Airports Vanuatu Ltd (AVL) welcomes back passengers: AVL welcomes the return of passenger travel following the Efate travel suspension AVL congratulates the Efate community on the respect shown to the suspension of travel declared by the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) last week. Such short-term shutdowns of public travel have been widely used as a tool to limit any potential spread of Covid-19 elsewhere in the world and AVL is grateful to the NDMO and our Health authorities for their prompt handling of the situation. Jason Rakau, CEO of AVL said “during this period, AVL maintained airport operations as flights were still permitted for cargo purposes and to bring passengers to Efate, under the direction of the Vanuatu Civil Aviation Authority. As planned, flights resumed last Thursday after the NDMO and the Ministry of Health determined the risk of community transmission had been eliminated. We enjoyed seeing the resumption of full passenger services on Thursday and continuing AVL’s role in facilitating air travel, which enables us all to connect”. International air travel continues to operate in a limited capacity under the direction of the NDMO. International passenger movements for March are down 84 percent on the same month last year, when borders officially closed.
Jet Aviation FBO network earns top ratings: Jet Aviation earned top ratings in the AIN FBO (Americas) and Pro Pilot PRASE 2021 surveys released this month, with Palm Beach placing in the Top 5 percent, Dubai in the Best Middle East and African category, and Jet Aviation ranking in the class of Best Small FBO Chains. The company’s facilities in Teterboro, Houston, Dallas, Bozeman, Boston-Bedford and Dulles Washington also received top customer ratings. Additionally, Business Air News recognized Jet Aviation facilities in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Geneva as top ten highest scoring FBOs in Europe. “Jet Aviation extends thanks and applause to our teams of global handling professionals who went above and beyond to ensure the highest service levels, despite tackling Covid-19 on the frontline,” said John Langevin, Jet Aviation’s vice president of FBO operations for North America. “The achievements of our FBO colleagues this past year are nothing short of remarkable.”
JUICE Jupiter probe’s first taste of space: JUICE, the JUpiter ICy moons Explorer mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA), has left Airbus’s satellite integration centre in Friedrichshafen (Germany) and is now on its way to the Large Space Simulator (LSS) chamber of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Noordwijk (Netherlands) for its first taste of space. Over the next 12 months, starting with 31 days in the vacuum chamber in the LSS, the spacecraft will be exposed to the environmental conditions of space and will have to prove it is ready for its journey via Venus and Mars to Jupiter and its mission in the Jovian system. Since its arrival 12 months ago at the Airbus site, JUICE has been kitted out with its final components including harness, power electronics, on-board computer, communication systems, navigation sensors, thermal hardware and crucially its scientific instruments. At the ESA test centre at ESTEC in Noordwijk, the spacecraft will undergo a full environmental test campaign including verifying its thermal control system and its electrical elements. Together with their ESA colleagues, a total of 120 Airbus space engineers and subcontractors will prepare and carry out the tests. In July this year, the spacecraft will head for Airbus in Toulouse for flight configuration assembly, before the final environmental tests including electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC), mechanical, deployment, and propulsion. It will then be shipped to the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana. JUICE will complete a unique tour of the Jupiter system that will include in-depth studies of three potentially ocean-bearing moons with liquid water, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. JUICE will spend more than three years in the Jupiter system, collecting data to provide answers on the conditions for planet formation and the emergence of life. It will spend nine months orbiting the icy moon Ganymede analysing its nature and evolution, and its potential habitability.
FL Technics announces new business for logistics: FL Technics Logistics Solutions is a new business line developed by FL Technics. The newly established separate business unit will provide a range of services not only to other departments of the company, but also to outside customers, with a key focus to aerospace industry. A wide portfolio of services provided by FL Technics Logistics Solutions will include air cargo, charter services, high-value and urgency cargo transportation (pharmaceuticals, electronics, photonics, lasers, diversified chemicals, and aircraft parts), oversized cargo transportation, dangerous goods and partial cargo freight, customs brokerage, cargo insurance, storage services, integrated freight solutions (air, land, sea), time critical and door-to-door transportation and more. As part of the development, FL Technics acquired IATA (International Air Transport Association) certification for freight operations, enabling the company to optimise supply chain solutions, eliminate part of brokerage services and third-party costs. Additionally, FL Technics became a member of an international WCA (World Cargo Alliance) network, a global network of companies providing logistics services, and is now offering complex freight services to clients worldwide.
OEMServices unveils 100% Flyback Guarantee: OEMServices has launched a “100% Flyback Guarantee” and reshuffled the airline support landscape with its innovation in sustainable predictive maintenance technology. Pressure for airlines to deliver high quality services, whilst reducing operational costs significantly, has increased further to the current COVID-19 crisis. In response to this, the “100% Flyback Guarantee”, combining OEM supply chain logistics expertise and component MRO integrated services, will be leveraged by digital twin technology, to improve cost and time-efficiency of MRO services for airlines. OEMServices is now in a capacity to provide real time flight data advanced analytics, using cloud-based technology and accessibility to better manage the entire fleet of customer assets. Thanks to this “100% Flyback Guarantee” package, airlines will see their component reliability monitored, outstation inventory optimised, resulting in operational interruption reductions and important cost savings. Didier Granger, president and CEO of OEMServices said, “By using the new technologies, OEMServices is now in capacity to bring innovations in services, in a sector that has been traditionally facing issues of sustainability and the burden of assets. This newer generation service will improve the flight programs reliability and the overall supply chain impacts. It is the first of its kind ever proposed to the airlines and surely not the last one that OEMServices will bring to its customers.”
Sky Services Flight Academy buys ALSIM ALX: ALSIM announced the sale of an ALX to Sky Services Flight Academy, based in Italy. The ALSIM ALX provides up to four classes of aircraft–from single engine piston, twin engine piston, twin turbine up to medium category twin jets (generic B737/A320). The device is designed and approved for ATPL, CPL, APS/MCC in compliance with all current regulatory standards. The ALX offers advanced technology simulation equipment tailored to all specific training requirements. In addition, it has a proven track record for cost-effectiveness and helps save numerous aircraft hours. “The ALSIM ALX with its flexibility, and reliability is the right tool to keep raising the quality of our training through efficiency and safety” according to Clemente de Rosa, managing director of Sky Services. “We are very glad to welcome Sky Services Flight Academy among our customers and would like to thank them for their confidence. We are looking forward to starting a successful cooperation between our two companies.“ adds Nicolas de Lassus, Alsim sales account manager.
Pratt & Whitney engines on two A220 aircraft: Pratt & Whitney along with JetBlue Airways celebrated the entry into service of the airline’s first A220 aircraft which is powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines. The event was commemorated with a gate ceremony at Boston Logan International Airport, attended by representatives from JetBlue, Airbus and Pratt & Whitney, after which the plane departed for Tampa International Airport. JetBlue ordered 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft in 2018 and later expanded the order to 70 aircraft in 2019. The airline has also ordered 85 GTF-powered A320neo family aircraft, including 13 A321LR and 13 A321XLR aircraft. The airline currently operates 16 of the A321neo variant powered by GTF engines, 193 A320ceo family aircraft powered by V2500 engines, and 60 Embraer E190 aircraft equipped with the APS2300E auxiliary power unit. Pratt & Whitney and Air Manas also celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first Airbus A220-300 aircraft, leased through GTLK Middle East, and powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines. Air Manas was founded in 2006 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
AXIS updates Cessna 560XLS simulator for UPRT: Full flight simulator manufacturer AXIS recently upgraded a Cessna 560XL simulator at the Austria Aviation Academy to provide advanced Upset Prevention and Recovery Training, using data gathered from flight tests performed in the real aircraft. The resulting update has been qualified by Austro Control (ACG). EASA defines Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) as a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical training to enable flight crew to prevent and recover from situations in which an aeroplane unintentionally exceeds the parameters for line operation or training. This includes stall prevention and recovery training as well as the serious issue of wake turbulence. Advanced UPRT has been mandatory as of December 2019, with a one-year transition period, and AXIS is providing retrofits for its installed simulator base. In this case, in the summer of 2020 flight tests were performed on behalf of AXIS in a Cessna 560XLS in different attitudes and configurations to assess its stall and recovery behaviour. With this update the simulator can now be used for full stall training tasks as well as for manoeuvre-based and scenario-based (MBT and SBT) Upset Prevention and Recovery Training. AXIS provides three each MBT and SBT scenarios by default, and for the Cessna 560XLS simulator AXIS provided three additional MBT scenarios for a total of six MBT and three SBT.
Pegasus trials IATA Travel Pass: Low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines has signed an agreement for the IATA Travel Pass, a mobile application developed by The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and which allows guests to digitally store and manage their health-related certifications required for international travel, such as their COVID-19 test results. Pegasus Airlines is one of the first airlines in the world, and the first carrier in Turkey, to pilot the IATA Travel Pass. Pegasus aims to help guests to have a faster and secure travel experience in terms of the country entry requirements for international travel that have been frequently changing during the pandemic. Information on test centres, test results and flight information can be managed digitally through the app. The IATA Travel pass combines the verification of health information in a single digital app, whilst allowing guests to securely and easily verify that they meet the COVID-19 related country entry requirements that have been changing throughout the pandemic. Within the scope of the application, that has been designed to protect the privacy of its users due to the sensitive nature of health-related data, the data is stored on the mobile phones of the guests instead of any central database. Thus, guests have full control over the sharing of their personal information.
NAS, Colossal Africa to acquire South Africa’s largest ground handler: South Africa’s largest ground handling company, BidAir Services will be changing hands. National Aviation Services (NAS), Colossal Africa and a consortium comprised of the current executive management team have signed an agreement to acquire BidAir Services from the Bidvest Group. The closing of the acquisition is subject to fulfilling final requirements from the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) that manages South African airports as well as other regulatory approvals. BidAir Services provides quality-handling services including passenger and ramp handling, load control and operations, cleaning, toilet and water services, amongst others at nine South African airports. The airports include three main international gateways – O.R. Tambo International in Johannesburg, Cape Town International and King Shaka International in Durban. BidAir’s clientele of over 28 major airlines includes international carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air France, Ethiopian Airlines and RwandAir. Once the transaction is complete and regulatory approvals are obtained, BidAir Services will join the largest airport services network in Africa – NAS.
Arianespace deploys more OneWeb satellites: Arianespace has resumed the deployment of OneWeb’s satellite network, which now comprises 182 satellites in low Earth orbit. Performed on 26 April, Soyuz Flight ST31 orbited 36 new OneWeb satellites – bringing the size of the fleet in orbit to 182. Flight ST31 was the 56th Soyuz mission carried out by Arianespace and its Starsem affiliate.“Congratulations to all the teams who made this latest mission from the Vostochny Cosmodrome a success. This launch again confirms Arianespace’s ability to deploy the OneWeb constellation through the use of three different Soyuz launch sites – in French Guiana, Kazakhstan and Russia,” said Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace. “I want to sincerely thank OneWeb for its trust. I am delighted that our company has contributed – for the sixth time – to this client’s ultimate ambition of providing Internet access to everyone, anywhere, at any time.” Pursuant to an amended launch contract with OneWeb, Arianespace will perform 13 more Soyuz launches through 2021 and 2022. These launches will enable OneWeb to complete the deployment of its full global constellation of low Earth orbit satellites by the end of 2022.
Cambodia’s international airports move to Amadeus cloud platform: Cambodia Airports, an affiliate of VINCI Airports and the developer and operator of the Kingdom’s three international airports, has chosen Amadeus Flow, Amadeus’ fully integrated cloud platform for airport passenger services, to rapidly deploy new passenger handling capacity via the internet as needed. With the new approach, Cambodia Airports can also temporarily reallocate resources not in use. One example would be by redistributing airline services between terminals, because its check-in desks and gates will no longer be tied to legacy fixed networks at specific points in the terminal. With Amadeus Flow, Cambodia Airports will harness the cloud to deliver passenger services from any location it chooses. Amadeus Flow’s open architecture is future-ready, laying the foundation to deploy innovations more easily, such as biometrics, contactless and self-service technologies as required. All of which can help to meet passenger demands for safer and more hygienic travel, whilst delivering an excellent passenger experience. Hervé Bonin, General Manager, Phnom Penh Int’l Airport, comments: “Passengers expect a smooth experience, and moving to the cloud with Amadeus means we can de-liver that now and into the future. Sharing our long-term vision, Amadeus is the right partner to take care of this complexity behind the scenes so we can easily deploy new innovations that place our customers, passengers and airlines, at the very heart of our airport model. Combining this leading technology with recent key investments in facilities upgrades, our platforms are well prepared to welcome the next growth stage.”
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