16MAR: PBCS PITA, French ATC Strike, Venezuela outbounds banned

Weekly International Ops Bulletin published by FSB for OPSGROUP covering critical changes to Airports, Airspace, ATC, Weather, Safety, Threats, Procedures, Visas. Subscribe to the short free version here, or join thousands of your Pilot/Dispatcher/ATC/CAA/Flight Ops colleagues in OPSGROUP for the full weekly bulletin, airspace warnings, Ops guides, tools, maps, group discussion, Ask-us-Anything, and a ton more! Curious? See what you get. Rated 5 stars by 125 reviews.

LFZZ/France Some ATC unions are expected to join the French National Strike that has been declared for Mar 22. We’re still waiting for more details, but it looks like the strike could well start from 18z on Mar 21 and last through until 05z on Mar 23.

VNKT/Kathmandu The airport re-opened on Mar 13, following the tragic crash of the US-Bangla aircraft on Mar 12. The airport has confirmed that all runways, taxiways and navaids are operational, there are no new restrictions, and the airport operating hours remain the same: 0015z to 1845z daily.

WADD/Bali The airport will be closed all day on Mar 17, for Bali’s day of silence to mark the Hindu New Year. From 6am on Mar 17 until 6am on Mar 18, Bali literally comes to a standstill with almost complete silence throughout the island. Mobile internet gets turned off, and all work and entertainment is forbidden. Non-Hindu residents and tourists must abide by the restrictions too, and no one is allowed onto the beaches or streets.

VHHH/Hong Kong The runway resurfacing project continues. Every night between 1730-2345z, one of the airport’s two runways will be closed, meaning it is even harder than usual to get a slot during these times. The work is scheduled to continue until the end of April 2019.

EPWA/Warsaw A new night curfew is in place: no ops allowed from 2130-0330z between now and Apr 26, except for emergency diverts. After that, the curfew times change to 2130-0330z for the summer time period.

FMCZ/Mayotte Weeks of street protests and roadblocks on major roads including those around the airport, as well as the capital, Mamoudzou. The French government are now in negotiations with local groups, to try to bring an end to weeks of disruption across the island linked to an anti-crime and anti-immigration protest movement.

EIDW/Dublin Night-time runway maintenance work continues. The long runway (RWY 10/28) is available again overnight but with a displaced threshold, meaning a shortened landing distance of 2142 metres.

TLPC/Castries The authorities will now start allowing certain private flights above ICAO Classification Code 2 to operate to the airport – the new limit is Code 3C, with wingspan not greater than 28.5 meters. Daylight ops only, no overnight parking allowed, and you’ll have to sign a form absolving the airport of any responsibility in case anything goes wrong.

FACT/Cape Town Ongoing drought and low dam storage levels. The airport has published a Notam requiring all flights to tanker in water – don’t expect to be able to uplift any at the airport for the foreseeable future. Water rationing in the city of Cape Town has been in place since Feb 1 – without rainfall, the date the city estimates its taps will run dry, which has been dubbed “Day Zero,” has been set as April 16.

RJZZ/Japan Another eruption on Mar 10 at the Shinmoedake volcano in southern Japan. On Mar 14, an ash cloud was still being reported in the area up to FL150. Earlier on Mar 6, two eruptions forced RJFK/Kagoshima Airport to close all day.

VCZZ/Sri Lanka Much improved security situation following communal unrest at the beginning of March. Although the nationwide state of emergency is officially still in place until Mar 16, night-time curfews have now been lifted, and social media access has been restored after a three-day blackout.

LHBP/Budapest One of the airport’s two runways (RWY 13L/31R) will be closed until June 30 for extensive resurfacing works. There may be some delays, as this will result in reduced capacity during single runway ops.

OEZZ/Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has given Air India permission to use its airspace on flights between VIDP/Delhi and LLBG/Tel Aviv. This could mark the end of the 70-year airspace ban that Saudi Arabia has had in place against flights to/from Israel.

CZZZ/Canada A reminder that CANPASS is only available for private aircraft carrying no more than 15 people (including the crew). Any more than that and you’ll need to call in advance to arrange for customs clearance on arrival. More info here: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/canpass/

Weekly International Ops Bulletin published by FSB for OPSGROUP covering critical changes to Airports, Airspace, ATC, Weather, Safety, Threats, Procedures, Visas. Subscribe to the short free version here, or join thousands of your Pilot/Dispatcher/ATC/CAA/Flight Ops colleagues in OPSGROUP for the full weekly bulletin, airspace warnings, Ops guides, tools, maps, group discussion, Ask-us-Anything, and a ton more! Curious? See what you get. Rated 5 stars by 125 reviews.