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Monsoon preparation: Mumbai Airport to close for 6 hours on May 10

By admin

 

One of India’s busiest airports, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), will be non-operational for six hours on May 10th.

The airport will be closed for 6 hours as the monsoon season approaching, the airport’s runways need to be prepped for the heavy rainfall that Mumbai witnesses every year.

Continuing with its yearly practice of pre-monsoon repairs and maintenance, Mumbai airport will close its runways from 11:00 to 17:00 on May 10th. CSMIA has posted an official tweet that says that “all operations will resume as usual post 17:00 hrs on the same day.”

Every year ahead of monsoon, Mumbai airport preps its runways for the heavy rains it experiences, particularly from July onwards. CSMIA spokesperson has advised passengers scheduled to fly in and out of Mumbai that day to check with their respective airlines about the change in schedule.

The airport has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) to all stakeholders in order to manage flights and reduce passengers’ inconvenience.

The monsoon season can be tough on Mumbai, with the city often coming to a standstill following heavy downpours and the resulting waterlogging. In the past, the city has even had to shut rail and air services as it gets flooded and clogged with water.

Mumbai airport, too, faces the brunt of severe rains, particularly when it comes to its runways. In 2010, the airport had to close its runway after its surface was damaged due to heavy rains.

Landing in Mumbai during the monsoons can also be challenging at times for pilots. In 2019, A SpiceJet 737 coming from Jaipur overshot the runway while landing amid heavy rain. The incident led to the shutdown of the main runway of the Mumbai airport, with flights canceled or diverted to the nearby airports. The aircraft was stuck at the end of the runway for days before it could be pulled out.

Sometimes, just getting to the airport in Mumbai can be a challenge when it rains incessantly. In 2019, passengers were stranded at Mumbai airport for hours, with waterlogging on roads and the subsequent traffic jams making it difficult for ground support staff, cabin crew, and pilots to reach the airport on time.

In the past, the airport has also been flooded when the nearby Mithi River overflowed during heavy rains. In 2021, floodgates were installed at the junction where the river flows into the airport to stop the ingress of water.

This year, monsoon prep is particularly important for Mumbai as domestic traffic picks back up. Mumbai airport was the worst affected among all major Indian airports in 2020-21. While passenger numbers are still below pre-COVID days, the airport also registered the highest growth in passenger numbers in 2021-22.

CSMIA has witnessed steady growth in air traffic and passenger footfall ever since India opened its borders to scheduled international flights in March. In the last month alone, the airport saw more than 600,000 passengers.

Clearly, it needs a fully functional runway in the months ahead, as passengers increasingly take to the skies in India.

Patoma Admin by — May 3, 2022 in Aviation 0
Workers Day: FG yet to address labour issues in Airport concession- Union

Workers Day : Union says FG yet to address labour issues in Airport concession
National Union of Air Transport Employee,  NUATE, yesterday said that the federal government is yet to address all the labour issues raised by aviation workers unions in the ongoing concession of the nation’s four international airports.
Speaking on the the occasion to mark this year’s workers day, the President of NUATE, Comrade Ben K. Nnabue said the union will confront the federal government this week on the issues raised and may likely go on strike if not addressed.
Nnabue said : “Our union is unsatisfied with ongoing discussions around the big question of airports concession. We are unclear as to government’s actual response the demands of aviation unions on labour issues and many lapses in the concession programme”.
” In the coming weeks, important decisions will be made to chart a clear path towards ameliorating already stated demands of workers.”.
Also speaking on the minimum wage, the NUATE President said , ” The twin big issues of Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustment and Conditions of Service for the aviation Agencies are currently raging. We stand firmly by the decision of workers not to accept continuing shifting of the goal post by government agencies on these issues. Therefore, this week has been set out for major decisions and subsequent decisive actions that will bring these issues to a foreclosure.”
He also said that, “in like manner, we express our frustration at the dilly-dallying attitude of the BPE in attending to the negotiated redundancy benefits of ex-staff of SAHCO, a matter pending since 2009. Let me assure the affected ex-workers that the unions have gone so far and cannot retreat on the matter at this point. We are at the verge of final solution, failing which we shall take decisive actions towards seeking justice for the victims.”
On the current state of the aviation industry, he expressed frustration that “before we could feel the relief from the waning notorious Corona virus, our industry was greeted with the double punch of the Putin war on Ukraine and skyrocketing aviation fuel price. Against the background of negative travelers’ reaction to recent air fare increases, these multiple adversities have been exceedingly crippling, particularly for airlines. This has delayed the exit of our industry from recession.”
“As expected, your union has been seriously challenged by the current pall surrounding the aviation industry. Notwithstanding, however, your Union has been proving equal to the task, even making notable strides to the bargain,” he added.
Patoma Admin by — May 1, 2022 in Aviation 0
Over 300,000 applied for Emirates Cabin Crew

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Over 300,000 have applied for Emirates Cabin Crew as the Airline expects to return to 100 percent of operations and network capacity in 2023.

There’s such a satisfying feeling of hearing airlines carrying out massive recruitment drives like this one, giving a fuller sense of hope knowing that the climbing trend in hiring back airline staff is significantly positive news for the industry

With an expectation to return to 100 percent of operations and network capacity by next year, Emirates has launched an enormous recruitment drive to strengthen its cabin crew workforce as it is calling for applicants with:

“A personality that shines, the ability to adapt to any situation and make people feel at ease.”

This is the second post-pandemic recruitment drive that the Dubai-based carrier has launched, with the first round launched back in August. The goal was to hire 3,000 cabin crew and 500 airport service staff back then.

The number has since doubled during this recruitment drive, as Emirates is looking for many more crew members this month, as well as pilots, engineering specialists, and ground staff, as confirmed by the airline:

“As we focus on recovery and further ramp up our operations, we are accelerating our recruitment drive with the objective to hire roughly 6,000 cabin crew positions during this financial year, from April 2022 to March 2023.”

Interested applicants would have to be willing to be based in Dubai and meet the UAE’s employment visa requirements. Additionally, more than a year’s experience in hospitality and customer service and being a high-school graduate is also a requirement of Emirates.
Emirates has already had a massive pool of candidates applying to strengthen its workforce. In all, the airline has received more than 300,000 applications for the cabin crew jobs alone.

What’s more, the airline is confident of even more applications pouring in for other positions, having mentioned:

“Since we launched our cabin crew recruitment drive in August 2021, we have received more than 300,000 applications from all over the world, demonstrating the tremendous level of interest in this role and in Dubai’s growing reputation as one of the best cities to live and work.”
Once selected from the candidate pool, successful applicants will go through weeks of rigorous training at Dubai’s Emirates Aviation College before their flying careers can commence.

To ensure they are exposed to various operations, they will also be assigned to medium, long-haul, and shorter turnaround flights across the Gulf carrier’s 130-destination network onboard the Airbus A380s and the Boeing 777s.

Emirates is ramping up recruitment to embrace the bounce-back of demand within the aviation industry. Currently, the airline is operating at approximately 70% of its 2019 levels, and is expecting capacity to rise past 80% by the beginning of its winter schedule in November.

Even better, the airline is foreseeing a vital return to profit in the next fiscal year as it sees signs of recovery in terms of seat factor and demand. Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer Adnan Kazim said:

Emirates is undoubtedly trending in the right direction with two recruitment drives and many applications received. There’s such a satisfying feeling of hearing airlines carrying out massive recruitment drives like this one, giving a fuller sense of hope knowing that the climbing trend in hiring back airline staff is significantly positive news for the industry

Patoma Admin by — April 28, 2022 in Aviation 0
AIB releases preliminary reports on four aircraft major incidents

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

Nigeria Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB-N, has released four preliminary reports on serious incidents and accident involving aircraft owned and operated by United Nigeria Airlines Limited, Max Air, Air Peace and the Nigerian Police Air Wing.

AIB General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Tunji Oketunbi who disclosed the release of the reports said they are the Preliminary report on the Serious Incident involving the United Nigeria Airlines Embraer 145LR aircraft with nationality and registration marks 5N-BWW, which was climbing out of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria when a serious incident occurred at about 4,000 feet on 17th November, 2021.

The second Preliminary report is on the Serious Incident involving Max Air Boeing 737-300 aircraft, which was parked at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja with nationality and registration marks 5N-DAB and was involved in an on-ground collision with Skyway Aviation Handling Co. Plc (SAHCO) lavatory service truck with fleet number 9/5 on 21st November, 2021.

The third Preliminary report is on serious incident involving a Boeing 737-300 aircraft owned and operated by Air Peace Limited with nationality and registration marks 5N-BUQ, which occurred after take-off from Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, Nigeria enroute Lagos on 22nd November, 2021.

The final preliminary report released is on an accident involving a Bell 429 helicopter owned and operated by Nigeria Police Air Wing with Nationality and Registration marks 5N-MDA, which occurred at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Airport, Bauchi, Nigeria on 26th January, 2022.
The reports are already on the Bureau’s website (www.aib.gov.ng).

According to Oketunbi, the “Preliminary reports are not the final reports as they only contain details of the initial facts, discussions and findings surrounding the occurrences; which include information gathered from witness statements, flight recorders, Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) Data, Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) data, and preliminary inspection of the accident sites and the wreckages.”

“Therefore, investigations on these serious incidents and accident are still ongoing and final reports will be released at the conclusions of the respective investigations,” the AIB Spokesman said.

Patoma Admin by — April 26, 2022 in Aviation 0
Ethiopian Airlines’ 4-Pillar growth strategy

Ethiopian Airlines was forced to heavily adapt during the peak months of the pandemic. The flag carrier of Ethiopia took it upon itself to redeploy its aircraft to meet urgent cargo demand while conducting over 470 critical repatriation flights.

Now, recovery is underway, and the airline is once again evolving. Simple Flying recently spoke with Ethiopian Airlines USA Regional Director Samson Arega, about his airline’s growth strategy in this new era.

The refocusing on air cargo helped Ethiopian Airlines end 2021 in a profitable state thanks to a boom in freight demand. Overall, the airline handled the pandemic with its own finances without bailouts while operating close to 70% capacity as the new year arrived.

To handle the challenging conditions of the global health crisis and enter recovery in a strong position, Ethiopian developed a four-pillar growth strategy. The focus areas are:

Following the rise of the pandemic, the company capitalized on these pillars and used its agile workforce and technology to cope with the crisis. Samson highlights that the flexibility of its management has been critical in devising new strategies to come through the crisis, including the reconfiguration of passenger aircraft into cargo and redeployment of staff to its least affected business units while applying cost leadership strategies.

Keeping the momentum going
In this next chapter, these pillars will remain integral. Samson told Simple Flying the following about his airline’s recovery plans:

“Passenger business is recovering. Complete recovery is dependent on the confidence of travelers and airlines’ safety measures. For us, safety has been at the heart of our operation, and we stepped up precautionary actions to help gain passenger confidence in travel and expedite recovery. Digitization has also been a priority to bring about a contactless passenger experience from booking all the way to boarding. At the airport, customers’ experience is contactless, easy, and convenient with the newly designed terminal equipped with the latest aviation infrastructure. We digitized most airport activities.”

Samson adds that passengers can seamlessly book, check-in or change travel dates from home. Moreover, most customer flight requirements can be handled by the carrier’s app. As a result, the majority of passenger queries are addressed online with the additional help of chatbots and social media channels.

There have been significant changes already this year. Notably, long-time CEO Tewolde GebreMariam stepped down due to health issues and was quickly replaced by new CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele in March.

Ethiopian didn’t waste time following this shift, with the carrier announcing a thrice-weekly service on an Addis Ababa-Lomé-Washington route that will begin on June 1st using Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The airline’s leadership is keen to optimize opportunities on North American routes, looking to cater to demand from growing business segments.
Ethiopian Airlines concludes that it is determined to recover in the passenger space with the effective practice of safety measures to boost customer confidence.

All in all, the airline’s ability to adapt and show resilience is due to its 75-year journey that has allowed it due evolve with the times. This factor is significant at this time when countries are starting to ease restrictions and airlines need to transition themselves to new challenges to restore business. Therefore, the carrier is working closely with other airlines, airport operators, and aviation regulatory bodies to make the most of this crucial period

Patoma Admin by — April 24, 2022 in Aviation 0
Russia resumes flights to 52 ‘friendly’ nations

By admin

 

Russian news agency TASS reported that restrictions on flights from Russia to 52 countries would be canceled from April 9. These restrictions were put in place to slow the spread of COVID and are being lifted on the advice of the operational headquarters for combatting coronavirus.

Russia Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the move, which he says applies to “friendly states”,

“Starting from April 9 we are lifting restrictions set for combatting coronavirus pandemic, which applied to our regular and charter flights between Russia and a number of other countries. Now we are resuming flights with 52 countries, including Argentina, India, South Africa and other friendly states.”

Mishustin added that earlier, it was possible to fly to 15 countries without restrictions, including some states of the EAEU (the Eurasian Economic Union), Qatar, Mexico, and others.

The EAEU is an economic union of Russia and its ‘near neighbors’, formed after the demise of the Soviet Union to foster trade and development. It’s often seen as a foil to the European Union’s influence, and key member states are Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The TASS statement lists all 52 states where flights can be resumed, which can be loosely grouped as being in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and South and Central America.

Some of the countries that can fly to and from Russia from April 9 include Brazil, China, Turkey, Israel, India, Pakistan, South Africa, North Korea, Seychelles and Saudi Arabia.

While part of Russia’s retaliation to economic sanctions was to close its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, international flights are already arriving and departing from Russia on a daily basis.
A quick scan of today’s flight boards at Moscow’s two airports, Sheremetyevo (SVO) and Domodedovo (DME), show carriers including Emirates Airlines, Air Arabia, Etihad Airways, SriLankan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air China, and Air Serbia operating international flights.

Flightradar24.com data shows a popular track of flights from Dubai crossing Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and through Russia to Moscow, such as Emirates Airlines EK133 and Aeroflot SU527. This is a simple corridor from Russia to the Middle East, where connections can be made to all of those ‘friendly countries’ the Russian prime minister talks so fondly of.

While Russia is now the world’s most sanctioned country, ahead of Iran, Syria, and North Korea, it is not facing sanctions from countries in Central and South America, Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Asia, apart from Japan.

With all of those regions open to them, Russian airlines have a large and safe playing field in which to operate. Presumably, the lack of sanctions means refueling the aircraft or fixing any MRO niggles will not be an issue.

Going in the other direction, large markets like China, India, Africa, and South America will be able to connect with Russia for trade, tourism, and general travel.

Perhaps even the oligarchs will get their Gulfstreams and Globals out again and head out for some summer sun, well beyond the reach of the authorities who would confiscate their aircraft and leave them stranded.

Patoma Admin by — April 5, 2022 in Aviation 0
NIN-SIM linkage: FG bars outgoing calls from today

Favour Nnabugwu

The Federal Government has approved the barring of outgoing calls for telecommunications subscribers who are yet to integrate their National Identification Number, NIN, with their Subscriber Identification Module, SIM from today.

In a statement by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC signed by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde.
Henceforth, subscribers of such lines are can only make when they have linked their lines.

According to the statement, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami commended Nigerians and legal residents for their support during the exercise to link National Identification Number (NIN) to the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM).
He said that as of date, over 125 million SIMs have had their NINs submitted for immediate linkage, verification and authentication.

The statement reads: “Similarly, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued over 78 million unique NINs till date.

“It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari gave the directive for the implementation and commencement of the exercise in December 2020, as part of the administration’s security and social policies.

“The deadline for the NIN-SIM linkage has been extended on multiple occasions to allow Nigerians to freely comply with the policy.

“The FG also took into consideration the passionate appeals by several bodies – Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Civil Societies, Professional Bodies and a host of others – for the extension of the deadlines in the past.

“Accordingly, Mr. President approved the many requests to extend deadlines for the NIN-SIM linkage.

“At this point, however, Government has determined that the NIN-SIM Policy implementation can proceed, as machinery has already been put in place to ensure compliance by citizens and legal residents.

“The implementation impacts on Government’s strategic planning, particularly in the areas of security and socio-economic projections.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the implementation of the Policy, with effect from the 4th of April, 2022.

“Consequently, the Federal Government has directed all Telcos to strictly enforce the Policy on all SIMs issued (existing and new) in Nigeria.

“Outgoing calls will subsequently be barred for telephone lines that have not complied with the NIN-SIM linkage Policy from the 4th of April, 2022.

“Subscribers of such lines are hereby advised to link their SIMs to their NINs before the Telcos can lift the restriction on their lines.

“Affected individuals are advised to register for their NINs at designated centres and thereafter link the NINs to their SIMs through the channels provided by NIMC and the Telcos, including the NIMC mobile App.”

The statement reads further: “Pantami specially appreciates President Muhammadu Buhari for his support.

“He also commended the Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC Prof. Umar Dambatta, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Aliyu Azeez Abubakar, along with their Management and Staff, as well as other notable bodies whose efforts have seen to the monumental success of the exercise.”

The Minister also extended his thanks to the telecommunication operators for their support towards the success recorded.

The Minister also emphasized that “enrolment for the NIN is a continuous exercise and NIN is a precondition for service in Telcos, banks, Nigerian Immigration Service, and for several other government services.

He also encouraged Nigerians and legal residents to visit NIN registration centers for the enrollment and issuance of valid NINs.

Patoma Admin by — April 4, 2022 in Technology 0
China confirms the identities of 132 crash victims via DNA

Chinese authorities have revealed that all 132 victims of the China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 crash have been identified through DNA testing. The Boeing 737-800 crashed into a hillside in Wuzhou en route to Guangzhou on Monday last week.

DNA testing identifies all 132 crash victims
After the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) confirmed that none of the 132 passengers and crew from China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 survived, Chinese authorities have identified all victims via DNA testing.

Liu Kaihui, from the Ministry of Public Security’s forensic evidence department, said DNA samples from relatives and other biometric measures confirmed the identities of all victims
During an official news conference on Monday, Kaihui also revealed that public security authorities across 20 regions were mobilized to collect DNA samples from relatives of those onboard.

Twenty DNA experts carried out analyses and had identified 120 of the victims (114 passengers and six crew) by Saturday. The identity of the final victim was confirmed on Monday. Kaihui added,
Zhu Tao, CAAC aviation safety director, said,

“We are collecting as much debris as possible, as well as eyewitness footage, because black boxes alone may not be enough to reveal what really happened. We’ll release key findings to the public in a timely manner.”

However, search operations at the hilly and forested crash site near Wuzhou have been hampered by ongoing rainfall. The search has involved more than 15,600 firefighters and armed police, with over 36,000 pieces of debris recovered so far.

Additionally, a Guangxi official confirmed that no key compounds from explosives had been detected at the crash site.

Patoma Admin by — March 31, 2022 in Aviation 0
China Eastern Boeing 737 crashed with 132 passengers on board

By admin

 

A China Eastern Boeing 737-800 has crashed flying from Kunming (KMG) to Guangzhou (CAN). MU 5735, a domestic flight operated by a 737 with tail number B-1791, had 132 people on board when it appears to have rapidly descended into a mountainous region of China. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has confirmed that the aircraft did indeed crash.

FlightRadar24.com appears to have been tracking the aircraft at the time of its crash, with the service picking up the rapid descent of the Boeing 737-800. The flight-tracking service suggests that the aircraft was cruising at 29,100 feet when the event started.

The approximate location of the crash. Photo: FlightRadar24.com
The service took the last reading at 29,100 feet at 06:19:59 UTC. The following reading picked up by the service from the China Eastern plane was at 06:22:16. According to the plane’s transponder, the aircraft lost around 20,000 feet of altitude in 77 seconds.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has confirmed that the aircraft has crashed. According to the CAAC, there were 132 people on board the aircraft. This comprised 123 passengers and nine crew members. The administration commented,

“On March 21, 2022, a Boeing 737 of China Eastern Airlines lost contact over Wuzhou during the Kunming-Guangzhou flight… The Civil Aviation Administration has activated the emergency mechanism and dispatched a working group to the scene.”

A video circulating on Twitter appears to show a large area of mountainous forest engulfed in flames.

Patoma Admin by — March 21, 2022 in Aviation 0
MMA terminal for commissioning tomorrow

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

All is now set for the commissioning of the newly built international terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

The brand new, world-class international terminal is one of five, being built in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu, in a bilateral arrangement between the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the People’s Republic of China. The ones in Abuja and Port Harcourt have been completed and commissioned already, while that of Kano has been completed and will soon be commissioned.

FAAN  in a statement released by Mrs Faithful A. Hope-Ivbaze, Ag General manager, Corporate Affairs, the new Lagos International terminal, which will be commissioned by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), has the capacity to process 14million passengers per annum. It is built on a land mass of approximately 56,000 square metres, and it has 66 check-in counters.

Other facilities in the terminal include 5 baggage collection carousels, 16 Immigration desks at arrival, 28 Immigration desks at departure, 8 security screening points, 6 passenger boarding bridges (out of which 2 has already been installed), 2 food courts, 4 premium lounges, 22 guest rooms and spa, 16 airline ticketing offices, visa on arrival and port health facility, as well as praying area, more than 3,000 square metres of duty free space, approximately 5,000 square metres of lettable utility space, amongst others.

The new terminal to be commissioned is expected to generate about three thousand direct and indirect employment for Nigerians, as well as enhance passenger facilitation and comfort at the Lagos airport.

The Authority will also sign a memorandum of understanding with the Lagos State Government on the 9km Airport-Shasha-Alimosho link Road to be constructed by the State Government.

Patoma Admin by — March 21, 2022 in Aviation 0