take place in individual discussions. The union also explains that 85 percent of members voted in favor of strikes in a vote. These are to be held on the following days, each for a duration of 24 hours: December 1, 2020, December 14, 2020, December 17, 2020 and December 18, 2020. If no agreement can be reached with Heathrow management beforehand, significant restrictions, including the temporary suspension of flight operations, are to be expected due to the fire brigade's involvement in the strikes. Further developments remain to be seen, because compromises are often found at the last minute.

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Air Arabia seeks state aid

Amely Mizzi 18 November 2020 08:36

The low-cost airline Air Arabia is currently in talks with the government of the United Arab Emirates about possible state aid for the group. The group operates two airlines in the Emirates: Air Arabia, based in Sharjah, and the joint venture Air Arabia Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways. The group makes no secret of the official request, because during the virtual Capa conference, CEO Adel Ali confirmed that a corresponding request had been submitted to the government in Abu Dhabi. The government will hold a round table shortly. All airlines based in the United Arab Emirates are invited to this. Further measures and needs will be evaluated jointly there. It is not yet clear whether Air Arabia or another UAE carrier will receive support from the government or the respective emirate due to the corona pandemic. In any case, this would be received positively by Air Arabia. In a stock exchange announcement, the low-cost airline writes: "Any support from the government would be welcomed in view of the extreme and unprecedented challenges brought about by COVID 19, which has significantly restricted air traffic." Air Arabia was founded in 2003 and has branches in Morocco, Egypt and Abu Dhabi. The subsidiary in Jordan was dissolved in 2018 because an OpenSkies agreement was concluded between the EU and Jordan. The airline only holds a minority stake in the flight operations in Morocco and Egypt. The branch in Abu Dhabi is a joint venture with Etihad Airways.

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Vienna: Wizzair only flies one round per week

Amely Mizzi 18 November 2020 06:25

The Hungarian low-cost airline Wizzair is once again increasing its presence in Vienna, which was recently reduced to just two weekly rotations: Pristina will be served for the last time on Friday. This leaves only one rotation per week, to Tenerife South. The pink low-cost airline was the first airline to start resuming flight operations after the first lockdown. It was about six weeks earlier than its competitor Austrian Airlines. Now its presence has been reduced to an absolute minimum, as Pristina will be served for the last time on November 20, 2020. This leaves only one weekly flight pair between Vienna and Tenerife South. At Austria's largest airport, nine Wizzair jets are currently mothballed and waiting for better times. The low-cost airline is trying to keep its minimal presence as short as possible and intends to gradually restart the Vienna route network in December 2020. However, there is no guarantee of this, as the actual implementation depends heavily on the further course of the corona pandemic and, subsequently, on advance bookings. It remains to be seen when the Wizzair jets will be flying more frequently in Vienna again.

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Zurich: Chair changes from Swissport to AAS

Amely Mizzi 17 November 2020 14:30

The holiday airline Chair Airlines is changing its ground handling partner at Zurich-Kloten Airport: From March 24, 2021, it will be using Airline Assistance Switzerland (AAS). Swissport has previously worked for the carrier, which became Germania Flug AG. AAS has also been active in Austria since the beginning of the year, as it was awarded the second ground handling license at Vienna-Schwechat Airport as part of a tender by the Ministry of Transport. It replaced the previous concession holder Celebi Austria. The staff was able to switch to AAS via a transfer of operations.

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Hessen burns 18.600 euros per day in Kassel-Calden

Amely Mizzi 17 November 2020 09:02

Kassel-Calden Airport was controversial from the start because Frankfurt am Main, Paderborn and Hanover are all within easy reach. Critics described the construction of the airport as an unnecessary waste of taxpayers' money. Due to the corona pandemic, there is now even less going on and losses continue to pile up. Traffic volumes have been very limited from the start. Many holiday flights have to be cancelled due to lack of demand. There are no typical city destinations. Only Sundair offers a few warm water destinations, but the number of flight movements continues to decline. Due to the corona pandemic, according to Hessischer Rundfunk, only 19 holiday flights from Kassel-Calden are planned by the end of the year. Mathematically, that would be a maximum of two to three flights per week, although there is a high tendency that one or the other rotation could be cancelled, because Germany is literally blanketing the world with travel warnings and quarantine requirements. This has a negative impact on demand. In addition, Sundair is in a so-called protective shield procedure. The state of Hesse, the largest shareholder with a 68 percent share, expects a decline of 70 percent. According to Hessischer Rundfunk, Kassel-Calden Airport is expecting even fewer passengers. The operation is heavily loss-making even without the corona pandemic: last year the deficit was 5,6 million euros. HR calculates that the state of Hesse pumps 18.600 euros into the regional airport every day. The subsidies from the other shareholders, all of which are public, are not even included in this. State subsidies of 2020 million euros are currently planned for 6,8.

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Munich: Customs intercepted bulk doping deliveries

Amely Mizzi 17 November 2020 08:08

It can always be worthwhile to take a closer look, especially for customs officers. This is what happened in Munich, where German customs officials managed to intercept large quantities of dumped drugs. These were sent from Bulgaria to Mexico every two weeks. The air freight was reloaded at Munich Airport and since this is where the European Union is being left, customs officers took a particularly close look: According to a media statement, around 20.000 tablets, 3.100 ampoules and more than 400 other illegal doping substances were found and confiscated. These were in packages that were sent from Bulgaria to private addresses in Mexico. The stopover in Munich and the attention of customs officials there proved to be a disaster, as they estimated the black market value at "several hundred thousand euros". An investigation is now underway in cooperation with Bulgaria and Mexico.

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1.000 Emirates pilots blooming unpaid leave

Amely Mizzi 16 November 2020 08:30

Around 1.000 pilots at Emirates Airline are facing difficult times, as the carrier intends to send them on unpaid leave for a year. The background to this is that most pilots do not have citizenship of the United Arab Emirates, but this is a prerequisite for accessing state aid programs in Dubai. The fact that Emirates wants to cut jobs is nothing new. In July 2020, CEO Tim Clark announced that up to 9.000 jobs were at risk. Around 1.200 pilots have already been laid off. Many flight attendants have also been affected, but the exact number of layoffs in this area is not known. Currently, 104 of 114 Airbus A380s are grounded. Emirates is the world's largest operator of this model. When asked, a spokesperson in Dubai said: "We can confirm that we have offered some of our pilots 12 months of unpaid leave with the possibility of early recall to duty, depending on how quickly demand recovers and meets our operational requirements. During the unpaid leave, the company will continue to provide accommodation and pay health insurance and other allowances. We continue to do everything we can to protect our talent pool for the post-pandemic recovery, but must also consider the impact of the current situation on our operations and cost base. Across the Group, we are implementing a variety of offers, including unpaid leave and more flexible working time models."

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Corona: ÖAMTC air ambulance sees itself well prepared

Amely Mizzi 12 November 2020 12:40

The ÖAMTC air rescue service sees itself as well prepared for the challenges posed by the second wave of corona. The experience from March was analyzed and preparations began a few weeks ago, says Managing Director Reinhard Kraxner. "Across Austria, the population can rely on a highly professional and experienced Christophorus crew to be on hand quickly in the event of life-threatening illnesses and serious accidents," explains Kraxner. "In order to respond to the increasing number of infections in operational operations, we have now integrated standardized antigen tests into daily operations before the start of a service period," says Kraxner, introducing the latest measure. "These tests offer the opportunity to test more and thus detect infections more quickly. In this sense, they increase the safety of the Christophorus crews and help to prevent possible cluster formations from occurring in the first place." In the first phase of the corona pandemic between mid-March and mid-May, the ÖAMTC's emergency medical helicopters flew around 2.050 missions, around 100 of which were classified as highly suspected Covid cases. "It was important to us that we did not have to close any of our bases for even an hour," says Kraxner. "Because medical emergencies do not respect the time of day or exit restrictions. "One thing is certain: in the coming weeks and months, the emergency services in Austria will be faced with new challenges almost every day. "The ÖAMTC air rescue service will continue to do everything it can to be fully operational - regardless of the conditions," says Kraxner. External persons currently do not have access to the ÖAMTC air rescue service bases or the seasonal Heli Ambulance bases.

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Singapore and Scoot use passenger jets as freighters

Amely Mizzi 12 November 2020 10:08

In addition to numerous other airlines, Singapore Airlines is now also using passenger aircraft as freighters. The seats have been removed from two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The low-cost subsidiary Scoot also has to help out with two Airbus A320s. The group confirmed to CH-Aviation.com that these are specifically the Boeing 777s with the registrations 9V-SWM and 9V-SWN. At Scoot, the seats have been removed from the A320s with the registrations 9V-TAZ and 9V-TRN. The four aircraft are now temporarily being used as pure cargo aircraft. Singapore Airlines operates a total of seven Boeing 747-400FSCDs as pure cargo aircraft. The subsidiaries Scoot and Silkair have not previously been active in this segment. Due to the corona pandemic, which has resulted in extremely low demand in the passenger segment but increased cargo requirements, many airlines are increasingly using passenger jets as makeshift freighters. Sometimes there is a real need and sometimes it is almost the only way to earn money. Emirates has recently started using three Airbus A380s as makeshift freighters.

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