23FEB: Tel Aviv Airport closes as a precaution against attack, Indonesia mandates ADS-B above FL290

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.

WADD/Denpasar Bali’s airport will be closed for runway repair each night from 18-23z (except Saturdays) until Mar 30.

FSZZ/Seychelles They have pushed back the ADS-B mandate for all airspace within the FSSS/Seychelles FIR from Dec 2017 to Dec 2020.

HLLM/Mitiga Following multiple recent closures due to ongoing clashes between local militia, the airport will now completely close each night between 22-04z until at least May 16. For the latest on Libya, check here.

CZZZ/Canada On May 24, the Canada ADIZ will be expanded to include most of the Arctic Archipelago. For the east and west coasts, the inner boundary will be moved offshore. Full details here.

SVZZ/Venezuela There is an ongoing government ban on all flights from Venezuela to the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Multiple continued travel warnings in place for Venezuela – significant level of violent crime, and unstable political and economic situations. Recommended to avoid planning tech stops here.

VABB/Mumbai The airport will be closed from 0530-1130z (1100-1700 local time) on Apr 9 & 10, for scheduled maintenance ahead of the monsoon season, which spans from May to September.

VIDP/Delhi New rule in effect from Feb 19 – you now need slots for arrival and departure. You can only apply a maximum of 5 days in advance. Maximum ground time is now 3 days (unless you go into a hangar). Full details here.

VAAH/Ahmedabad The airport will be closed for runway repair daily from 0430-1330z between Mar 1 – Apr 15. This will mainly affect operators going to VABB/Mumbai (250 NM), as VAAH is the most commonly used international alternate. All other decent airports (e.g. VOHS/Shamshabad, VIJP/Jaipur) are much further away, so you’ll need to carry extra fuel.

TBZZ/Barbados Multiple sewage leaks across large parts of the island’s popular south coast. Some residents have been forced to move, some businesses have closed, and some visitors to the island have complained about contracting gastroenteritis. Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom put all issued travel advisories warning their citizens about the risks of travel to Barbados due to the current sewage problem.

HAZZ/Ethiopia Following a week of anti-government protests, a country-wide state of emergency has been declared, which is set to last for 6 months. No new airport or travel restrictions have been imposed (yet), although expect heightened police presence. During the last state of emergency in 2016, the government shut down the internet and mobile signal for several days.

GUZZ/Guinea Sporadic demonstrations continue to occur across the country, following disputed elections held on Feb 4. There have been violent clashes, including some fatalities, in the northern suburbs of Conakry. Demonstrators have also attacked vehicles when drivers attempted to pass through or around the protests.

LHBP/Budapest The U.S. Embassy in Budapest has issued a Security Alert for the airport that reads in part as follows: “Theft of items from passenger luggage at Budapest Airport has increased. Passengers reported that valuable items had been removed from their checked luggage.”

EPZZ/Poland CPDLC services will be available in Polish airspace between FL285-660 from Mar 29 onwards. The data link address will be EPWW.

UMZZ/Belarus Free route airspace will be implemented in Belarus airspace from Nov 8. At first it will be night-time only (23-05z), between FL305-660, but expect this to be expanded in line with similar plans for free route airspace implementation in Europe.

VRZZ/Maldives The government have extended the state of emergency to mid-March, in the midst of a political crisis that has seen security forces deployed in the capital Malé. Expect more protests there, although so far there have been no reports that VRMM/Malé International Airport or any of the outlying islands have been affected.

UHPP/Petropavlovsk Opening hours are now 20-08z. Outside of those hours, they might open for you, but only with prior coordination, and you can’t file UHPP as an alternate during those times. The airport is still available H24 for emergency diverts though.

NZZZ/New Zealand Cyclone Gita hit the South Island on Feb 20, where a state of emergency has been declared. The forecast for Feb 20-22 shows heavy rain, risk of flooding, and gusting winds of around 50kts. All the major international airports remain open, although Air New Zealand cancelled all flights in and out of NZWN/Wellington on Feb 20.

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.