Aviation Tanzania

Fastjet has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kenyan airlineJetlink Express, which it says will provide a platform for launching operations in the east African country this year.

The announcement comes within hours of news that Fastjet subsidiaryFly540has commenced legal action over the repayment of $6.78 million in debt - a move that had threatened to postpone the launch of Fastjet's planned base in Nairobi, Kenya. "Under the terms of the MOU, Fastjet and Jetlink are working together to create a joint venture which will give a platform for the launch of the Fastjet brand in Kenya," the low-cost startup says. Chief executive Ed Winter adds that the joint venture could see Fastjet aircraft enter the Kenyan market "within the next few months". Jetlink suspended operations in November 2012 after encountering funding difficulties in South Sudan. The Nairobi-based carrier has a fleet of sevenBombardierCRJ100s and CRJ200s plus oneFokkerF28, according to Fli…

Qatar Airways has achieved an aviation industry milestone by becoming the first airline in the world to operate an aircraft with a new navigational approach into Nepal utilising the latest aircraft technology.
The Doha-based airline implemented a Required Navigation Performance – Authorisation Required (RNP AR) approach into the Nepalese capital’s Tribhuvan International Airport. Locked in the Himalayan mountain range, Kathmandu has one of the world’s most complicated approaches due to the surrounding challenging terrain. Flying an RNP AR approach into Tribhuvan International Airport reduces pilots’ workload considerably and allows them to take full benefit of the advanced navigation equipment installed in aircraft to easily circumnavigate difficult terrain. With a smooth descent and fully stabilised approach, it leads to significant safety improvements and reduces the required visibility compared with current standard flying procedures. The RNP AR procedure allows aircraft to automat…

Kenya Airways has dropped its commercial director, in a harbinger of a possible re-organisation in the wake of the largest drop in revenues experienced by the airline in the past five years.

Mohan Chandra, 61, served his last day as commercial director on Friday, January 18, when his contract ended.

KQ head of communication Chris Karanja confirmed Mr Chandra’s exit, while a different source said: “Both parties agreed to mutually end the contract.” The source added: “Being the commercial director, he was the one responsible for the selling.” Jimmy Kebati, the airline’s head of network planning, has been asked to serve in an acting capacity as the hunt for a substantive replacement for Mr Chandra gets under way. Mr Chandra had served in the position since August 2009, coming in from the Emirates Post Group where he was the chief operating officer.
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Airlines scrambled on Thursday to rearrange flights as Europe, Japanand India joined the United States in grounding Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner passenger jets while battery-related problems are investigated.
The lightweight, mainly carbon-composite plane has been plagued by recent mishaps - including an emergency landing of an All Nippon Airways domestic flight on Wednesday after warning lights indicated a battery problem - raising concerns over its use of lithium-ion batteries.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday temporarily grounded Boeing's newest commercial airliner, saying carriers would have to demonstrate the batteries were safe before the planes could resume flying. It gave no details on when that might happen. Other regulators followed suit on Thursday. It is the first such action against a U.S.-made passenger plane since the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 had its airworthiness certificate suspended following a deadly crash in Chicago in 1979, analysts sa…

An ATCL Dash 8, Q300 5H-MWF (c/n 474) enroute from Kigoma, western town of Tanzania to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) with 25 people on board, had to make an air-turn back when one of the windshield windows developed crack about 30 minutes after it took off from TKQ on Friday. The crew did a safe landing at Kigoma airport (TKQ).
According to a local TV station, ITV, the incidence has been confirmed by the Acting Executive Director of ATCL, Captain Milton Lazaro, while urging travelers not to worry as this is a normal problem that can occur to any other aircraft.
He said arrangements were underway to ensure that passengers who were traveling with their plane get another aircraft to transport them to Dar es Salaam, and that until yesterday the solution would have been obtained.
The plane, fresh from major check-C repairs was on its first flight in the region, 10 months after the airline’s other aircraft crashed in the same region.
In April last year another ATCL Dash 8 Q 300 5H- MWG crashed and w…

A fuel leak forced a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner operated byJapanAirlinesto return to the gate at Boston's Logan International Airport Tuesday, canceling its scheduled takeoff, in the second incident in as many days with the new jet, a fire official said.

The leak occurred on a different plane than the one that experienced an electrical fire Monday at Logan, said Richard Walsh, a Massport spokesman. That plane also was operated byJapanAirlines. The fuel-leaking plane had left the gate in preparation for takeoff on a flight to Tokyo when the fuel spill of about 40 gallons was discovered, Walsh said. No fire or injuries occurred, and the passengers were taken off the plane, he added.
Reuters.

Fire broke out on an empty Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet parked at a gate in Boston on Monday, putting safety concerns about the new, carbon-composite jet back in the spotlight and drawing attention from federal investigators. Officials said the fire started when a battery in theJapanAirlinesCo Ltd jet's auxiliary power system exploded around 10:30 a.m. ET, shortly after passengers deplaned.

A mechanic inspecting the jet discovered smoke in the cockpit while performing a routine post-flight inspection and reported it to authorities at Boston's Logan International Airport, officials said. "JapanAirlinesspokeswoman Carol Anderson later said smoke was not discovered in the cockpit. "Smoke was initially discovered by a maintenance staff in the rear end of the cabin, and confirmed by another maintenance staff who also detected smoke outside the aircraft," she said in an email. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are looking int…

The opening of Berlin's new airport may be delayed a fourth time.
The Associated Press reports that one of Germany's infrastructure projects "has turned into an embarrassment for a country that prides itself on efficiency and punctuality." Transportation Ministry spokesman Sebastian Rudolph told the AP that there are problems with the fire safety system and other technical components of the new Willy Brandt airport. The airport was supposed to open in late 2011. It was intended to replace Berlin's two smaller airport, Tegel and Schoenefeld. The first delay would have had the airport open June 2012, then March 2013, and finally to Oct. 27, 2013. But the latest problems will likely make the October opening unlikely. Already, the delays have more than doubled the construction to $5.8 billion. Rudolph told the AP the latest delays will probably add to the cost. The new airport is in Brandenburg, the state that surrounds the capital. The governments of Brandenburg and Berl…

China said it has yet to approve U.S. planemaker Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, which has put on hold the delivery of the jet to the world's fastest growing aviation market.

China Southern Airlines Co Ltd, which has outstanding orders for 10 Dreamliner B787s, had expected to receive its first plane in 2012, but that has been delayed as the U.S. company has yet to receive certification from Chinese authorities.

Another Chinese airline, Hainan Airlines, which aimed to get five B787 airliners last year, also had to push back its schedule due to delayed certification, local media reported. China has been increasingly assertive when it comes to exercising its right to independently certify the airworthiness of western-built aerospace equipment, such as engines, industry sources said. Any aircraft has to obtain a certificate of airworthiness from the Civil Aviation Administration of China before it can enter the country. "The approval process for the certification for the Boeing 787 aircr…

Following completion of renovation at Kigoma airport, ATCL is set to resume daily flights between Dar and Kigoma.
In a press conference held in his offices yesterday, the ATCL Acting Chief Executive Officer, Captain Milton Lazaro, told journalists of their plans to deploy the 50-seater Bombardier Dash 8-300 aircraft on the route. The aircraft was recently certified by ATCL engineers after undergoing major check-C repairs.
"We are now set to resume our Dar es Salaam-Kigoma flights on Thursday, January 10. "We are also working on implementing our aggressive expansion plans which will see us flying to other destinations in the country and beyond," he said.
ATCL will soon fly to Tabora and Mpanda once rehabilitation and renovation of airport facilities there are completed. "ATCL's strategic plans to start flying to Songwe Airport in Mbeya are at advanced stage. We expect to start flying passengers to that destination on January 20," he added.

Precision Air Services of Tanzania plans to launch an education campaign aimedto educate the public on customer awareness of procedure and operations protocol as well train PW’s personnel on improving customer services. PWhas decided to conduct such public education awareness drive because there is a major challenge in the country’s airlines and the clients that they handle.

The campaign that will soon run in both print and electronic media in the countryisgeared at erasing a number of negative views andclients complain of among other things customer services, change in aircraft schedules, cancellation of flights and baggage losses. Of which, the airline believes that it is due to client lack of information as well as deliberate disregard of rules.
For example, the statement saidPW’s rules clearly indicate that a client must report at the airport three hours before departure, yet a lot of customers have a tendency of ignoring it, assuming they will arrive at the airport andwill be excu…

A Kenyan Airways plane with 56 passengers on board made an emergency landing in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, after an engine caught fire, witnesses said on Wednesday.

Nobody was hurt, but the incident on Tuesday night left passengers stranded in a country difficult for travel because credit cards do not work in Sudan due to U.S. trade sanctions. Banks change dollars only at a very unfavourable exchange rate compared with the dominant black market.

The Cairo-bound Boeing 737-700 took off in Khartoum after a regular stopover following a flight from Nairobi. But it had to return to the Sudanese capital after 20 minutes, three passengers on board flight KQ 320 told Reuters.

"An engine caught fire and the plane suddenly lost much altitude. The pilot made a sharp turn and returned to Khartoum," said Souhair Mohamed Hawala, an Egyptian passenger. "There was panic on board. People were crying or praying."

Other passengers showed what they said were pictures from the damaged…

NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked cash-strappedKingfisher Airlinesto clear employees' dues at one go before being allowed to resume operations. The airline's flying licence expired on Monday.


Kingfisher Airlines submitted a third revival plan on December 24 to save its licence, but the aviation regulator found it unconvincing and demanded reassurances from the company besides setting many preconditions on December 29.

"DGCA asked Kingfisher Vice-PresidentHitesh Patelto clear all employees' dues up front. It also demanded a letter of financial commitment from theUB Groupand Kingfisher that it wouldinvest652 crore," asenior government official, who did not wish to be named, told ET.

The lapse of its licence would deal a huge blow to the company and its employees, who are yet to receive salaries for many months in 2012.

Airport operators like theAirports Authority of India(AAI) andGMRto whom Kingfisher Airlines owes hundreds of crores…