Following on from the privatisation of Greek Airports this summer (see our article from earlier in June – Summer of Pain), there are new procedures for Greek Slots.

With delays super high into some of the smaller islands, especially at weekends, attention to the correct slot procedure is pretty important.

The slot you’ll get from the HSCA is valid +/- 30 mins. If you go outside that, then you’ll get a flight suspension message from Eurocontrol that looks like this.

FLIGHT PLAN SUSPENSION
ACCORDING TO YOUR FLIGHT PLAN
IFPLID 01020304
ARCID N765AC
ARCTYP C56X
EOBD 160201
EOBT 1945
ADEP LOWI
ADES LGMK
ELDT 2050
NO CORRESPONDING AIRPORT SLOT WAS RECOGNISED

To get a new slot, or the initial one, the official process is this:

1. Go to www.online-coordination.com, check for avail times
2. Pick a handler, and ask them to apply for it – use www.hsca.gr to find a handler.
3. Refile the FPL with the Slot ID

If you have any issues, you can call H24 this number in Greece re. slots: +30 210 997 2656. And, we think, this email should also work: slot-hsca@athensairport.gr

References

• For the full rundown on Coordinated Airports and the Greek Slot process, check this document – GABA Slot Allocation 2017.
• See also: (June 1st, 2017) Greek Summer Ops – Prepare for Pain

There have been many reports of countries cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar.  We’ll leave the speculation to the media, we want to break down what it means for operators and aircraft owners.  Just the facts.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, UAE, Libya, Yemen, Maldives, and Mauritius have all cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

As of now, only Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and UAE have placed flight restrictions on flights to/from Qatar. No known restrictions (beyond those known for Libya and Yemen anyhow) for the remaining countries mentioned in reports.

The new regulations are quite clear. You cannot overfly or land at any airport in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, or UAE with a Qatari registered aircraft. If you have a non-Qatari registered aircraft, and need to operate to/from Qatar and use the mentioned countries airspace you’ll need special approvals from the authorities below:

Saudi Arabia GACA:
+966115253336
special@gaca.gov.sa

Egypt ECAA:
+202 22678535
+202 24175605
AFTN: HECAYAYX

UAE GCAA:
+971 50 642 4911
avsec-di@gcaa.gov.ae

No special exemptions have been mentioned by Bahrain, but they’ve given the following routing for those effected by the restrictions:

UT430 OUTBOUND VIA RAGAS
UR659 INBOUND VIA MIDSI
—

Due to the situation, Iran has published special routing schemes for transitioning their airspace, as they’ll get quite busy:

Qatar to Ankara:
FL150-FL190, RAGAS-UT430-LAGSA-UL223-TESVA/ALRAM

Qatar to Muscat and Karachi FIR:
FL150-FL19, expect climb after KIS
RAGAS-M561-ASVIB (To Karachi)
RAGAS-M561-KHM-BUBAS (To Muscat)

Ankara to Qatar:
Between FL240 to FL300, ALRAM-UT36-MIDSI

Muscat to Karachi to Qatar:
Between FL240 to FL260, N312/A453-MIDSI

Also, if flying from Ankara to UAE (except OMAA), use the below routing:
BONAM-L319-RADID-M317-KUPTO-G666-ORSAR

The situation is fluid, and we will update this post as we continue to collect news.

• Interim report finally released by the German BFU
• Flight Service Bureau version of events confirmed
  
• New pictures released by the investigators

Back in March, FSB covered a major wake turbulence upset experienced by a Challenger 604 after passing an A380.  After our initial story was published, it was covered in various versions in The Times of London, Flying magazine, AIN Business Aviation News,  Deutsche Welle, and NBC. The picture on the Flight Service Bureau facebook page was viewed 1.1 million times.

From the interim report, these facts are confirmed:

• The incident was caused by the wake from an Airbus A380 at FL350
• The Challenger 604 passed directly underneath the A380 at FL340
• The wake encounter occurred 48 seconds after the cross – when the two aircraft were 15nm part
• The Challenger initially rolled 42 degrees to the right, then 31 degrees left, and experienced G-Loads of 1.6g positive followed 1 second later by -3.2 g.
• It lost altitude from FL340 to FL253 over a 2 minute period – loss of 8700 ft.

In an interview, the crew said:

“The airplane shook briefly, then rolled heavily to the left and the autopilot disengaged. [We] actuated the aileron to the right in order to stop the rolling motion. But the airplane had continued to roll to the left thereby completing several rotations. Subsequently both Inertial Reference Systems (IRS), the Flight Management System (FMS), and the attitude indication failed”

“… since the sky was blue and the ocean’s surface almost the same colour [I] was able to recognise the aircraft’s flight attitude with the help of the clouds“

The BFU published the FDR excerpt above, and a full interior picture of the cabin, post event.

Flight Service Bureau has issued guidance to OpsGroup members, in Note to Members #24 (March 19th, 2017), which can be downloaded publicly here. The highlights are:

• As Aircrew, use SLOP whenever you can.
• As Controllers, be mindful of smaller aircraft passing underneath A380’s.
• Avoid flying the centreline if you can. SLOP 0 is not an offset. Choose 1nm or 2nm.
• Note the new SLOP rules from ICAO in the 16th edition of Doc 4444.
• Expect guidance from EASA and the FAA to follow

With very recent updates to both NAT Doc 007 and ICAO Doc 4444, the rules for SLOP are a little different than before.

References:

• The full interim report is on the BFU website.
• New guidance issued to Crews and Controllers: OpsGroup Note 24.

The 3-second answer: you don’t need a China overflight permit on airways: A1, L642, M771 and N892. You only need one if you’re travelling on airway A202.

That kind of makes sense, as A202 is the only airway right up there at the very top of the Sanya FIR, cutting across Sanya’s landmass, and connecting the VVVV/Hanoi FIR with the ZGZU/Guangzhou FIR. All the other airways are out over the ocean, down to the South of the Sanya FIR, and not going anywhere near the Chinese mainland.

So if you want to operate on A202, you’ll need a China overflight permit. Technically, you’re supposed to submit your request to the CAA by AFTN to: ZBBBZGZX, ZGGGZBZX and ZJSYZRZX, 3 days in advance. However, unless you’ve done it before and you know what you’re doing, we suggest you just use an agent instead – dealing with the Chinese authorities direct can often be a misery.

Regardless of which airway you use, if you’re flying on a call sign, remember to put down the aircraft reg in Field 18 of the flight plan, and fill the accumulated EET to the Sanya FIR. Also, if you’re flying on L642, M771 or N892, you’ve got to be RNP10 approved, otherwise you’ll have to stay below FL280.

JOIN US IN NYC

Tuesday, 4th April 2017- Manhattan, New York

 Ops Group Meetup and Notam Summit

We’ve never done this before, but we’re going to run our first OpsGroup meetup.  Emails and slacks are all fine, but human contact is where it’s at.  Come along and meet us and other awesome members of the OpsGroup!

Location: Secret downtown location in Manhattan, we’ll meet at 9am-ish on Tuesday morning, 4th April.  By 10am we’ll have kicked off into International Ops  2017 with Mark, NAT chats with Dave, Antarctica fireside stories with Jamie-Rose, and then move on to looking at stupid Notams and how to fix them.  You should come!

Here is the deal:

0900 You arrive. So will others. We will mostly be pilots, dispatchers, ATC’s and flight dept managers but whatever your specialty is, come along.

930-ish We’ll start with the International Ops Chats- NAT ops, Antarctica, 2017 changes, and your questions.

1100 We’re probably still going with the International Ops Chats

1130 We’re onto talking NOTAMS by now

1300 Powerpoint has overheated, we’re done. Off to Lunch

1330 We’ll be having a late lunch. Join us for chats and beers, war stories, jokes, or head home instead- whatever you like.

1500 That’s All Folks. We can recommend: A visit to Concorde, go see a show on Broadway like School of Rock, go see the Nicks v Bulls, visit the Comedy Cellar, or get your Uber back to the Teterboro Holiday Inn.

Afterwards, tell us what you thought: team@ops.group

Antarctica Fireside Chat

Jamie Rose McMillen from the FSB Int’l Desk is going to tell us some good stories from her six years living on the Ice.  Find out how International Ops works in Antarctica and McMurdo Station. Join us in NYC!

International Ops 2017

There have been a city-full of changes to the International Ops world so far in 2017.  A380 wake, no devices, BOE changes, ATC strike, Conflict Zones, 767 shooting, the end of Soviet QFE approaches. Mark will answer questions. Join us in NYC!

North Atlantic Changes

Dave Mumford will run through the new rules on the NAT, and answer questions from the My First Atlantic Flight guide. Just don’t ask him about the new contingency procedure. Join us in NYC!

NOTAMS

Judging is finally complete in the Notam Goat Show.  After we present the winners, we will have a good old fashioned competition, with prizes, and then get into the main event: How do we fix the Notam problem?

Join us in NYC!

COME TO NEW YORK!

RSVP

Update: November 1st, 2019: The Notam Team is up and running – we’re fixing Notams. Follow our progress at fixingnotams.org.

It’s absolutely ridiculous.

We communicate the most critical flight information, using a system invented in 1920, with a format unchanged since 1924, burying essential information that will lose a pilot their job, an airline their aircraft, and passengers their lives, in a mountain of unreadable, irrelevant bullshit.

Yes CASA Australia, that’s you. Yes, Greek CAA, that’s you. And you’re not alone.

In an unintended twist of irony, the agencies seeking to cover their legal ass are party to creating the most criminal of systems – an unending flow of aeronautical sewage rendering the critical few pieces of information unfindable.

This is more than just hugely frustrating for each pilot, dispatcher, and controller that has to parse through it all; it’s downright dangerous.

If you’re a pilot, you’ll either have already experienced this, or you’re going to – you stuff something up, and then be told: “but there was a Notam out about that”. Sure enough, there it is in black and white (and in big capital letters). Do you think that “but there were 100 pages of them” is going to be a valid defence?

Well, it should be. The same agency conducting your post-incident interview is busy on the other end stuffing the system full of the garbage that prevented you from seeing it in the first place.

There are three parts to the problem: the system, the format, and the content. The system is actually quite amazing. The AFTN network connects every country in the world, and Notam information once added is immediately available to every user. Coupled with the internet, delivery is immediate.

The format is, at best, forgivable. It’s pretty awful. It’s a trip back in time to when Notams were introduced. You might think that was the 1960’s, or the 50’s. In fact, it’s 1924, when 5-bit ITA2 was introduced. The world shifted to ASCII in 1963, bringing the Upper and Lower case format that every QWERTY keyboard uses today, but we didn’t follow – nope, we’ll stick with our 1924 format, thank you.

Read that again. 1924. Back then, upper case code-infested aeronautical messages would have seemed impressive and almost reassuring in their aloofness. But there weren’t in excess of 1 million Notams per year, a milestone we passed in 2013. The 1 million milestone is remarkable in itself, but here’s something else amazing: in 2006, there were only 500,000. So in seven years, Notams doubled. Why? Are there twice as many airports in the world? No. Twice as many changes and updates? Possibly. But far more likely: the operating agencies became twice as scared about leaving things out.

And so onto the culprit: the content. The core definition of a Notam is ESSENTIAL flight information. Essential, for anyone tasked with entering information into the Notam System, is defined as “absolutely necessary; extremely important”. Here’s a game you can play at home. Take your 100 page printout of Notams, and circle that ones that you think can be defined as essential. See how many fit that bill.

So why is all this garbage in the system? Because the questions that the creators of Notams ask are flawed. The conversation goes like this:

– “Should we stick this into a Notam?”
– “Yeah, we’d better, just in case”.

How many are actually asking, “Is this essential information that aircrew need to know about ?”. Almost none. Many ‘solutions’ to the Notam deluge involve better filtering, Q codes, and smart regex’s. This overlooks the core problem. It’s not what comes out that needs to be fixed, it’s what goes in.

Even in 1921, we had much the same problem. Obstacle, 18 feet high, several miles from the runway.

Nobody cares. Unless you’ve parked the Eiffel Tower on the threshold, leave this stuff for the AIP. And nobody cares about kites either. Nor about goat-grazing times. We don’t care if your bird scarer is U/S. We don’t care if there’s a cherry-picker fixing a bulb somewhere. We don’t care when you’re cutting your grass.

Nor do we care about closed taxiways. The only way I can get onto a taxiway is with an ATC clearance, and ATC will not clear me onto a closed taxiway.

We care if the airport is going to be closed when we get there. If we’re going to have to divert because the runway is shut. If someone might shoot at us. If there are new rules. We care about the critical items, but we won’t see them as things stand.

And so, about here is where a normal editorial piece might end with “we hope that the authorities improve the system”, and sign off.

But not here.

We’re in the business of doing things here at FSB, not just talking about them.

Last year we wrote a few pieces about the Greece vs Turkey Notam battle. This month we did a group look at Briefing Packages, and it was astonishing to see how many pages of this diplomatic drivel still appeared in all our members’ Briefings. All in all, on average 3 full pages of every briefing for a flight overflying Greece or Turkey contained this stuff.

So, we sent Greece a polite AFTN message on behalf of all of us.

That’s just one piece of a thousand-piece puzzle, and it would be nice to think that one piece at a time we could fix the sytem. Let’s get real. It’s a monster, and it’s out of control.

We don’t think that we can fix the Notam system.

But, we can think about a different solution. And that’s exactly what we’re doing right now in OpsGroup. With almost 2000 members, we can make a difference. Watch this space. Or, if you want to help take action, send your thoughts to goatams@ops.group.

1. From now until the end of June, ZSAM/Xiamen airport will closed daily between 0010-0610 local time, and business flights will not be allowed to land or take-off between 0700-0900 local time daily as per the CAAC’s regulation (the same regulation applies to over 20 other airports in China including ZBAA, ZSSS, ZSPD, ZGGG and ZGSZ).

2. China’s “two sessions” begins this week – two big political conferences (CPPCC and NPC) that are held every year. ZBAA/Beijing gets busier than ever.

Even at the best of times, ZBAA only allows 24 hours maximum parking time for foreign GA, so expect to get sent to ZBTJ/Tianjin for parking: an Airport of Entry that regularly takes overflow traffic from Beijing.

As the nearest airport from ZBAA, ZBTJ is also accepting more ferry flights at the moment – the ZBTJ airport authority has been told to continue to do so until 30th April.

3. Be aware it’s going to become more and more common this year for Chinese immigration to record fingerprints of foreign travellers who enter China via international airports.

There are multiple changes to the US Border Overflight Exemption process effective 2017. Unusually, there is no official notification of the changes from either CBP or DHS, and so you may find that even the Customs Officer on arrival does not know about them.

The March 2017 changes may be the start of the end for the Border Overflight Exemption, since most requirements from the CBP perspective are transferred to eAPIS: notably, the fact that individual aircraft are no longer listed on the Approval Letter.

We were first alerted to the changes by an OpsGroup member, and have spoken with a lot of different DHS and CBP officials. From these conversations, we’ve put together our summary of the situation below.

Noteworthy is that at many Airports, the front line CBP officers were not aware of the new rules. CBP have said: “This is new not only to you but to most of the Officers in the field. Your pilots need to know what it says because they will be getting questions when they land.”

What is a Border Overflight Exemption?

• If you operate a flight to the US from south of the 30th parallel, you must land at the first airport you come to.
• To avoid this, you can apply to CBP for a Border Overflight Exemption (BOE)
• With that in hand, you can fly to any airport with customs.
• So, on to the changes:

Effective March 1st, 2017 :

• A full list of the changes to the process is in Notes to Members #23 in your OPSGROUP dashboard.
• We recommend you carry this in the aircraft as well, for any CBP official not aware of the new rules.

You can request membership of OPSGROUP to receive the full version delivered every Wednesday, along with all OPSGROUP member benefits: Members Questions, Group Discussions, Slack, free maps and charts (normally $25),  Full access to aireport for group reviews of handlers and airports, regular alerts for critical international ops info,  complimentary Airports Database (normally $375), Full access to safeairspace.net including updated risk alerts,  and guidance and help when you want it on any International Operations topic (that last one is really useful!). Read 125 different member reviews.

Feb 27th, 2017: The FAA has issued fresh warnings for Kenyan and Malian airspace, warning US operators of the potential dangers in operating through both the Nairobi and Malian FIR’s.

Published on Feb 26th, the new advice also adds new language with clarification of the type of weapons and phases of flight that the FAA is concerned about, specifically:

• fire from small arms,
• indirect fire weapons (such as mortars and rockets), and
• anti-aircraft weapons such as MANPADS.

The scenarios considered highest risk include :

• landings and takeoffs,
• low altitudes, and
• aircraft on the ground.

The FAA uses the same wording for both Kenya and Mali. Additionally for Mali, the Algerian CAA has concurrently published airspace closures along their southern border due to the conflict, and the FAA’s background notes on the Mali conflict still stand.

The updated guidance is intended for US operators and FAA License holders, but in reality is used by most International Operators including EU and Asian carriers, since only four countries currently provide useful information on airspace security and conflict zones.

The Notams both use FL260 as the minimum safe level, though we would suggest, as usual, that a higher level closer to FL300 is more sensible.

These updates have been notified through SafeAirspace.net, a collaborative and information sharing tool used by airlines, business jet operators, state agencies, military, and private members of  OPSGROUP.

This is the new wording in the latest FAA Notams on Mali and Kenya:

POSSIBILITY OF ATTACKS ON CIVIL AVIATION BY EXTREMISTS/MILITANTS.
AIRCRAFT MAY ENCOUNTER FIRE FROM SMALL ARMS; INDIRECT FIRE WEAPONS,
SUCH AS MORTARS AND ROCKETS; AND ANTI-AIRCRAFT CAPABLE WEAPONS,
INCLUDING MAN-PORTABLE AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS (MANPADS).SUCH WEAPONS 
COULD TARGET AIRCRAFT AT LOW ALTITUDES, INCLUDING DURING THE ARRIVAL
AND DEPARTURE PHASES OF FLIGHT, AND/OR AIRPORTS AND AIRCRAFT ON THE
GROUND.

The NOTAMs in full are on our Kenya and Mali pages respectively.

References:

• Kenya country information page at safeairspace.net
• Mali country information page at safeairspace.net
• OPSGROUP collaborative project

With the new (ish) RLAT Tracks, the standard NAT Track picture looks different these days. We thought we’d draw one out so you can see the RLAT Tracks. This example is the Westbound Tracks today, February 24th 2017. The RLAT Tracks are C, D, and E.

The neat plotting chart that this is drawn on is from Flight Service Bureau and available here.

Picture first (click for big version), Track message follows:

232034 EGGXZOZX
(NAT-1/2 TRACKS FLS 310/390 INCLUSIVE
FEB 24/1130Z TO FEB 24/1900Z
PART ONE OF TWO PARTS-
A RESNO 56/20 57/30 57/40 56/50 JANJO
EAST LVLS NIL
WEST LVLS 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390
EUR RTS WEST NIL
NAR NIL-
B DOGAL 55/20 56/30 56/40 55/50 LOMSI
EAST LVLS NIL
WEST LVLS 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390
EUR RTS WEST NIL
NAR NIL-
C MALOT 54/20 55/30 55/40 54/50 NEEKO
EAST LVLS NIL
WEST LVLS 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390
EUR RTS WEST NIL
NAR NIL-
D TOBOR 5330/20 5430/30 5430/40 5330/50 PELTU
EAST LVLS NIL
WEST LVLS 350 360 370 380 390
EUR RTS WEST NIL
NAR NIL-
E LIMRI 53/20 54/30 54/40 53/50 RIKAL
EAST LVLS NIL
WEST LVLS 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390
EUR RTS WEST NIL
NAR NIL-
END OF PART ONE OF TWO PARTS)


232035 EGGXZOZX
(NAT-2/2 TRACKS FLS 310/390 INCLUSIVE
FEB 24/1130Z TO FEB 24/1900Z
PART TWO OF TWO PARTS-
F DINIM 52/20 53/30 53/40 52/50 TUDEP
EAST LVLS NIL
WEST LVLS 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390
EUR RTS WEST NIL
NAR NIL-
REMARKS.
1.TMI IS 055 AND OPERATORS ARE REMINDED TO INCLUDE THE
TMI NUMBER AS PART OF THE OCEANIC CLEARANCE READ BACK.
2.ADS-C AND CPDLC MANDATED OTS ARE AS FOLLOWS
TRACK A 350 360 370 380 390
TRACK B 350 360 370 380 390
TRACK C 350 360 370 380 390
TRACK D 350 360 370 380 390
TRACK E 350 360 370 380 390
TRACK F 350 360 370 380 390
END OF ADS-C AND CPDLC MANDATED OTS
3.RLATSM OTS LEVELS 350-390. RLATSM TRACKS AS FOLLOWS
TRACK C
TRACK D
TRACK E
END OF RLATSM OTS
4.FOR STRATEGIC LATERAL OFFSET AND CONTINGENCY PROCEDURES FOR OPS IN
NAT FLOW REFER TO NAT PROGRAMME COORDINATION WEBSITE WWW.PARIS.ICAO.INT.
SLOP SHOULD BE STANDARD PROCEDURE, NOT JUST FOR AVOIDING WX/TURB.
5.80 PERCENT OF GROSS NAVIGATION ERRORS RESULT FROM POOR COCKPIT
PROCEDURES. CONDUCT EFFECTIVE WAYPOINT CHECKS.
6.OPERATORS ARE REMINDED THAT CLEARANCES MAY DIFFER FROM THE FLIGHT PLAN, 
FLY THE CLEARANCE.
7.UK AIP. ENR 2.2.4.2 PARA 5.2 STATES THAT NAT OPERATORS SHALL FILE
PRM'S.
8.FLIGHTS REQUESTING WESTBOUND OCEANIC CLEARANCE VIA ORCA DATALINK
SHALL INCLUDE IN RMK/ FIELD THE HIGHEST ACCEPTABLE FLIGHT LEVEL WHICH CAN
BE MAINTAINED AT OAC ENTRY POINT.
9.ALL ADSC CPDLC EQUIPPED FLIGHTS NOT LOGGED ON TO A DOMESTIC ATSU
PRIOR TO ENTERING THE SHANWICK OCA MUST INITIATE A LOGON TO EGGX BETWEEN 10
AND 25 MINUTES PRIOR TO OCA ENTRY.-
END OF PART TWO OF TWO PARTS)

Feb 22nd, 2017 Russia is finally transitioning to QNH. Check this article.

Feb 1st, 2017 Traffic is getting far busier through the Turkey-Iran FIR boundary (Europe-Asia main flight route). ALRAM is the new “corner” for avoiding Iraq. Here’s updated flight planning  guidance from Turkey for Jan-March 2017 – use these when planning your ATC route (refer LTAA A5716/16). We’ve translated the Notam a little for clarity, here’s the highlights:

1. SRT-ALRAM segment of UG8  – use FL330 or higher.
2. ULTED-ALRAM segment of UT36 – use FL330 or higher.
3. Going via UG8 or UT36, to leave Tehran FIR via ALRAM, at FL320 and below: Route EZS-UG81/UL124-VAN-BONAM-UMH. Check Iran AIP Sup 93/15 for more.
4. ALRAM-BAYIR segment UT888 minimum FL330. If entering LTAA/Ankara FIR via ALRAM lower than FL330, then route UMH-BONHAM-UI124/UG81-VAN-UI124-UG81-BAYIR.
5. VAN-BONAM segment of UG81 and UI124 can be used bidirectional below FL330.
6. ULTED-NINVA segment of UM688 – use FL330 or higher.
7. Entire R/UR21, SRT-KABAN segment of M/UM860, and ULSAB-KABAN segment of UT334 closed FL180-FL310.
8. UT332 – use FL330 or higher.
9. UT301 totally closed.
10. UT333 closed FL180-FL310 inclusive.

IOB Bulletins

31AUG 2016 OIZZ/Iran has approved the use of its airbases by Russian fighter aircraft; Russia has notified intention to launch missiles in the direction of Syria from the Caspian Sea fleet. The Russian Air Force has deployed six Tu-23M3 BACKFIRE bomber aircraft and multiple Su-34 FULLBACK strike fighter jets to Hamedan Air Base (OIHS/NUJ). FSBIOBXX

17AUG 2016 On August 16, Russian TU-22 bombers based in Hamedan, Iran, attacked targets in the Syrian towns of Deir Ezzour, Aleppo and Idlib. These were the first Russian airstrikes carried out from bases in Iran.

07DEC2015 German Authorities published a new Notam last week warning of a risk to flight for aircraft operating in the vicinity of OITT/Tabriz, OITL/Ardabil, and OIGG/Rasht. DFS, the German ATC agency, recommends overflying this general region at FL260 or higher. A6875/15.

13OCT 2015  On 06 OCT 15 the Russian military launched 26 Kalibr-class cruise missiles from 4 ships in the Caspian Sea at targets in Syria. These missiles were routed through the airspace of Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, causing concern as to the safety of international air traffic crossing the missiles trajectory. Full notice.

More stuff:

• Iran Conflict Zone/Overflight risk warnings  at safeairspace.net

Germany issues new warnings 25JAN Germany has issued fresh warnings on the airspace of Egypt, South Sudan, and North Korea, in three separate Notams issued in the last week. We have updated the SafeAirspace.net country information pages with the specifics. Read the article

Manila may not ban GA after all 25JAN RPLL/Manila is not moving as quickly towards a complete ban of non-scheduled and General Aviation traffic as feared. This is good news for International Operators. Read the article.

HEZZ/Egypt, HSZZ/South Sudan, ZKZZ/North Korea Germany has issued fresh warnings on the airspace of Egypt, South Sudan, and North Korea, in three separate Notams issued in the last week. We have updated the SafeAirspace.net country information pages with the specifics.

RPLL/Manila is not moving as quickly towards a complete ban of non-scheduled and General Aviation traffic as feared. This is good news for International Operators. Read the article.

NTAA/Tahiti The airport is open again as of Monday morning local time, after closing due to flooding after torrential rains, but many taxiways remain flooded. Expect delays in handling and tech stops.

KZZZ/USA Announced yesterday and expected to come into force this week, is an immediate ban on US visas (and therefore US travel) for citizens from 7 countries: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya. This is distinct from the Visa Waiver Program ban in effect since January 2016.

GBZZ/Gambia FSB Risk Level changed from Level Three to “No Warnings” on Jan 24. New president has taken power. Parliament revoked State of Emergency. Situation calm.

SBZZ/Brazil In the last bulletin we had a headline about a Boeing 767 shot on approach in Brazil. A bullet was found lodged in the wing. Some updates to that story are here, and safeairspace.net’s Brazilpage is updated.

VZZZ/Southeast Asia Don’t forget it’s New Year in Asia this weekend. Travel-related delays and government office and business interruptions will peak 27 Jan to 01 Feb, and could last longer in Taiwan, Vietnam and China, where the holiday will be celebrated through 02 Feb.

EDDB/Berlin Brandenburg will now not open until 2018, as they found more problems with the fire system this week. This is a recurring story, which dates back to 2012. So, for the foreseeable, you’re stuck with Tegel and Schoenefeld.

LTFJ/Sabiha Gökçen (Istanbul) Due to insufficient capacity at LTFJ, applications for individual non-scheduled flights will be refused, and private/charter flights can only be operated at “non-busy hours”.

KBPI/Palm Beach is going to see some new TFR restrictions due to the proximity of Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate. If operating when he’s down here, you’ll have to depart from a gateway airport to PBI – those are TEB, HPN, IAD, MCO and FLL. NBAA has the details.

LSGG/Geneva EBACE is on from Monday, 22 May through Wednesday, 24 May 2017. Now would be a good time to get those slots booked if you’re planning to head over.

LFMN/Nice has a new procedure where ATC will alert crews to windshear.

MSLP/San Salvador‘s only runway 07/25 will be closed from 1600-1700 each day until Feb 3rd.

VGHS/Dhaka The UK Department for Transport (DfT) announced today that it recently carried out assessments of security at Dhaka International Airport. Following this, the DfT has assessed that security at Dhaka airport does not meet some international security requirements (they haven’t said which).

OMAD/Abu Dhabi (Al Bateen) is hosting the International Defence Exhibition in February, so will not be available to IFR traffic daily between 0600-0800Z until Feb 23rd. There are also restrictions on using it as an alternate.

DNAA/Abuja The latest on the Abuja closure is that it will be completely closed to all traffic from March 8th – April 19th.

SKCG/Cartagena‘s only runway 01/19 is closed daily 0530-1100Z until Feb 6th.

NVZZ/Vanuatu Health authorities have declared a dengue outbreak following a large increase in suspected cases in December 2016 and January 2017. Protect yourself against mosquito bites

WSZZ/Singapore is implementing the new ICAO SID/STAR phraseologies from March 2nd. Read AIP SUP 29/17.

LIRF/Rome Fiumicino is working on 16R until March, so 25 will be used for deps and 16L for arrivals. This means delays, especially if you want 16L/34R for departure – they say up to a 60 minute taxi time.

UKZZ/Ukraine amended the military boundaries of its airspace on Monday Jan 23rd, identifying the Donbas conflict zone region as a separate area. More details here.

View the full International bulletin 25JAN2017

B767 Shot on approach to Rio 

18JAN A B767-300 was fired on last night during approach to Runway 15 SBGL/Rio de Janeiro. One 7.62mm bullet lodged in the left wing. Read the article.

Updated SafeAirspace Risk Map 

18JAN We have updated SafeAirspacewith information for Aircraft Operators on The Gambia, North Korea, Brazil, Ukraine, and Turkey.

GBZZ/The Gambia State of emergency declared on 17th January. Foreign citizens being evacuated. Banjul International Airport (GBYD/BJL) and land borders remain open, for now. More at safeairspace.net/information/the-gambia.

UKZZ/Ukraine Flight Service Bureau has issued an updated summary for Ukraine’s airspace. There are two risk issues in Ukraine. First: arms fire. Including MH17, multiple aircraft (the others all military) have been shot down since the beginning of the Donbass region war in 2014. The 10th ceasefire was declared in December 2016, but not holding. This risk is contained within the Dnipropetrovsk FIR – UKDV. The second issue affects the Simferopol FIR which is Disputed Airspace. (Ukraine:UKFV, Russia:URFV). In March 2014, Russia annexed Crimea. The ATC Center is in Simferopol, Crimea, and is now run by Krymaeronavigatsiya. Russia claims the airspace. Ukraine refuses to recognise the change, and asks crews to talk to Ukrainian controllers in Dnipro/Odesa ACC instead of Simferopol ACC. Four routes are approved by EASA through the high seas portion of the airspace.

KIAD/Washington and area airports – guaranteed busy during the Presidential Inauguration this Friday, Jan 20. Updated restrictions here. Departure slots required for aircraft departing IAD between Friday, Jan. 20 and Sunday, Jan. 22. Departure slots can be obtained through an IAD FBO of choice (Ross Aviation or Signature Flight Support). Slots will be divided equally between the two FBOs at IAD.

VZZZ/Southeast Asia Lunar New Year holiday season, which falls on 28th Jan. Travel-related delays and government office and business interruptions will peak 27 Jan to 01 Feb, and could last longer in Taiwan, Vietnam and China, where the holiday will be celebrated through 02FEB.

BGBW/Narsarsuaq A seasonal reminder that if you’re planning to use Narsarsuaq as a destination, alternate, or enroute alternate outside of the operating hours (MON-SAT 1000-1900z daily until 03APR), you must contact the airport in advance to apply for them to stay open for you:
Email: bgbw@mit.gl. Also make sure you file your ATC FPL including the AFTN address: BGBWZTZX.

EKCH/Copenhagen A copy of the AOC must accompany fuel release or expect an MOT charge of approximately $1.70 USD to be charged. Next destination must be shown on the fuel release or expect delays.

EGPH/Edinburgh, Scotland Until Apr 1st, you will need PPR to operate to Edinburgh, due to reduced parking capacity.

RPLB/Subic Bay will be closed for maintenance bewtween 0100-0800z until January 20th.

SKZZ/Colombia New Tower and ACC for Bogota. From 16th Jan – 15th Feb moving of Bogota’s ACC will take place. ATS/AIS/COM/MET/ATFM services transition process should not affect operations, however, due to the large change extent foreseen, some failures might occur in the process.  AIC 1/17 outlines contingency procedures in place

SVZZ/Venezuela has closed its land borders with Colombia and Brazil periodically in the last 12 months. Border closures occur frequently, often with short notice. The Venezuelan government will withdraw the 100 bolivar note (VEF 100) from circulation as of 20 January 2017.

LYBA/Beograd If you have any outstanding navigation fees in Serbia, better get them paid, or they’ll add a 9.88% interest charge.

HSSS/South Sudan Flight Service Bureau has issued an updated summary for South Sudan’s airspace: Conflict Zone. South Sudanese Civil War since 2013. The security situation in Juba has been relatively calm since the July 2016 crisis. Daily reports of fighting throughout the rest of the country. The security situation is especially unstable in the Equatorias in the south. MANPADS risk to overflights. In addition, the South Sudanese army has declared intention to shoot down Aircraft without permits. Most Authority guidance recommends min FL260. We think FL300 is a better minimum for overflights.

ZKKP/North Korea Flight Service Bureau has issued an updated summary for DPRK North Korea’s airspace: The level of tension on the Korean peninsula can change with little notice. Multiple missile launches in 2016, increasingly without prior notice to ICAO. The range of these has increased – previously safe airways B467 and G711 are now at risk. Over 1000 reports of GPS jamming issues reported by operators in the vicinity of the North/South Korean border. SFAR79 prevents US operators from operating west of 132E, other Authorities restrict operationseast of that line.

ZZZZ/Worldwide How have you been getting on with the new ICAO SID/STAR phraseolgies? In short, some countries are implementing, and others aren’t. What is your country doing? Tell us at bulletin@fsbureau.org.

View the full International Bulletin 18JAN2017

China has always been challenging to operate to. Handling rates are prohibitively expensive, half the country’s airways are closed to foreign operators, and slots and parking at the major airports can often be impossible to obtain.

But often the most frustrating thing about operating to China is just trying to work out what all the different charges are for. If you receive a big bill post-flight from a company called Tong Da Air Service, unfortunately it’s not a scam! These guys are the government-appointed agency in China who are responsible for collecting all the NAV fees for flights by foreign operators.

It’s important to know in advance what you will get charged here, as it’s not totally clear  without doing a bit of digging – and your handling agent will likely not include all these complicated fees when they provide you with handling quotes!

For NAV fees in China, you will always get charged for four separate things:

• En-Route Charge.
• Terminal Navigation Charge.
• Compensation Charge (the fee paid to the government for the permit)
• Service Charge (Tongda Air’s charge for obtaining the permit)

Importantly…

En-Route Charge = this is charged for each individual flight

Terminal Navigation / Service Charge / Compensation Charge = these are charged per permit, and are always set costs.

So let’s say you fly RKSS-ZBAA-RKSS: you will need to pay En-Route Charges for each sector, and one set of Terminal Navigation / Service / Compensation charges.

Similarly, if your routing involves multiple domestic flights within China, (eg. RKSS-ZBAA-ZBTJ-ZSPD-RKSS) you only need one permit to cover all those stops,  which means you will only pay one set of Terminal Navigation / Service / Compensation charges. So far so good…

But let’s say you fly something like RKSS-ZBAA-VHHH-ZGSD: on this routing you will effectively be departing China when you go to VHHH, so you will need two permits – one for each stop in China (ZBAA and ZGSD). And because of this, you would need to pay two sets of Terminal Navigation / Service / Compensation charges!

So here’s how you work out the 4 charges:

1. En-Route Charge

There’s a very lengthy and complicated method of working this out, but the easiest thing to do is just use your flight-planning tool to tell you the answer. Most tools have this function – just make sure you click the button that says something like ‘overflight costs’ and find the section on the output of the flight plan that looks something like this:

(Showing costs for a B737 operating from ZBAA/Beijing to VHHH/Hong Kong)

2. Terminal Navigation Charge

MTOW                      Charges (RMB Yuan)
Up to 25                    990
26-50                         1060
51-100                      1060 + 21*(T-50)
101-200                   1920 + 23*(T-100)
above 201               3820 + 27*(T-200)

T = the actual MTOW rounded up to the nearest tonne

So for example:
an aircraft with a MTOW of 60T = 1060 + 21*(60-50) = 1270RMB
an aircraft with a MTOW of 110T = 1920 + 23*(110-100) = 2150RMB
an aircraft with a MTOW of 210T = 3820 + 27*(210-200) = 4090RMB

3. Compensation Charge

This will always be $3000.

4. Service Charge:

This will be either $1200 for landing permit, or $500 for overflight permit.

You can view the full list of changes here, but this list might be a little handier. From Jan 1st, the new edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (Edition 58) will be applicable.

• Replacing the existing lithium battery handling label with a new multi-modal lithium battery mark to be phased in over two years, with a deadline of December 2018 (Figure 7.1.C)
• Introducing a new Class 9 dangerous goods label specifically for lithium batteries, to be phased in over two years, with a deadline of December 2018 (Figure 7.3.X)
• Many new and modified special provisions
• Allowing shippers to assign a substance to a class or division different to that shown in the List of Dangerous Goods (IATA DGR 4.2), subject to approval by the appropriate national authority
• Adding classification criteria for polymerizing substances into Division 4.1
• Adding new UN numbers and Proper Shipping Names for “polymerizing substances,
• liquid and solid, stabilized” (PI 459) and “polymerizing substances, liquid and solid requiring temperature
• Updating Special Provision A104 for UN1230, Methanol that requires all packages containing methanol to bear a Division 6.1 toxic hazard label (in addition to the Class 3 flammable label)
• Changing the documentation requirements for hazmat air shipments

Reference:

IATA DGR Changes from 1st Jan, 2017.

France – ATC Reroutes 17NOV France is switching from old paper trips to new fancy electronic ones, and there will be reroutes from today onwards … Read the article.

FAA updates weather guidance 17NOV One of the most comprehensive weather resource docs out there, the AC00-45 Aviation Weather Handbook, has been updated by the FAA. We’ve got it in full technicolor for you on slack (OPSGROUP only) (it’s in the #general channel)

VTZZ/India [blur]Problems associated with the removal of 500 and 1000 INR banknotes have extended to the airports: for handling, many services are often paid in cash by your handler – and that cash is much harder to come by. We’ve been asked by several Indian handlers to advise foreign operators to carry plenty of USD, for a while.[/blur]

ZZZZ/Worldwide [blur]The ICAO SID/STAR saga continues: Finland, Singapore, and the UK won’t be joining the party for now. Add your country to the list, if you know the status.[/blur]

BGTL/Thule [blur]For Friday, they are open, but only for aircraft operating in conjunction with the SPAR83 mission. And emergencies, we guess.[/blur]

CYHM/Hamilton [blur]is now RFF Category 7.[/blur]

EKZZ/Denmark [blur]The government announced on 14NOV2016 that it will be extending border controls through at least 12FEB2017. The announcement was largely expected, as the country has lauded the border controls as being highly effective since putting them into place in JAN2016.[/blur]

CYQX/Gander [blur]Canada has issued an updated AIC about the NAT Datalink Mandate – dated 10NOV. The only difference (that we can spot) is the removal of the requirement for VHF coverage in the exempted area.[/blur]

KZZZ/USA [blur] Effective November 29th, 2016, all citizens or nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who have been issued a 10-year B-1, B-2  or B1/B2 (tourist/business) visa will be required to apply for Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) approval prior to traveling to the United States. EVUS is a web based system that determines the eligibility of visitors with a valid 10-year visa to travel to the United States and is valid for 2 years or until the traveler’s visa or passport expires.[/blur]

EEPU/Parnu, Finland [blur]is out of Jet A1 until the end of the month[/blur]

NZZZ/New Zealand [blur]All airports are operating normally after the 7.5 earthquake last Monday, travel in the northern part of the South Island remains extremely difficult.[/blur]

AYPM/Port Moresby [blur]has been having ongoing issues with HF. The story is that the HF station where the transmitters are located, has been regularly vandalised, and some gear stolen. Therefore, they are building a new site and expect to have that running by the end of 2017 – in the interim, they are restoring a smaller HF station at ‘8 mile’. [/blur]

EDDH/Hamburg [blur]has something going on from 07-10DEC: they would prefer you didn’t file EDDH as an alternate on those days.[/blur]

UKZZ/Ukraine [blur]From 15-25 November large scale demonstrations are planned in Kiev. These protests could turn violent, cause road closures and disrupt local transport. You should monitor the media and avoid large gatherings[/blur]

SKBO/Bogota [blur]has a bunch of changes due to construction work: runways, approaches, all affected – review the details.[/blur]

RPLL/Manila [blur]We’ve had several more reports of GPS problems in the Manila FIR, especially on approach to and departure from Manila itself. If you plan to lose GPS, then that’s probably a safe place to start from.[/blur]

BKPR/Kosovo [blur]On 13NOV, authorities in Kosovo announced that the International Telecommunication Union will give Kosovo its own international dialling code, +383, on 15 December. Previously, Kosovo used the dialling codes of Serbia, Monaco and Slovenia – paying approximately 217 million USD for that.[/blur]

TQPF/Anguilla [blur]Hours of operation now 1045Z-2300Z. Two hour PPR needed for operations outside hours. Contact Lindon or Jabari: lindon.hodge@gov.ai, jabari.harrigan@gov.ai.[/blur]

SKCG/Cartagena [blur]is closed daily overnight, until the end of the month.[/blur]

SCZZ/Chile [blur]There are ongoing public sector strikes across the country. Expect possible delays at border check points, ports and airports due to striking Chilean customs staff. Check with your local handler for updates.[/blur]

DNZZ/Nigeria [blur]Renewed reports of fuel shortages in the country; local airlines have had to reduce schedules to to lack of fuel – if operating, plan ahead carefully.[/blur]

Join OpsGroup to View the Full International Bulletin 17NOV2016

You’ll see lots of new acronyms being bandied about, like ERATO, EEE, a new DSNA ATM system in LFBB in accordance with SESAR … but in simple terms (our favourite words): France is changing from using paper strips to electronic strips for separating enroute aircraft, from November 17th, 2016.

Since more or less day one of Air Traffic Control, paper has been used to record where the airplane is, and then placed somewhat geographically in relation to the other airplanes that might affect it. Changes are written on the strip by hand, with a pen.

Like the picture above.

Because getting rid of any paper whatsoever is the most important thing in the world right now, there is a new electronic version of the same thing (and France is calling theirs ‘ERATO‘). Which looks a little like this:

So, Bordeaux (LFBB) Center is first … starting today, November 17th. And because nobody is entirely sure how well this is all going to work, a whole bunch of traffic has to be rerouted away from Bordeaux, so that there aren’t too many aircraft per controller – both to allow them to learn, and in case it goes feet up.

Which means mass reroutes, and delays. There are contingency routes – which have become very familiar to operators after this years “Summer of Strikes” – the Tango Routes will be popular again.

Looking ahead, the plan calls for two weeks of fairly heavy reroutes, and then another two weeks of lower impact restrictions. They have said though, that normalisation won’t occur until after Christmas.

So, if you want some different options for getting around the Bordeaux FIR:

• For north-south flights The Tango Routes – via Shanwick
• For east-west flights try to file further north, into Belgian/Eurocontrol/German airspace, or come south into Barcelona/Marseilles
• Read the Eurocontrol NOP – especially on the Tactical page on the ATFCM Measures (Scenarios) portlet -and selecting the link Scenario List: ID RR*ERA
• And, here’s a map – the red part is LFBB/Bordeaux FIR – don’t file through here:

The transition from paper to paperless has been going on for a while: Shanwick went ‘electronic’ in the mid 1980’s: this is what the enroute controllers’ screen looked like.

Finally, here’s the ‘official version’:

DSNA, France’s air navigation service provider, is carrying out an in-depth modernisation of its en-route air traffic management system to cope with the increase of air traffic in France.

From November 17, 280 air traffic controllers at the Bordeaux Area Control Centre (ACC) will handle flights with a new-generation, stripless ATC system called ERATO Electronic Environment (EEE).

The EEE programme based on a SESAR solution has been co-financed by the European Union. EEE provides a modern work environment and innovative control assistance tools.

Nevertheless, as a prelude to any major ATC system implementation, capacities have to be temporarily reduced to allow each air traffic controller to master in real time operations all the new capabilities.

Delays in the south-west of France are therefore to be expected during two weeks. No flight cancellations have been requested by DSNA.

To minimise the impact on flight punctuality, DSNA, has developed a transitioning plan in close cooperation with the Network Manager (Eurocontrol), neighbouring air navigation service providers, and the most affected airlines and airport operators.

Eurocontrol traffic simulations shown that for this transition period, up to 500 flights will need to be rerouted each day to avoid the airspace under the responsibility of Bordeaux ACC.

Moreover, military activities in high altitude training areas will be limited. Regional airports will be impacted along with all flights from or to Paris from the south.

ERATO2Maurice Georges, CEO of DSNA, said: “DSNA staff is totally mobilised with the implementation of this major project. I appreciate the efforts made by the entire aviation community to ensure a successful commissioning of the Electronic Environment ERATO in Bordeaux.

“The transitioning phase ahead of us relies on high predictability for all flights and trustworthy collaborative processes with our customers and partners”.
This major technological step will enable DSNA to deliver a high level of performance. Within the framework of the FABEC and in line with our Single European Sky commitments, DSNA will thus meet new challenges ahead for safe and sustainable air transport.”

Winter is coming 09NOV With the clocks changing, it’s a reminder that we’re not far away from the snowstorms, deicing delays, cancelled flights, airport shutdowns, and those big invoices for de-icing fluid. Our new author Frank Young has an article.

Updated Canada requirements 09NOV From tomorrow, November 10, an eTA is now mandatory for flights to Canada (for most people), and there’s an update to flying to Canada with a previous conviction. Read the article.

BIKF/Keflavik Long a destination for flight certification testing (because it’s cold and windy), will not accept test flights until February next year, thanks to runway renovation work.

ZZZZ/Worldwide Last week we ran a story about the new ICAO SID/STAR phraseolgies. In short, some countries are implementing, and others aren’t. We’re going to make a list of who’s doing what, so that you as an operator or pilot will have some idea. Can you help us? What is your country doing? Tell us at bulletin@fsbureau.org.

LTBA/Istanbul At about 0100 local time on 6 November, two people on a motorcycle opened fire outside Istanbul Ataturk International Airport, prompting a temporary closure. Reports indicate that authorities apprehended both suspects and did not find additional weapons or explosives on their persons. Officials briefly placed the airport on lockdown but reopened the facility at about 0130. The incident reportedly did not affect flights, and the gunfire harmed no civilians or police officers.

CZZZ/NAT Region The FAA has recently determined that time estimates provided by pilots in oceanic CTAs are less accurate than expected, particularly when adverse weather causes pilots to deviate from the planned course. These inaccurate estimates can compromise the separation of aircraft. Have a read.

YMML/Melbourne Be aware of recent hoax ATC calls. Someone with a handheld radio has been making “go-around” transmissions on the Tower frequency, and at least one aircraft has responded. Airservices says there have been 15 such transmissions in the last few weeks.

CZZZ/Canada The NBAA has issued useful updated info for flying to Canada with previous convictions – Canada is known for refusing entry based on DUI charges. Today, November 9, is also the last day that you can enter Canada without an eTA.

PWAK/Wake Island – an ETOPS alternate – is closed on 11NOV for Veterans Day. They do say they will attend with 30 mins notice, so maybe two ETOPS circles are required for that day. Check other US ETOPS alternates on this date also.

UCZZ/Kyrgyzstan Since 4 November, if you’re staying for longer than 5 days, you must register with the local authorities.

PKMJ/Majuro is downgraded to Cat 6 until November 23, which may affect some operators using this as an ETOPS alt.

EGNX/East Midlands airport has some weekend closures for the next six weeks.

VIZZ/India announced on 8 November that 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes will cease to be legal tender as of 0000 local on 9 November 2016.

EVLA/Liepaja (one of Latvia’s three international airports) is now closed to all operations. They say they will be open again in Spring 2017. Fingers crossed.

LAZZ/Albania has been experiencing heavy rains, high winds and flooding throughout the country, causing road blockages, school closures, and disruptions in ferry services. The army has been mobilized for rescue and relief operations.

LFLL/Lyon If you’ve been using LFLL as an alternate at weekends, you’ll have to cut that out from December 10th, they don’t want weekend diversions of non-sched flights.

EGKK/Gatwick has advised of a new series of rail strikes that will run through to January next year.

MHTG/Central America FIR reminds operators that a CENAMER notification by AFTN is required for all flights planning to enter the airspace.

MTZZ/Haiti The US has published updated advice for Haiti: U.S. citizens are advised not to travel to the southern peninsula of Haiti, commonly referred to as the “southern claw.” The U.S. Embassy has currently banned unofficial travel to the southern peninsula and allows official travel only after consultation with its security office. There is widespread devastation throughout the southern claw with the most affected areas on the western tip of the peninsula. Travelers can expect difficult travel conditions with roads made impassable by landslides, damaged roads, and bridge failures. There is also widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure, including gas stations and cell towers, loss of electricity, and shortages of food and potable water. U.S. citizens who choose to travel to the southern claw in spite of these risks should carry sufficient water, food, fuel, and medicine to last longer than their anticipated stay. The security environment around the southern claw is fluid and uncertain.

LFOB/Paris Beauvais is closed overnight from 2200 to 0600Z, for 14-25 November inclusive, due to stuff.

HAZZ/Ethiopia On November 8, the Command Post – the body tasked with implementing Ethiopia’s state of emergency – lifted the restriction imposed on foreign diplomats, which restricted them from traveling more than 25 mi/40 km outside of Addis Ababa. The Command Post also lifted and revised several other state of emergency provisions; however, the changes are minor and are not likely to affect the current situation. The curfew and communication restrictions remain in place

NFTF/Tonga Fua’amoto (the main airport) has new operating hours – these are, in UTC: 1600 SUN TO 0530 MON, 1025 MON TO 0800 TUE, 1600 TUE TO 0530 WED, 1000 WED TO 0800 THU,0900 THU TO 1200 THU, 1600 THU TO 0530 FRI, 1600 FRI TO 0800 SAT. They’ll accept div traffic outside these hours, call +676 22 608 – but prefer no surprises on Sundays.

OMAA/Abu Dhabi will see heavy traffic for the Grand Prix on November 27, avoid if possible.

SBZZ/Brazil The office that processes Foreign Civil overlight and landing permits has updated hours of operation: Mon-Fri 1230Z-2230Z.

SBCT/Curitiba airport would like 4 hour PPR notice for non-scheduled flights, and request that you call them on 55-41-3381-1478 to arrange that.

SPJC/Lima, Peru has an upcoming APEC meeting 14-21 November, with a decent increase in traffic expected, and a few restrictions. They’ve also warned pilots to pay attention to radios and transponder codes to avoid them sending up the jets – good advice.

TVSV/ET Joshua Airport is closed due to flooding.

VECC/Kolkata Radio has a new HF frequency: 8861, with hours 1330Z-0130Z. Use this if 6556 or 10066 isn’t working for you.

CZQX/Gander is going to auto-send you a “Confirm Assigned Route” message from 01DEC, on entry into their OCA – if you are FANS 1/A equipped. If you’re not sure how to feel about that, read our previous article.

LCCC/Nicosia There’s a good deal of mil activity – UN, and Russian – in the Cyprus region at the moment. Read the LCCC and surrounding FIR Notams carefully. Oh, and if you’re not up to date on your Greek-Turkish FIR dispute, add LGGG and LTBB to that. As 2016 draws to a close, enough regional history has been published for an entire novel. This weeks Notam series covers the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty.

NZZC/New Zealand published a change to SID procedures today, and our brain hurts. We’re not sure if this is related to the 10NOV ICAO SID/STAR changes, or .. something else. If you’ve got it deciphered, let us know. THE STANDARD INSTRUMENT DEPARTURE (SID) SPECIFIES IN BOTH DIAGRAMMATIC AND NARRATIVE FORM ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: THE DIRECTION OF TURN, HEADINGS, TRACK, DISTANCES, SIGNIFICANT POINTS AND ALTITUDE REQUIREMENTS. WHERE TRACKING TO OR FROM A NAVIGATION AID IS NOT POSSIBLE, DESIRED TRACKS ARE SHOWN AND DUE ALLOWANCE FOR WIND IS TO BE MADE. AIRCRAFT ARE TO CONTINUE CLIMBING THROUGHOUT THE SID UNLESS IN COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLISHED ATC MAINTAINS, DEPARTURE MINIMUM SAFE ALTITUDE (MSA) OR AS OTHERWISE INSTRUCTED. WHERE CONTINUOUS CLIMB TO THE END OF THE SID IS NOT REQUIRED A DEPARTURE MSA MAY BE DEPICTED ON THE RELEVANT CHART. THE DEPARTURE MSA REPRESENTS THE LOWEST ALTITUDE FOR OBSTACLE CLEARANCE ALONG THE ENTIRE DEPARTURE ROUTE (INCLUDING TRANSITIONS). IT REMAINS THE PILOT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO MEET SUBSEQUENT ENROUTE MSA/MINIMUM FLIGHT ALTITUDE (MFA)/MRA/MEA REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE AFTER SID TERMINATION. DEPARTURE MINIMUM SAFE ALTITUDES DO NOT ENSURE CONTROLLED AIRSPACE CONTAINMENT.

OEZZ/Saudi Arabia has issued an extension of the policy that requires all aircraft with a destination in Yemen to first land in OEBH/Bisha – through to 08FEB next year. The only exceptions are the UN, Red Cross, and MSF.

VHHK/Hong Kong is going to move to a new ACC and ATC Tower towards the end of this month. There will be delays. The actual date hasn’t yet been notified, we’ll let you know when we hear.

View the full International Bulletin 09NOV2016

Sharm El Sheikh reopens 03NOV  HESH/Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt has reopened to international traffic, with a number of airlines starting services again on 01NOV. However, there are conflicting views on security at the airport, depending on your state of registry. Read article.

New ICAO Phraseologies 03NOV From 10NOV, new international aviation phraseology for SIDs and STARs is effective, but there’s a problem. Read article.

OEJN/Jeddah, Saudi Arabia On 27OCT, Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. The Houthis confirmed the launch via the Saba news agency, saying that the missile was targeting Jeddah International Airport (OEJN), not the holy city of Mecca, as some other news reports had claimed.

EHEH/Eindhoven has new procedures for PPR effective 30OCT – if you’re flying there, get PPR direct from the airport. You can read all the info on their new GA page. Oh, and there’s now a fee. €300 for PPR for a 21 ton aircraft, for example.

LFMN/Nice Runway 04R/22L will be closed during November.

WARR/Juanda Airport is closed due to works in progress except for helicopter medical evacuations from until 15NOV

UTZZ/Tajikistan Disagreement between Russia and Tajikistan may lead to operational restrictions between the two countries. Air traffic between Moscow and Dushanbe may be suspended from 08NOV.

FAZZ/South Africa Reports this week suggest that foreign nationals entering South Africa through any port of entry should expect delays up to four hours due to a new enhanced security measure that requires the capture of fingerprints and a photograph. OR Tambo in Jo’burg seems to be the worst offender.

BGKK/Kulusuk has updated opening hours: 1100-1900Z Tuesday to Saturday. They ask for 3 hours minimum notice PPR.

PLCH/Christmas Island Fuel is in short supply, notified as being only available for Scheduled service and emergency flights. PLCH is often used on Pacific crossings as an alternate, so any diversion would be considered an ‘emergency’, but check before actually planning a tech stop.

LEZZ/Spain Previously notified fuel strike now appears to be one provider only, so it looks like impact minimal.

DGAA/Accra ATC is having a few VHF issues, primarily on 126.7 – if you can’t reach them, call HF 8903 instead.

EDDT/Berlin Tegel will be busy 14-18 NOV due to state visits, they won’t accept GA/Private traffic during this time, but you can check specifics with them at vvd-txl@berlin-airport.de

HLLS/Sabha, Libya The airport has been closed for over 2 years due to fighting in the area. A new Notam has been issued which officially extends the closure period to 26DEC, as talks continue between the authorities and local groups to find a way to re-open the airport.

LYBE/Belgrade Jet A1 not available through the airport fuel service provider until the end of the month. Make sure you get a confirmed fuel release through a third-party fuel provider before operating here.

LTZZ/Turkey On 29 October, the US Department of State ordered the departure of family members of employees posted to the US Consulate General in Istanbul due to security information indicating extremist groups continued aggressive efforts to attack US citizens in Istanbul. US Operators should consider ops into airports in Turkey carefully.

OMDB/Dubai Traffic was stopped for approx 1.5 hours on 29OCT due to a drone. The Airport closed from 1930-2050 LT, and some flights were diverted. OMSJ/Sharjah was also briefly closed due to the same drone. Unauthorized drones have halted airport operations in Dubai twice in recent months.

GMZZ/Morocco is busy from 4-20NOV, GA and non-sched traffic will see restrictions. Check their Notam A0896 from 01NOV. If you’re part of the event, put RMK/COP22 in your FPL. No long stays will be allowed.

WSSL/Singapore Seletar We’ve received crew reports of challenges with visual approaches into Seletar (there are no instrument approaches). There are unlighted obstacles on the approach to Runway 21. After dark, approaches are only possible to Runway 03. More importantly, noise rules will soon demand a challenging base turn, greater than 5 degrees, to a half-mile 3.5 degree final, to a 1% down slope runway. We welcome further comments (bulletin@fsbureau.org).

LGZZ/Greece There will be a ferry strike between the Greek mainland and all Islands on 24NOV. No services will operate that day.

FTZZ/Chad Reports of nationwide public service strike including Airport operations at N’Djamena. The unions stated that the strike will persist until the government pays overdue wage arrears.

View Full International Bulletin 03NOV2016

Hong Kong is a pain in the ass – it’s official 20OCT Authorities in Hong Kong confirmed yesterday that the airport is a giant pain, especially for non-scheduled operators. Lining up slots, parking, permits and handling is extremely difficult. End result: a mountain of frustration. Read the article.

Haiti relief operations – and Airbus Flight 101 20OCT After Hurricane Matthew last week, MTPP/Port-au-Prince (Toussaint Louverture) became a central focus in relief efforts for Haiti. OpsGroup member Airbus operated an amazing relief flight from Lyon. Read the article.

VTZZ/Thailand is in a period of mourning following the death of His Majesty, King Bhumibol on 13 October. This is a time of deep sorrow for Thai people – refrain from any behaviour that may be interpreted as festive, disrespectful or disorderly. Abide by local laws and respect Thai customs. There may be some disruption of commercial and public services during the mourning period, especially during the first 30 days (until 13 November). Tourist attractions are open with the exception of Wat Pra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Expect traffic disruptions and heightened security around these areas as people pay their respects to the late King.

EBBR/Brussels All non-scheduled flights destined to EBBR are allowed only after special permission by Airport Authority before start of flight. Contact +32 2 7536900 or inspect@brusselsairport.be.

DTZZ/Tunisia extended the state of emergency on 18OCT, set to expire, by three months. The state of emergency went into effect following a series of terrorist attacks in 2015 and has been extended multiple times.

ORBB/Baghdad FIR Traffic entering from Baghdad FIR (ORBB) to Ankara FIR (LTAA) shall file their FPL as follows: NINVA-OTKEP-SRT at FL320 and above. NOTAM A4572/16 refers.

Solomon Islands There has been a confirmed outbreak of dengue fever in the capital city, Honiara; you should follow the advice of the local authorities and take steps to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes; you should take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling to the Solomon Islands

TXKF/Bermuda Due to maintenance, the Bermuda Radar system will be out of service on Friday. Recommended reroute to avoid airspace. New York Center overflight procedures will be in effect. Routes have been developed to provide limited non-radar service within the airspace. All departures from Bermuda will be held down at FL310.

OJAI/Amman, Jordan Runway 26L/08R will be closed for urgent pavement maintenance on these days in November:  01,08,15,22,29: from 0930-1330Z. The airport will not be available for either normal operations or emergency diverts during the closure period.

OEZZ/Saudi Arabia From 8 to 10 October there were several missile attacks reported near the Saudi / Yemeni border and the southern Red Sea.

ZZZZ/Worldwide Regulatory and voluntary bans on Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones is spreading as airlines and airport authorities around the world are announcing bans or restricted usage on the device, which has been withdrawn by Samsung after some devices caught fire. Ban notices are being issued primarily through airline online check-in pages, as well as via public announcements in airport terminals and onboard aircraft. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) was first to issue a total ban on taking the device on board, as a passenger or as air cargo, when it gave an emergency order Oct. 15 with FAA.The devices are being banned because of fire concerns, and the fallout following an incident involving a smoking smartphone on board a Southwest Airlines aircraft in Louisville, Kentucky on Oct. 5.

YZZZ/Australia will not be implementing the changes in the ICAO PANS-ATM (Doc 4444), as they say they haven’t had enough time to work on the safety case – ie. figuring out if these changes are dangerous in any way. In short, they won’t be saying “Climb via SID” or “Climb via STAR”, which are the new phraseologies.

TTZP/Piarco wins the award for most confusing AIC of the week, namely AIC03/16 issued on 13OCT. Titled “RVSM Implementation”, it appears that Trinidad is finally implementing RVSM in their airspace. But wait, they did that in 2005. So what’s new in this AIC? It’s a mystery. Take a look and see if you can spot it.

KLAX/Los Angeles 3 out of the 4 runways at KLAX have now been renovated. Runway 6R/24L reopened on 16OCT after renovations. Improvements to the fourth and final runway, 07L/25R, will begin OCT22 and continue until June 2017. This last runway will be partially closed until January, and then closed completely to allow for more extensive work to be done

FSIA/Seychelles Runway will be closed on Thursday 20 and 27 Oct between 1815-0245z and Friday 21 and 28 Oct between 1900-0215z. Can be opened in cases of emergency.

UHPP/Petropavlovsk Eruption in progress at Klyuchevskoy volcano (N5603E16038) near UHPP. Ash cloud reported at 0720z on 17 Oct from ground level up to FL300.

VVZZ/Vietnam Typhoon Sarika is forecast to bring hazardous sea and weather conditions to parts of northern Vietnam from around 19 October 2016; heavy rainfall could lead to flooding and landslides

KLAS/Las Vegas Because of the next presidential debate that will be held in Las Vegas on October 19, 2016, intermittent road closures will affect access to McCarran International Airport (LAS) between 4 pm and 10 pm on that date. The recommended route to the airport from the east side of the valley is westbound Flamingo Road to southbound Paradise Road. The recommended route to the airport from the west side of the valley is eastbound Tropicana Avenue to southbound Paradise Road.

OIIX/Tehran FIR The minimum safe level on R462 between DENDA and METBI has been raised to FL140.

KSFO/San Francisco has a new ATC Tower operational since Sunday last, located between Terminals 1 and 2. Per the local report, it “offers controllers a 650-square-foot work area with unobstructed 235-degree views of the airport’s runways and taxiways”. Hopefully there’s not much going on in the other 125 degrees.

OSZZ/Syria Russia’s only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, is nearing the end of a work-up period outside the port of Murmansk before heading for the eastern Mediterranean, reportedly to begin air operations against targets in Syria.

EGPK/Prestwick will be closed from midnight to 0400Z on 21OCT, due to a planned ATC power outage. ATC reachable during outage at +447917 424603.

RPZZ/Philippines Typhoon Sarika recently passed through the island of Luzon as a category 4 storm. Transportation routes, power and telecommunications systems could be affected in some areas. Other services that may be affected in these areas include emergency and medical care, as well as water and food supplies. If travelling to affected areas, exercise caution, monitor local news and weather reports, and follow the advice of local authorities.

View full International Bulletin 20OCT2016 

“Don’t assume.  Verify, verify, verify.”  That’s good advice from James, an experienced dispatcher working for one of the largest passenger and cargo airlines in the Middle East.

The job of dispatching, on its face, seems straightforward and simple:  Prepare legal releases, make sure they are sent to the crews, follow the flights along their journey, and coordinate with the crews on any unexpected issues that pop up.  The reality, however, is that the dispatch center for an airline of this size is a complicated beehive of activity.  They work to safely dispatch flights to and from 6 continents 24 hours a day.

From the time James arrives at work for his morning shift at 0300z, the unexpected is the rule rather than the exception.  The workload is high: during a twelve hour shift, James might dispatch between 22 and 27 flights, three or four of which might be Ultra Long Range (ULR) operations.  The goal is to have the releases ready six hours in advance.  That seems like a lot of time, but for ULR operations it can take between one-and-a-half and two hours to plan a flight.  The aviation business is dynamic—this is especially true in the Middle East.  As departure time approaches, James might have to revise the release five times due to changes in aircraft loading.  The goal is to order enough fuel to complete the flight successfully, but not so much as to detrimentally impact the economic viability of the flight.  It is a constant juggling act where one has to always be flexible.  “You try to stay organized and pace yourself,” James says.

But the clock is always running, and delays can cost money—big money.  Operations from Europe and the Middle East to India and Southeast Asia can prove especially challenging in this regard.  There is an enormous amount of traffic on these routes and every aircraft must transit the Muscat FIR.  Muscat doesn’t have radar coverage over much of its area of responsibility, so air traffic control is done the old fashioned way: position reports and time estimates.  This isn’t like flying through radar controlled airspace; separation between aircraft must be increased to ensure safety.  To accommodate all of the flights, every day at 1500z until 0000z Muscat institutes strict flow control through its FIR.  Missing a departure time by even a few minutes can result in your planned altitude being unavailable, resulting in an increase in fuel burn.  “Missing a slot time means getting stuck at FL270 all the way across the Indian Ocean,” James says.

The African continent offers particular dispatching challenges not seen elsewhere in the world.  Africa is a morass of differing rules and regulations that can change whenever an aircraft crosses an international border.  Overflight privileges  must be obtained well in advance and prescribed company routes must be rigidly adhered to.  If an aircraft unexpectedly wanders into the wrong county’s airspace, “you might find yourself in a spot of bother,” James says.

NOTAM communication in Africa is notoriously poor.  James tells the story of a recent flight where the crew was advised that the airport in Nairobi was closed after they were airborne; in fact, they were less than two hours out.  James quickly began coordinating with the Kenyan authorities and planning viable divert alternatives.  The Kenyan voice on the other end of the phone insisted that, although the airport was technically closed, it would be no problem for the aircraft to land.  “This really isn’t the way we should be doing business,” James says.

While Africa presents challenges, flights over China experience route rigidity unequaled throughout the world.  When an aircraft needs to change course for weather avoidance, the common response from Chinese air traffic control is, “maintain the airway.”

How do dispatchers plan safe routes through such extensively controlled airspace?  Preflight planning must include a very careful look at the weather and NOTAMS for active restricted airspace and incorporate routing that give dangerous areas a wide berth.  “You plan as conservatively as you can, but you have a limited selection of routes that are approved six months in advance,” James says.

Dispatching for a global airline presents many challenges.  Professionals like James have become outstanding information gatherers, meteorology gurus, and consummate diplomats negotiating a wide range of cultures and national regulations.  For a dispatcher, curiosity is an important risk management tool.  Nothing is left to chance.

After Hurricane Matthew last week, MTPP/Port-au-Prince (Toussaint Louverture) became a central focus in relief efforts for Haiti. One of our OPSGROUP members, Airbus Industrie – took an A330 that’s normally used for testing, and flew it with supplies from France to Haiti.

Thanks Pedro @Airbus for this flight and trip report – and thank you for your contribution to the relief effort as well. All the crew members on board were volunteers.  We’re very proud to have you as a member of our group.

Report from Pedro Dias, Airbus Industrie:

RELIEF FLIGHT TO HAITI – FLIGHT AIB101 – AIRBUS A332

A request from NGO has raised to carry to Haiti 25 tons of medical equipment, first aid supplies, portable water station as well as a team of 40 people (28 military Rescuers, 4 doctors and nurse, 8 NGO staff). Airbus, thru the “Airbus Foundation”, responded positively and offers to help providing our A332. This aircraft is a test aircraft, partially equipped with pax seats and offer the full capacity of its cargo. On Monday 10th October we were ready to go!

First stop in LYS where all the NGO equipment was stored, after a short night Cargo and passengers were on board ready for a 9h30 flight.

AIB101 T/O @ 05H45UTC

Nice flight with some turbulence approaching the Caribbean Area… This long flight gave us the opportunity to talk with our fellow passengers and understand their motivation to go to such devastated places. Very interesting dialogue, which made all of us understand that we are lucky to be where we live.

After overflying a small part of the Island we’ve been cleared to land. On the ground a B747 was already there, offloading equipment sent by French government.

Handling was efficient but slow, as could be expected, and the airport was a bit messy due to Matthew but also to the heavy work on the airport, have to be careful of all trucks and excavators crossing taxiways and parking with no radio contact!!!

We had to wait for customs to clear our cargo, finally everything went smooth and after less than 2 hours on the ground we were ready to leave. Fuel was not available, things have changed since I guess, we planned a fuel stop at PTP (Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe) before flying back to Toulouse.

2h Flight to PTP, then 2h on the ground and after a 08h00 flight it was 0550Z on Wednesday when we landed at Toulouse after 24h around the clock for this tiring but really rewarding flight.

All crew and Airbus team were volunteers to help on this flight, we know that what we bring is a drop in the ocean but we expect it will help people there, and we hope many more flights will follow soon”

Thank you Airbus and Pedro for this report!

Oceanic and remote procedures updated: 12OCT The FAA this week issued a significantly updated version of their “Oceanic and Remote Airspace” procedures document. There’s a lot of good stuff here, even if you’re not operating an N-reg. Take a look at the PDF.

Rome Airport to close Friday 12OCT A reminder that LIRA/Rome Ciampino will close fully from Friday, for two weeks, as a result of urgently required runway maintenance. You can use LIRF/Fiumicino instead, but with significant restrictions.

LLBG/Tel Aviv starts winter runway maintenance work on 01Nov until 17Nov – Runway 21 will become primary landing runway, associated restrictions, not available as alternate during this time – check AIC 3/16.

LOWI/Innsbruck starting December 14th, the airport will introduce parking restrictions for private flights every week from 1800Z Weds until 1800Z Sunday.

TXKF/Bermuda Tropical Storm Nicole is approaching, expect some disruption and check before using as an alternate over the next few days.

HAZZ/Ethiopia The Ethiopian government has declared a six month State of Emergency from 9 October 2016. While details of emergency arrangements are not formalised, measures to restrict communication, movement and political expression are expected. Carry identification, avoid all large gatherings and protests, monitor the media for details on the application of the State of Emergency and follow all instructions issued by local authorities.

SPIM/Lima radar will be off the air on Friday from 19-21Z for repairs, procedural control, expect enroute delays.

EGGX/Shanwick. An exercise to test to the Volcano eruption response is underway, you may see multiple references to an eruption in Iceland – it hasn’t happened, it’s just a test. Stand down. Katla is also back to code Green.

UZZZ/Russia Karymsky volcano in the Kamchatka peninsula is active with colour code Orange, check before operating.

OKAX/Kabul FIR continues to have comms issues in the north east portion of Afghanistan airspace, VHF comms are not working on 118.3 or 128.5. There are some “Nordo” procedures, refer to AIP ENR 1.6-1.

MUFH/Havana has a couple of new entry points to the FIR – FUNDI and IKBIX – but they’re not for use yet, so don’t.

OPRN/Islamabad If operating to OPRN, be aware that on Saturdays and Mondays ATC will be practising non-radar procedural approach from 0500-0900Z until the end of the year.

SPJC/Lima has overnight parking restrictions from 14-21NOV, check with Airport company or handler prior to operating.

FZZZ/Democratic Republic of the Congo: the security picture is uncertain following recent political protests and there have been calls for further protests in Kinshasa, including on 19 October; you should follow travel advice and monitor local media for updates

SPZO/Cusco will not allow overnight parking from 10-20OCT.

FOZZ/Gabon Following the results of recent elections in Gabon, further strikes or demonstrations could occur in the capital Libreville and in Port Gentil. Avoid demonstrations, large crowds and rallies as they may turn violent.

UAZZ/Kyrgyz Republic Multiple embassies located in Bishkek have issued warnings to their citizens of an increased threat of a terrorist attack in the Kyrgyz Republic, possibly involving kidnapping and hostage taking, against Kyrgyz authorities and foreign diplomats during October 2016.

TQPF/Anguilla has introduced a ban on visitors from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with a view to mitigating Ebola risk. Anyone who has been to those three countries in the last 21 days will not be allowed to enter.

VTSP/Phuket is suffering from ramp congestion, and will not allow non-scheduled flights to stay overnight until the end of the year.

WSSS/Singapore Changi has a couple of closures on 18 and 19 OCT due to a military exercise, check local Notams.

ZUUU/Chengdu has a new speed restriction inbound – fly 183 knots from IAF to IF, then 160 knots to 4nm. Notam U2748/16.

View full International Bulletin 12OCT2016