Some big improvements are on the way for the AKARA Corridor – a piece of airspace 100nm off the coast of Shanghai that connects China and Japan.

In effect the airspace is being simplified. Currently, South Korea’s Incheon ACC controls North/South routes, while Japan’s Fukuoka ACC controls East/West. The two operate on different frequencies – a cause for concern for emergency descents while heavy aircraft out of ZPSD/Shanghai are often penalised with inefficient levels.

This area has always been unusual in that more than one center has had responsibility for controlling aircraft at different waypoints.

But on 11 Jan, 2021, ATC authorities in Japan, China and South Korea agreed to implement a proposal from ICAO regarding ATC management in this area – so from 25 March 2021, South Korea will control all flights in this area.

There will also be a new East/West route in addition to airway A593 to further improve efficiency. You can read all about the changes in more detail here.

It’s a strange time for aviation right now: closed countries, fewer passengers, and a lot of aircraft being moved into hangars – not to see the sky again for some time. The long-term storage of aircraft is leading to some unforeseen issues…

We reported on some these before, but we thought now might be a good time to give another quick summary because aircraft are starting to fly again – in particular the 737 Max which is back in the skies of Canada, the US, and soon Europe as well.

The Dangers of Long-Term Storage…

There have been a lot of incidents attributed to aircraft coming out of long-term storage. Wizzair fell foul of some bugs in 2020, an Aeroflot had a bit of a mishap after it was only partially ready to go back flying…

Both the US and EASA safety regulators have raised concerns about certain issues for aircraft coming out of long-term storage, so in case your airplane is currently stashed away, read on.

Nesting Nasties

We mentioned this one before, but with Covid dragging on, we figured it might be worth a reminder.

It sounds nightmarish, but insects have been known to build lairs deep inside aircraft probes, where even the most eagle-eyed walk-around check might not spot them. 

And these critters have led to an alarming trend of airspeed problems for aircraft new out of storage.

Check out our earlier article on the risks of this here, and be sure to do an in-depth check of your aircraft’s nook and crannies before taking to the skies again.

Wasps, bugs, beetles… all kinds of nasties in your nooks and crannies

Batteries Not Included

Aircraft with Nickel-Cadmium batteries (which is most of them, unless they have newer lithium ion ones) are suffering from premature power loss.

Embarrassing for the batteries, and dangerous for the pilots.

When disconnected, these batteries can lose their capacity, and when they are plugged back in again, they might not regain it – leading to a lot less time of usefulness that you think you have.

A battery not providing the performance you are expecting on that already bad day when you drop down to emergency power levels, is going to make it a really, really bad day…

What can you do? Well, EASA recommend that aircraft approval holders work with battery manufactures to check out this new found phenomenon, but in the meantime – if you are waking your airplane up from a long term hibernation, make sure its ticker is ticking properly with a full maintenance check, before you head out for a spin.

From the classic 1987 movie ‘Batteries Not Included’

Clean as a Whistle

Disinfecting is big right now, what with this old pandemic thing. But a lot of the cleaning agents that can kill Covid, can also damage your airplane. 

Damage to screens, fogging and misting from liquid pooling in out of sights areas, and some alcohol based substances ‘crazing’ up windows (alcohol crazes most of us up, but on windows it can cause fine cracks, and permanent damage) are all risks of using the wrong cleaning fluids.

There is also a chance long-term use of certain cleaning agents might start to corrode parts and increase the flammability of the interior, and even cause some shorting of the circuitry.

So, the FAA and EASA have issued guidance suggesting you check which disinfectants are suitable for your aircraft type. That seems sensible. Their recommendations on how to clean are here, and you can find links to anti-Covid approved cleaning agents that you can check with your aircraft manufacturer before spritzing your plane.

Check your flappers

Back in July 2020, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive for 737 Classics and NGs because, when stored for just 7 days, they can start to suffer from corrosion on the Bleed Air 5th stage check valve.

What’s the risk here? Only a little case of double engine failure, according to the directive. Thankfully, they also recommend a fairly straight forward check to confirm your valve and its flapper plate are flapping as they should.

The poor A380 is not hangared so much as retired at this point

What else can you do?

EASA recommend operators carry out extra checks when bringing an aircraft back into service. These include engine runs, flight control manoeuvrability and brake checks. 

To be safe, they suggest you do it on 20% of your fleet, and to be extra safe, they suggest you consider flight checks on the first 10% returning to the skies. Don’t rush these checks. It takes 3-5 days to ready an aircraft for long term storage, so it probably takes the same to bring them out again.

And don’t forget about your pilots! Pilots don’t fare much better in long term storage either. Like their aircraft, they need consistent use, and without it, you’re going to have to spend a bit longer getting them airworthy again. (We would suggest you let them clean themselves though, and it’s probably best not to ask how their flapper valve is functioning 😃)

Some other stuff to read

• IATA Operations Info
• FlightGlobal Airworthiness concerns

A sad site but the yards are filling up

Putting ‘climate change’ in the title of a post on an aviation page probably isn’t the best way to draw in the readers. But this is not a lecture. Promise.

So, what is it about?

It isn’t about chemtrails. They aren’t a real thing.

It is about contrails. The wispy bits of whatever that your airplane engines fart out as you fly, or the ‘engine plumes’ if prefer to imagine your airplane resembling something like a peacock.

Contrails are basically water vapour. They form when the exhaust gases from the engine starts to cool and mix with the air around them. The humidity rises, the water cools and condensation occurs.

A small, small proportion of what is burped out of the engine is not water though, but impurities from inside the engine.

Things like sulphur particles. It only makes up about 0.05%, but these tiny particles give the water something to freeze onto and they cause tiny ice crystals to form.

The peacock. This might be photoshopped…

So why do we care about this?

They are quite a useful indicator of possible wake turbulence for us, but aside from that (and unless you are one of the pilots who likes to draw amusing pictures in the sky with them) then we don’t really care that much.

But maybe we should care a bit, because some contrails loiter up there for ages – these are known as homomutatus contrails. Frankly, anything which sounds a little like ‘mutant’ should cause concern, and these definitely do, because they are responsible for the word we shall not utter.

Ok, we will, just to be clear – global warming.

Not here to lecture though! Promise!

A little bit of science (still not a lecture)

So, the airplane burps out the water, it turns into contrails which then hang up there in the stratosphere. Aviation causes only about 5% of the water present in the stratosphere, so it isn’t a terrible culprit.

Unfortunately, though, those homomutatus contrails, plus the extra water, plus the ice particles – all that stuff left up there by airplanes – causes terrestrial radiation to backscatter. It also stores up some of the radiation coming in and the result is something they call ‘radiative forcing’.

Basically, extra heating-up happens.

So, airplanes are spitting out C02 and contrails, and the contrails are thought to be responsible for something between 20% to about 40% of all the radiative forcing aviation causes to occur (they don’t really know how much, but they reckon about that amount).

Just for info, not a lecture

So… why are we actually telling you if this isn’t a lecture?

We’re getting there, stay attentive!

Free Route Airspace (a big open area between 2 waypoints where you are routed in a straight-line between them) has already helped reduce fuel burn and C02 emissions. They reckon it saved about 40 tonnes of fuel a day, and reduced the C02 by about 150 tonnes a day.

So, the helping-the-environment plans are already helping you because it means less fuel burn.

ICAO and Eurocontrol, in conjunction with EDYY/Maastricht have now set up a project called the Contrail Prevention Trial.

The Contrail Prevention Trial will initially only take place in Maastricht and the plan is to sometimes re-route aircraft around atmospheric conditions that are most conducive to contrails.

The Contrail Prevention Trial

If you are routing through Maastricht airspace you might find you are given a re-route. It won’t be huge, it might mean a little bit of an increase in fuel burn, but it will hopefully mean a decrease in the contrails your aircraft produces.

You won’t really know, but some clever science person down on the ground hopefully will.

So, a little bit of science, no lecture, and some info on why, if you are routing through Maastricht sometime in 2021, you might be given a tactical diversion. Now you know why 😊

Here is the official announcement on it, found on the Eurocontrol homepage:

CONTRAIL PREVENTION TRIAL – MAASTRICHT UAC (EDYY) AIRSPACE
===========================================================
IN AN EFFORT TO MINIMISE THE IMPACT OF AVIATION ON THE
ENVIROMNENT, MUAC WILL BE RUNNING A CONTRAIL PREVENTION TRIAL FROM
18TH JANUARY 2021 UNTIL 31ST DECEMBER 2021 BETWEEN 1500-0500UTC
WINTER (1400-0400UTC SUMMER).

FLIGHTS MAY BE TACTICALLY REQUESTED TO DEVIATE FROM THE PLANNED/REQUESTED
FLIGHT LEVEL BY THE SECTOR CONTROLLER.

ANY FLIGHT FLYING VIA MAASTRICHT UAC SECTORS BETWEEN THESE TIMES
MAY BE CHOSEN. THE TRIAL WILL GO AHEAD DEPENDENT ON THE WEATHER
CONDITIONS.

MUAC AO HOTLINE +31 43 366 1428

NMOC ON BEHALF OF MAASTRICHT (EDYY) FMP
===========================================================

The dispute between Turkey and Greece is one we have mentioned before. Not because it was having a particularly big impact on aviation operations, but because of the vaguely amusing Notam battle they have been waging against each other for the last few years.

But what appears to be a rather silly conflict actually has a more serious side to it, so we thought we would take a little look at what is going on.

What are they arguing over?

This dispute is about what disputes always seem to be about – who owns some bit of land, or in this case, a Continental Shelf (so a bit of land that is submerged under several miles of Eastern Mediterranean Sea). Turkey want it because it is a treasure chest of energy resources, while Greece want it because, well, they reckon it was always theirs.

The dispute goes a bit “higher” than the continental shelf though. Like those annoying neighbours who keep pushing their fence backwards into your garden, so Greece have decided that their airspace extends not the usual 6nm (based off territorial waters), but 10nm. Turkey refuse to recognise those extra 4nm as Greek. Nor do ICAO who have a 1948 statute saying airspace must coincide with territorial water boundaries. 

So we would say that’s one:nil to Turkey, except for Greece’s point that they actually laid claim to those extra 4nm way back in 1931 before ICAO came along with their statute. Plus, this isn’t the only area Turkey has had disputes over, so maybe Greece have a bit of a point.

6nm vs 10nm airspace

But do we care, or can we just let them keep bickering?

Well, the permanent Notam battle can be ignored with a simple filter that removes the likes of these from your Notam package:

One example of the endless battle of Notam insults between the two

However, that is not the only repercussion. Actually, all this makes for some messy airspace controlling because it impacts FIRs and with that, who controls military flight activity. This has led to a bunch of provocations from both sides, with them regularly sending military aircraft into the 4nm disputed bit just to annoy the other side. And this is a problem, because it often escalates with retaliations. In 1996, Turkey claimed one of their aircraft had been shot down by a Greek fighter jet, and in 2014 the number of Turkish incursions into Greek airspace rose to nearly 1,500.

Tensions flared up again in 2020 when Turkey finalised their purchase of Russian S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile system. Now, this wasn’t specifically aimed at Greece, but it did go against NATO and US orders, resulting in big sanctions against Turkey.

Greece spent 2020 developing stronger defensive ties with their neighbouring countries, and at the start of this year, placed an order for 18 French Rafale fighter jets to pad out their Air Force. 

A bit of a jam

Deliberate GPS Jamming is also a major issue in the Eastern Mediterranean and across Turkish airspace, adding to the list of threats commercial aircraft have to consider.

So is this a conflict to watch?

2020 was a tense year between the two nations, and 2021 seems unlikely to see much de-escalation. While direct conflict between the two will likely be prevented by neighbouring countries and the EU and NATO, the dispute is still simmering away.

For commercial flight operations, the impact remains primarily in the Notam world, but attention does need to be paid to any temporary prohibited or restricted airspaces which might pop up because of increased military activity in the region.

Additionally, Turkey is a large country and their airspace provides a major overflight route between Asia, the Middle East and Western Europe. Having an awareness of the political tensions between the two countries is important, particularly if routing to or from Greece, or carrying Greek nationals onboard, since this might compound your problems if you have to divert into a Turkish airport.

2020 was a heck of a ride. But therein lies the risk – what else might you have missed amongst all the Covid-related noise? Sadly, conflicts and their risks to civil aviation have not taken a break during the pandemic.

As it’s a new year, we thought a summary of Airspace Risk was called for. Here’s what’s making headlines at the moment:

Saudi Arabia & Yemen

Houthi rebels in Yemen are regularly firing explosive drones and rockets across the border into Saudi Arabia, and these usually target airports in the south such as OEAH/Abha and OEGN/Jizan. Their latest attack was on OYAA/Aden airport in late December which resulted in mass casualties.

Saudi Arabia continues to retaliate with airstrikes. The latest was in the capital Sanaa just weeks ago, where multiple munitions landed near the airport.

The risk to aviation is that overflying aircraft may get caught in the crossfire or might be misidentified by Saudi air defences. Active terrorist groups in Yemen may also use anti-aircraft weaponry to target foreign interests.

The FAA prohibit all US operators from entering most of the OYSC/Sanaa FIR at any level. Only two airways are allowed, and they are well off the coast – UT702 and M999.

Only two available airways for US operators near Yemen and both are well off the coast.

There are no restrictions on Saudi Arabia but use caution in the southern regions. France and Germany have issued their own warnings.

SafeAirspace Yemen page – click here.
SafeAirspace Saudi Arabia page – click here.

Iraq

Rocket attacks on military interests at airports have become a common occurrence. They are generally fired by local militia without warning. ORBI/Baghdad is frequently targeted, along with other airports including ORER/Erbil. There is a clear risk to aircraft at low levels.

US relations were further strained through 2020 with multiple attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad. The tensions escalated to a point where the US considering closing it.

Foreign aircraft continue to be at risk from armed militia who have access to portable anti-aircraft weaponry, while misidentification by the air defence systems of multiple foreign forces in the country is also possible.

The FAA has extended its ban on US operators entering the Baghdad FIR at any level. Even though the SFAR says you can enter above FL320, the long-running Notam KICZ A0036/30 says otherwise.

SafeAirspace Iraq page – click here.

Syria

There have been several recent Israeli airstrikes on targets throughout Syria. In late December there are reports that Israeli fighters transited Lebanese airspace at low level causing alarm in Beirut before attacking targets in Western Syria. Just weeks ago, several sites around Damascus were targeted by Israeli missiles.

The primary risk is that aircraft may be misidentified by Syrian air defence systems which are regularly activated. Civil operators may get caught in the crossfire as missiles may erroneously lock on to the wrong aircraft.

Syrian air defences in action in 2019.

The FAA are taking no chances – the ban on US operators entering the OSTT/Damascus FIR at any level has been extended a full three years to 2023.

SafeAirspace Syria page – click here.

South Sudan

Just this week ICAO issued a concerning warning about the risk to aircraft operating below FL245 in the HSSX/Khartoum FIR over South Sudan, or flying in and out of HSSJ/Juba. They are ‘gravely’ concerned about ATC disruptions, a lack of contingencies, inadequate training of controllers, limited info about equipment outages and a lack of co-ordination with other ATS units.

SafeAirspace South Sudan page – click here.

Emerging Conflict Zones

2020 saw three new conflict zones emerge, here is what is happening with them now.

Ethiopia

A civil conflict erupted in October last year in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia. The government went to war with the TPLF – a regional force seeking independence.

The region’s airports were closed and TPLF showed an intent to internationalise the conflict by attacking aviation interests. They fired rockets into Eritrea targeting HHAS/Asmara, and also attacked multiple airports to the South of the Tigray region.

Two airways were closed (T124, and M308) with no explanation of the risk.  Other airways remained open but uncomfortably close to the fight – especially UG300, UN321 and UL432. No airspace warnings were issued despite the dangers.

What’s the latest?

In late November Ethiopian forces captured the region’s capital Mekelle and regained control. Remaining TPLF forces have retreated leaving behind a humanitarian disaster and a vow to continue the fight. Since then, the airway closures have been removed and things have gone quiet, but an airspace risk remains – armed militia continue to be active in Northern regions and may be looking to make a statement. Be wary of operating in the area.

Western Sahara

Late last year the region’s independence movement (the Polisario) declared war on Morocco for breaching a ceasefire agreement. The FAA published a warning that the Polisario might have access to anti-aircraft weaponry left over from previous conflicts.

The Western Sahara region

What’s the latest?

It is still an active conflict zone.  The fight has reached the international stage after the US declared their support for Morocco. The Polisario have indicated they are willing to at least talk, but so far have not put down their weapons. So, it is a wait-and-see type deal.

The risk to overflying aircraft remains. The GCCC/Canarias FIR keep extending a Notam advising operators to not fly below FL200 on the following airways: UY601, UN728 and UT975.  However, the reason is still missing: because of the risk of anti-aircraft fire. The GOOO/Dakar FIR haven’t issued any warnings despite the threat. Take care if operating in the area.

Armenia-Azerbaijan

In September last year, an ethnic conflict erupted over a disputed territory in Western Azerbaijan – Nagorno-Karabakh. The fight was between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

As a major air corridor for en-route traffic, there were significant flight disruptions. Azerbaijan swiftly closed all but one west/eastbound airway and routed traffic via Georgia. Armenia asked aircraft to take extra fuel and expect re-routes. The conflict was short but intense, with heavy artillery fire from both sides. The conflict eventually spread beyond the contested regions with longer range weapons. The entire border region posed a risk for civil aircraft.

What’s the latest?

For once the news is good. In November a ceasefire agreement was signed with the help of Russia. Armenia effectively lost and withdrew from the region and the conflict was officially over. Armenia removed its airspace warning, while Azerbaijan re-opened the affected airways and a large section of airspace near the border.

With the conflict now over, and no new reports of significant fighting since the peace agreement in November, direct crossing traffic between the two countries is now technically possible again.  However, most East-West flights are currently still electing to go further north instead, connecting between Azerbaijan and Georgia’s airspace, avoiding Armenia.

What about Safeairspace.net?

Our conflict zone and risk database is updated constantly. We assess risk with official sources and build a simple picture for you of those need-to know-places.

There are currently 5 regions which are assessed as a Level 1 Risk – No Fly. These are: Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, and Syria.

Head over to safeairspace.net and click this button for a full airspace risk briefing.

Head over to SafeAirspace.net and take a look. With a single click you can download a risk briefing of the entire world in just a few pages of nice simple English.

The mission of SafeAirspace is this: to provide a single, independent, and eternally free resource for all airspace risk warnings, so that airlines and aircraft operators can easily see the current risk picture for unfamiliar airspace. If you know of a risk not listed on the site, or you have anything else to add, please get in touch with us at news@ops.group

From January 26, all international passengers need a negative Covid test that is less than 72 hours old to board a flight to the US.

The US CDC has published the full details of the requirements here, and they’ve done a good job too – it includes a pretty thorough Q&A section split into separate sections for passengers and crew.

Here’s a summary of the main points:

• All international travellers aged two years or older need a test, including citizens and foreigners.
• Applies to all flights, including private and charter flights.
• Applies only to international flights – from “anywhere that is not a state, territory, or possession of the United States”. Therefore, passengers do not need a test if coming from: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
• It needs to be a “viral test” (NAAT or antigen test) – antibody tests will not be accepted. The PCR test is a type of NAAT test (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test), so those are accepted. You can read more about the different types of tests here.
• The test must be done within three calendar days of departure to the US. If passengers have one or more connecting flights to the US, it gets a bit more complicated.
• Airlines and operators will need to check that their passengers meet the requirements prior to travel.
• For crew travelling to the US: you don’t need to get a Covid test in advance as long as you’re “active crew” – i.e. you’re operating the flight or travelling in an assigned deadhead status. You also have to follow the health and safety rules set out in the FAA’s SAFO 20009. However, we’ve had several reports saying that if you are positioning crew into the US via an airline for any reason, the reality is that you will likely be asked to show proof of a Covid test. More guidance on the definition of “active crew”, check out the CDC’s dedicated webpage.
• If crew/pax can prove they have already had Covid, have recovered from it, and can provide documentation to this effect, they don’t need to get a test.
• Operators must distribute and collect Passenger Attestation Forms prior to embarkation, and keep copies of these for 2 years. Operators do not need to keep copies of passenger test results.
• If you’re heading out of the US, and plan to return within 72hrs, you will still need a test. You can get this done in the US before you leave. But if you end up staying out of the US for more than 72hrs, you will need to be retested before your return flight.
• Quarantine rules: Technically, all pax inbound to the US now have to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival, as per the Executive Order that went into effect on Jan 26. However, it looks like the CDC will not actually be enforcing this – at least for now.

Important to note: the old rules banning certain pax from entry still stands: with specific exemptions, foreign nationals who have been present within the past 14 days in the European Schengen area, the UK and Ireland, mainland China, Iran, and Brazil will still be barred from entry – with or without a negative test. The ‘specific exemptions’ part basically means this: US residents and family members, and flight crew traveling to the United States on C, D or C1/D visas. For more details on this rule, check the US Government webpage here.

Generally, our SafeAirspace risk assessments focus on risk due to conflict, and the anti-aircraft weaponry that is often a result of said conflicts. But today a new risk alert popped up for South Sudan.

So this is a brief summary on the history of airspace safety concerns for Sudan and South Sudan, and the new risk that has been highlighted specifically for South Sudan.

Where are we talking about?

South Sudan is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa, bordered by Sudan, Ethiopia, the DRC, the CAR, Uganda and Kenya. The main airport for South Sudan is HSSJ/Juba.

So it’s South Sudan, not just Sudan?

Yep, there are two Sudan’s – Sudan and South Sudan. South Sudan is officially known as the Republic of South Sudan, whilst Sudan (North Sudan) is ‘just’ Sudan.

Sudan and South Sudan are two separate countries since 2011

Sudan’s primary airport is HSSS/Khartoum

They were the same country until 2011 when they separated following decades of civil war. South Sudan became the world’s newest nation.

Two separate Sudans, three separate issues

Following five years of civil war in South Sudan, a ceasefire has largely held since Sept 2018. Though there has been a significant reduction in violence since then, the political and security situation remains volatile.

Sudan, on the other hand, (which borders South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Chad), has had its own conflict. In 2019 they temporarily closed all their airspace following a military coup which ousted their longtime president Omar al-Bashir from power. This came after months of protests against his rule.

Clashes between the army and former security agents resulted in violence and gunfire in the streets, and the temporary closure of HSSS/Khartoum airport in 2020, but this was brought under control relatively quickly.

There are also issues in bordering Ethiopia and Eritrea, in the Tigray region, which resulted in the closure of some airspace and airways by the Ethiopian and Sudanese CAA.

What warnings are in place due to conflict?

South Sudan – Although the situation has improved since Sept 2018, several countries (the UK, France and Germany) still advise against overflying South Sudan below FL250/260 due to the risk posed by anti-aircraft weaponry. The US published a similar warning but rescinded it in Aug 2019.

Sudan – Only has one official warning in place, from the French authorities. This recommends against overflights below FL260 in the far Southern and Western regions.

But there is a new warning for South Sudan?

Yes, there is. And it isn’t conflict related.

ICAO released a letter on January 20th regarding the safety of Civil aircraft in the Khartoum FIR over South Sudan.

The raised ‘grave concerns’ for the safety of International air traffic operating below FL245, and operating into and out of HSSJ/Juba international airport.

The concerns relate to the disruption of air traffic services and the lack of contingency arraignments in place. They warn about the lack of suitably qualified air traffic control personnel, the lack of information being shared on unserviceable or withdrawn navigation equipment, and inadequate air-ground communications.

ICAO letter concerning South Sudan

A quick search on Notams for Khartoum FIR and Juba airport only brought up info on the opening of airspace following Covid restrictions.

The full warning from ICAO can be read here.

In summary

• Both Sudan and South Sudan are considered Level 2: Danger Exists regions because of ongoing conflicts.
• South Sudan now poses a separate risk due lack of aviation infrastructure and lack of information being promulgated (through Notams) on this.
• Caution recommended if operating below FL245 in South Sudanese airspace, or if you are operating into HSSJ/Juba airport.

After three and a half years of political stalemate, the Gulf blockade against Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain, is coming to an end. These countries have restored diplomatic relations and opened their borders and airspace to Qatar – with Egypt also expected to follow suit shortly.

What does this mean for operators?

The biggest change seen will be for aircraft registered in Qatar (A7-) which will now be allowed to route via OEJD/Jeddah FIR and OMAE/Emirates FIR, and gain more efficient use of OBBB/Bahrain FIR – in addition to reinstated landing rights in those countries. This is as opposed to routing via OIIX/Tehran FIR, which incurs time and fuel penalties and in the worst cases requires a tech stop.

But this is also good news for foreign operators. For the past three years, foreign operators had been faced with various different restrictions if trying to fly to/from Qatar – they needed special permission from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE if planning to overfly any of those countries, and Bahrain had banned direct flights from Qatar completely.

This has now changed. With Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE lifting their blockade against Qatar, they have cancelled a bunch of Notams which effectively means there are no longer any special requirements for foreign-registered aircraft flying to Qatar via Saudi/Bahrain/UAE airspace. In short, more efficient routings are now available if you are operating into, out of, and through the Arabian Gulf region.

Here is the current state of play as of 20 January 2021:

Country	Non-QATAR registered	QATAR registered
Egypt (HECC)	No NOTAM'd restrictions.	Ban on Qatar-registered aircraft lifted 11 Jan 2021. (NOTAM A0027/21) Temporary RNAV route established for Qatar Registered aircraft between Beirut and North African Airports.
Bahrain (OBBB)	No longer any special requirements for foreign-registered aircraft flying to/from Qatar via Bahrain airspace. However, Bahrain publishes a Standard Routes Document as an AIP SUP which contains all the routes they want you to fly, depending on who you are, and where you are flying from/to. They also publish a bunch of Notams with corrections to this document. So be sure to check both the AIP SUP and the OBBB Notams before planning a route through Bahrain’s airspace.	Ban on Qatar-registered aircraft lifted 10 Jan 2021. (NOTAM G1202/20) Establishment of temporary RNAV route for Qatar Registered Aircraft arriving Qatar Aerodromes.
Saudi Arabia (OEJD)	No NOTAM'd restrictions.	Ban on Qatar-registered aircraft lifted 4 Jan 2021.
UAE (OMAE)	No NOTAM'd restrictions.	Ban on Qatar-registered aircraft lifted 7 Jan 2021.
Oman (OOMM)	No NOTAM'd restrictions.	No NOTAM'd restrictions.
Kuwait (OKAC)	No NOTAM'd restrictions	No NOTAM'd restrictions
Iran (OIIX)	No NOTAM'd restrictions.	Various Traffic Orientation Schemes are NOTAM'd depending on your routing through the Tehran FIR. OIIX will not be publishing a AIRAC AIP amendment in January or February 2021, so watch for the plethora of NOTAM'd ATS route closures, amendments, or installations. Next AIRAC AIP amendment due 25 March 2021
Yemen (OYSC)	No NOTAM'd restrictions. See Safeairspace.net - there is ongoing conflict in the region. Risk Level One - DO NOT FLY. We strongly recommend avoiding this airspace entirely.	OEJD/Saudi NOTAM A0604/17 purports to be a NOTAM "On behalf of Republic of Yemen/Aden." "All aircraft registered in the State of Qatar not authorized to overfly Republic of Yemen airspace. Although it appears Qatar aircraft are not strictly adhering to this. No such NOTAM issued by OYSC FIR. See Safeairspace.net - there is ongoing conflict in the region. Risk Level One - DO NOT FLY. We strongly recommend avoiding this airspace entirely.

Remember: Qatar does not have its own FIR, and is nested completely under the OBBB/Bahrain FIR – any Qatar Notams are therefore published under OBBB. The Doha TMA extends SFC to FL245, above which is the Bahrain UIR.

If you have a question or have information to share, use our Slack channels! We are a community based on sharing information and resources to help each other – jump in! 

In the last few weeks, several major countries have announced that pre-departure Covid testing of all international passengers is now compulsory. And it is up to the operators to make sure that this happens.

It is now mandatory for anyone travelling to the UK, Australia and Canada from anywhere. The US will follow suit from January 26.

Covid testing is set to become a common part of our aviation landscape for the foreseeable future. Until a vaccine has had time to work, people will need to be tested to move around the world freely.

But what type of Covid test do I need?

Just google ‘Covid test’ and prepare for confusion. There are different types of test out there, and to make matters worse, there are multiple confusing names for the same test. Ask a passenger and the chances are that many will not understand why a rapid test at the airport isn’t enough to board their flight.

Rapid testing at the airport is convenient, but it may not be enough to get you in when you arrive.

So here is a super basic breakdown of the types of tests out there and how they work…

Covid Test 101

Covid tests can do two things:

1. They can tell you’ve had it in the past by looking at your blood (Antibody test), or –
2. They can detect if you actively have the virus by looking at your mucus or saliva (Diagnostic test).

Antibody tests = Cannot tell if you are actively sick and contagious. So for travel, they are pretty much useless.

Diagnostic tests = There are a bunch of highly technical names floating around out there but the good news is that there are only a couple of types – Molecular tests (PCR) and Antigen Tests. (The bad news is you’re getting a stick up the nose either way.)

• Molecular tests (PCR). The gold standard in testing. These tests are super accurate and work by detecting the nucleic acid left behind by the virus. This is what most countries require. The downside is the results take much longer and it is difficult to test a whole bunch of people quickly. There are home kits available but most of the time you’ll need a lab to test you.
• Antigen Tests. When people say ‘Rapid Test’ this what they mean. These tests are quick, cheap and work by looking for a piece of coating on the virus. You still get swabbed but the results come back far quicker. They are what you see in airports. So what’s the issue? They’re not as accurate and can return false negatives. In most cases borders just won’t accept them.

Is this a PCR or Antigen test? They both look exactly the same to passengers.

So what’s the issue with antibody tests?

All they do is look for anti-bodies in your blood and your body has to build up those defences. It can take up to 14 days after you first catch the virus before they can be detected. You can be sick and contagious before the test will even detect them. To make matters worse there is no evidence you can’t catch Covid again even if you have already had it. So what’s the point of them? They help authorities work out just how far the virus has gone out there.

An anti-body test. No anti-bodies, but you might have had Covid already for two weeks…

Moving Forward…

With rapidly changing testing rules around the world it will become super important to make sure you and your passengers get the right kind of test. Most of the time the one you will need is a PCR test. Rapid testing at airports is convenient and looks the same but in most cases just won’t cut the mustard.

The UK officially left the EU on Jan 1st, 2021. Although it’s still a part of Europe (the continent), it’s no longer part of the European Union (the trade and political bit). Whereas before, the UK fell under EASA and all their rules and regulations, the UK CAA is now in charge of all things aviation in the UK…

So, what does that mean?

It means a raft of changes to the rules for operators flying between the UK and EU states. A new agreement has been drafted which applies from Jan 1. Here are the main changes:

• Essentially UK operators will no longer be considered as EU carriers, and will instead be ‘third country’ carriers, meaning they will lose their special treatment. Flights between the UK and EU will continue, but passenger cabotage flights will no longer be allowed. Or in more human terms, UK operators will not be able to carry fare paying pax between two EU states (and vice versa). Cargo cabotage will still be okay as long as the two countries involved have an agreement.
• Both sides will still have the right to overfly each other’s territory, make technical stops, and to operate third- and fourth-freedom passenger and cargo flights between any point in the UK and any point in the EU. The fifth-freedom rights beyond the EU will continue, but only for a five-month period and with a new capacity cap.
• UK and EU airlines can also continue codesharing, and UK airlines can continue providing wet-leasing operations.
• There are other changes coming too, which EBAA cover here.

All the freedoms

But what about laws, licences, rules and regulations?

All existing EASA certs, approvals and licences valid for UK registered aircraft will be good for another two years. For UK operators of EU-registered aircraft things are more complicated. The UK CAA have set up a useful website to help you get your head around what you need to do to stay compliant elsewhere in Europe, and it’s a great place to start. There is also a helpful flow chart to keep things simple.

With Brexit complete, the UK CAA is now in charge of setting the rules, but they’ve basically said that they’ll be sticking to pretty much all of the aviation law, rights and obligations that were in place before. You can read that statement, and a bit more, on the UK CAA’s main regulations site.

The heads-up for passengers

Things may get complicated. UK citizens will likely lose their special EU travel privileges which means it may become harder to move around Europe thanks to everyone’s favourite elephant in the room, Covid.

As a general rule, pax from the UK to Europe will need to make sure their passport has at least six months validity in it if they want to visit any EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. They will also need to check their health cover – the EHICs (European Health Insurance Cards) are still valid if issued before January 1.

If they are entering as a tourist, they can stay for 90 days – and they can do that twice a year. But if they are entering for business purposes, they might need a visa.

All of this is on the UK Gov website if you want to take a look.

The Question of Covid

Not being part of the EU anymore means that flights from the UK to the EU will no longer have the same Covid entry restrictions applied. “Luckily” no-one was really letting UK flights in anyway, what with their virus mutation running rampant, so right now, any change for flights originating in the UK (and passengers for that matter) is not really relevant.

The entry rules for UK nationals in the rest of Europe are changing fast, and every country is different but in most cases it will be harder for UK travellers to avoid Covid related rules for non-essential travel. Don’t know where to start? We don’t blame you. The best place is the UK FCO website which has the most up to date entry requirements for UK nationals for every country around the world.

CO2 much?

One extra little snippet of info to know about Brexit is that the amount of emissions small, non-commercial operators can produce as “improved”. If you already have an EU-ETS (emissions trading scheme) exemption then your allowance has now been doubled.

Instead of 1,000t CO2, you can now produce 2,000t CO2 – half in the EU and half in the UK. 

Don’t think you can get away with puffing about and no-one watching though. The UK are setting up their own scheme, and France will be monitoring the EU bit of it (apparently they won the task because UK operators tend to spend more time there than anywhere else in Europe).

If you are trying to work out what 1,000t of CO2 coming out your aircraft looks like, then there is a handy calculator you can use (but its roughly 103,400 gallons or 391,500 litres of JET A1 burned).

The news for N-reg’ers

Well, to be honest, not a lot at this point. The main thing to know is that the UK no longer falls under EU (EASA) rules and law, so if you have any problems you’ll now be dealing direct with the UK CAA… but currently their laws aren’t actually any different to what they were at the end of December.

If you are carrying passengers from Europe to the UK (or vice versa) then there will be different passport and entry procedures for them now.

That’s about it.

So, the really important bit… can you bring food?

Always one of the big questions for crew who want to stock up on all things delicious. Basically, no meat, milk, or dairy stuff into the EU from the UK. The UK is a bit more chilled, but you do need to declare things, and a suitcase filled with Camembert and wine probably won’t go down very well.

Of course, the real good news is all those juicy duty free goods which travellers between the UK and EU will now be able to buy!

2020 was a long, sometimes challenging, sometimes exciting, sometimes sad… and always very Covid filled year!

We wanted to take a quick look back at some of the things which really stood out to us over the past twelve months.

So we wrote a list…

The list became a little poem…

And then, as a logical next step, the poem turned into an ABC wall chart!

Here it is in all its glory!

Click to download PDF

You can download a nice hi-res version by clicking on it. Print it out, stick it on your wall, send it to a friend – whatever you like.

The OPSGROUP 2020 Wallchart was designed by our wonderfully talented artist friend, Cecilia La Rosa, and you can see more of her amazing work here.

A is for Airplane, flying high as a bird

As always, airplanes were on our mind. The safety of them, the places they are going, and the people flying in them.

B is for Bureaucracy and unreadable words

Messy Notams, changes to charts, new regulations, old documents – we tried to keep you updated you on changes you needed to know about, mainly by writing things in an easier-to-read way.

C is for Covid not going away

No 2020 wall chart would be complete without a mention of Covid. Traffic across the world fell by almost two thirds. Then it started to improve, then it got a bit worse again, and then the vaccine came out – unfortunately, shortly followed by a new strain of the virus… Here’s hoping 2021 sees the end of it.

D is for Datalink on the NAT HLA

The Great North Atlantic Datalink Mandate. It went into the final phase on 30 Jan 2020, and if you want to fly between FL290-FL410 you must be equipped with CPDLC and ADS-C… But then due to Covid this got delayed a number of times, with Shanwick saying it will remain suspended until 25 Feb 2021.

E is for Errors of the Gross Nav variety

The FAA changed their definition of Gross Navigation Errors to mean anything more than 10nm. You used to have 25nm before you got into trouble (except for on the NAT HLA which was always 10nm).

F is for OpsFox, a secret society

Business at the Lucky Star Chicken restaurant was up in 2020. Goat Curry (number 64 on the menu) proved to be a popular favourite. Join the secret society and submit your reports.

G is for Guy Gribble, gone too soon

Our friend and colleague Guy Gribble passed away on 26th October 2020.

Guy joined OPSGROUP on Day 1 (some four and a half years ago), and was an ever-present contributor, collaborator, mentor and friend to us. If you’ve ever sent us an email with a difficult question and received a good answer, the chances are that Guy Gribble was the man behind the scenes who helped us figure it out for you. We lost count of the number of times Guy would post replies on Slack giving people advice and guidance.

The NBAA will have an award named after Guy for “Outstanding Contribution” – which tells you all you need to know about the impact he had on the industry.

Thank you Guy and Rest in Peace – your legacy continues.

H is for Humans, me and you

Our mission is to make aviation human-friendly for us all.

I is for Israel overflight clearance

Big news from the end of 2020 as Israel rebuilt relationships with the UAE, and for the first time in decades we saw a flight between the two nations. Israel then opened their airspace for overflights, and Jordan allowed Israeli bound flights to pass through their airspace as well. The overflights mean shorter, more efficient routings, and it’s a highlight of the year that friendships are being rebuilt between Israel and neighbouring regions.

J is for Jamming and GPS interference

GPS Jamming remained an issue, particular across Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and Caucasus, with thousands of reports of jams through the year. The story is bigger than just the equipment issue though, it is a political and conflict related one too. We wrote this article on it to help give a bit more info on the issue.

K is for Kiwis showing us what to do

New Zealand led the way on how to deal with the Covid situation, managing to go nearly a month with no cases. They slowly started to reopen a travel corridor with Australia, but remain strict on their entry requirements.

L is for Lockdown, no kiwi for you

Lockdown was (and still is) a big part of 2020. For some it was a difficult time away from family, but for others it allowed time for new skills to be learned, hobbies to be enjoyed, and a fair few Zoom quizzes to take place. We will keep reporting on the big Covid changes but are definitely looking forward to a day when no Covid alerts are required anymore.

M is for Members, colleagues and friends

We’re grateful to everyone in the group for showing up, trading stories, experiences, and information, having regular chats, and in turn keeping us all safe and up to date.

N is the Notam problem again

The Notam problem hasn’t gone away, but we are getting there…

O is for OPSGROUP, share what you know

OPSGROUP is more than just the team working here – it’s all the members and the knowledge and information you all share.

P is for Pilots flying us home

2020 was a tough year on pilots, and we think they deserve a big Thank You for continuing to fly our families and cargo safely around… but we also thank the cabin crew who looked after us onboard, the ATC controllers who kept the skies safe, the engineers who fixed the airplanes, the dispatchers and planners, handlers and airport workers, and everyone else affected by Covid and who kept working hard. So P is really for People.

Q is for Quarantine in a government compound

Quarantine can be tough. Trying to work out a country’s Covid-related entry rules is one thing, but where you get locked up and how long for is quite another. So Q is for quarantine questions, queuries about Covid-cancelled flights, and all the queues of people who want to go flying again. Let’s hope 2021 is far Quieter on all things Covid.

R is for Relief Air Wing, eyes on the ground

When a hurricane hits, the world responds. But before anyone can fly in to help, they need to know what things look like on the ground. After Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas in September 2019, no information was available for several days. Relief aircraft were waiting, but critical information was missing. What airports are open? Is there fuel available? Is there ATC? Where is help best directed? Learning from the lessons of Hurricane Dorian, the mission of Relief Air Wing is to get that critical information, provide it to the first responders, and help to coordinate the aviation relief effort.

S is for SafeAirspace, where not to fly

On 9th January 2020, we saw the tragic shoot-down of Ukraine Int Airlines flight 752 over Tehran by Iranian Armed Forces, having mistaken the aircraft radar return for an inbound missile. And just a month later, a passenger plane almost got shot down over Syria, after coming under fire from Syrian air defences.

Throughout the year we’ve seen new conflict zones emerge, posing risks to overflying aircraft – from Saudi Arabia and Yemen, to Armenia and Azerbaijan, to Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Our sense of mission with Safeairspace.net is stronger than ever – to provide a single, independent, and eternally free resource for all airspace risk warnings, so that airlines and aircraft operators can easily see the current risk picture for unfamiliar airspace.

T is for Towers, controlling the skies

Towers (and the ATC folk in them) controlled the skies splendidly this year. We also looked into what happens during “ATC Zero” events, particularly over the NAT HLA after we saw Gander East close briefly in December.

U is for Unreliable speeds on aircraft stored too long

Unreliable airspeed incidents increased after bugs and beetles made nests in airplane probes – an unexpected consequence from Covid. And unreliable airspeed was not the only thing to look out for with long term storage.

V is for going Viral when you do something wrong

From men on jet packs, to pilots drawing pictures in the sky, we laughed at some of the stories we saw this year. And not all were bad – the Don’t Rush challenge went viral as aviation communities from all over created their own Don’t Rush movies.

W is for Winter Ops, cold weather tips

Winter is here – at least in the Northern Hemisphere. Here are 5 golden rules that could help you stay out of trouble during these colder months. Here’s a quick lowdown on freezing fuel problems as well.

X is for Space X, launching their ships

We reported on a fair few temporary danger airspace areas through 2020, many of which were down to Space X and other rocket launches. The operational impact for earth flights kept us reporting, but we’re also a little excited at the developments in space flight. OPSGROUP GALACTIC might be a new idea for 2021…

Y is for a big Yes to 2021

2020 has been tough – but we have faith that 2021 will be better. We hope borders open, vaccines roll out, Notams improve, airplanes get better, airspace gets safer, and aviation becomes more human!

Z is for Zoom calls – sometimes they’re fun!

Our OpsChats were a big part of our year and we loved our 2-timezones-in-1-day Zoom call.

We look forward to seeing you all again in 2021!

Wave at the ATC tower, and you might find there is no-one in to wave back. But that does not mean air traffic controllers are not watching us anymore, they just might be doing it from somewhere a little more remote.

The rise of the remote controller

In 2021, LEMH/Menorca airport will no longer have air traffic controllers in their tower. Instead, they will have a network of 360 degree panoramic and pan-tilt zoom cameras which will feed high resolution images to a single, mighty control tower in Bodø, Norway.

Kongsberg (possibly a reference to King Kong who liked climbing up towers, but more likely just named after the town in Norway where it was founded), is working with various airports on a program called Ninox. The plan is to eventually have advanced Remote Tower Systems across 15 different airports.

The plan is to eventually have advanced Remote Tower Systems across 15 different airports. Two systems are already fully operational, and the overall result of the project will be an ATC service that brings “new capabilities to air traffic operations, enabling safe operation at reduced costs.”

They had me at “new capabilities”.

The world’s first air traffic control tower – a wooden hut built in south London 100 years ago.

Is there anybody up there?

Rather than having controllers at the airport, able to look out the window, this system feeds images to a remote control tower. The cameras are incredibly high resolution and can zoom in on the smallest details, detecting movements from birds and drones. They also can have infra-red settings making it possible to see in the dark.

The tools provide greater contingency as well as vision enhancement, and there are options for automated object detection, virtual safety nets, and augmented reality features to be installed.

The real big advantage is that multiple towers can be managed with one all powerful air traffic controller so even the smallest airports providing only AFIS will potentially be able to sign up and have a “controller” over-seeing their traffic – increasing their services without a mega increase in costs.

What if the big ‘what if’ happens

A big “what if?” for this system is “what if the feed fails?” 

This isn’t a problem though – each tower is connected to the Remote Towers Centre via networks with huge amounts of redundancy. If one network fails, another can be used to connect again. It also means if one controller gets stuck in traffic, another controller can control from a different spot on the network.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your air… craft

So far only Norwegian airports have been set up on the Bodø master network. Røst airport has been operating under remote tower conditions since October 2019, with 3 more coming online through October and November of this year.

But actually…

The concept is already used across Europe, and there are multiple projects around the world.

EDDR/Saarbrücken Airport in Germany has had a remote tower since 2018. With 15,000 flight movements a year it is one of the largest airports to have its operations controlled remotely.

They have projects worldwide including Brazil and New Zealand, and both civilian and military. EGJJ/Jersey Airport in the UK has implemented a contingency system, Iceland is testing the technology for severe weather conditions and LOWW/Vienna is already using their vision enhancement system.

EHAM/Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has also been involved in trials, in conjunction with the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) project and Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL). The trials tested how controllers would use the cameras, as well as the screens for radar, weather and flight planing which were integrated into their stations, and the results were pretty good.

Grey and cloudy London City Airport looks better from a tower

And then there is AIMEE

AIMEE is an AI developed by the company Searidge, and NATS and NAV Canada are pretty excited about it.

It receives inputs from different sensors, sources and scenarios, and uses an algorithm that learns patterns and so can predict problems, and offer solutions quicker than a human brain can. 

AIMEE is being trialled at EGLL/London Heathrow to see if it can improve capacity by as much as 20%. The system will use ground level cameras to monitor aircraft positions in rubbish weather, and will be able to see when aircraft have exited runways much quicker than people eyeballs through fog can.

AIMEE is also being installed at airports like KORD/Chicago O’Hare and CYYC/Calgary where its AI eyeballs will monitor de-icing bays and provide a spacial marshalling system. In KFLL/Fort Lauderdale the system is used on gates for remote apron management.

So the future is remote

People-less control towers are not a thing of the future, they are happening now. Anytime you fly across London, you are probably being controlled by controllers in Swanwick.

For pilots, there is no change in procedures – they will still talk to personnel on the radio, but the actual people looking after you are squirrelled away in their remote tower in Norway.

Bodø Tower – What ATC see

Are we going to have a Matrix type AI computers taking over situation?

No, don’t worry, it won’t.

All this technology is there to supplement real people brains because it can process stuff faster. But it is unable to make the decisions human ATC currently make, so we are more likely to get pilot-less airplanes before we see entirely people-less control towers.

US pilots and air traffic controllers are now allowed to take the new Pfizer Covid vaccine. On Dec 12, the US FAA issued a statement authorizing this, which means aviation professionals can take the vaccine without risking losing their medical certificates. You can read the FAA’s official statement here.

The FAA has reviewed the @pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for use by FAA-certificated pilots and air traffic controllers, with a required 48-hour waiting period after vaccination. Read more at https://t.co/iIQAKB3id6. pic.twitter.com/tFC29Qkkex

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) December 12, 2020

The vaccine needs two doses, three weeks apart. The FAA say you will need to wait 48 hours after each dose before you can operate.

All future vaccines will need a separate approval – the Pfizer one is the only one you can take at this stage.

Now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the FDA, a huge supply chain effort is underway to get the vaccine ready for use as soon as possible. With crew likely to be carrying shipments of the vaccine, the FAA has issued a new safety alert for the carriage of dry ice. In big quantities this can be hazardous to crew and cause carbon dioxide poisoning if things aren’t handled properly. It is also important to be aware of manufacturer limits on how much you can carry. The new SAFO provides guidance on the risks, and how operators can better protect themselves.

Earlier this year Eurocontrol published a report on TCAS Resolution Advisories, and the results weren’t pretty…

Over a 12-month period, over the heart of Europe, only 38% of RAs were flown correctly and 34% of aircraft even manoeuvred in the wrong direction.

In other words, nearly half of crew for one reason or another didn’t follow the RA – a last-resort safety net proven to save lives. So concerned are Eurocontrol, they rank the issue as its second highest air traffic threat – it’s a big deal.

Here’s the issue in a nutshell

ICAO say that no matter what, unless the safety of your aircraft is compromised by something more dangerous (think terrain or stall etc.) if you get an RA, you have to follow it.

TCAS, ACAS or whatever you want to call it has been around for a long time. Development started back in the 50s, and it has been mandated in the US for larger aircraft since the 80s. It has become incredibly reliable.

So, if it’s that black and white, the question remains, why does this keep on happening? Turns out there are a bunch of reasons, and so it is worth taking a look at exactly what is going wrong up there.

The Elephant in the Room

We may as well address it first – when crew choose to second guess an RA. The good news is that this isn’t happening very often. Most of the time there are other factors at play. But while we’re here, a little note on TAs and RAs.

Traffic Advisories (TA) prevent. You haven’t lost separation yet, but you might. They’re a warning for us to go heads up and do something about it – make visual contact, talk to ATC, level off, you name it. This is the time for us to go to work and make decisions.

Resolution Advisories (RA) mitigate. There is no more time to prevent – that ship has sailed. RA’s typically trigger when you are within 25 seconds of a collision threat with the other aircraft. But here’s the kicker – you are expected to respond to it within 5 seconds. In other words, there is not much time for us to make effective decisions. Safest course of action? You guessed it – follow the RA.

RAs – not much time to react.

So, what else is going on then?

Numero Uno – The number 1 biggest reason why RAs aren’t followed? Because we think we can see the threat out the window. Unfortunately, you can’t assume that the aircraft you can see is the one who triggered the RA. We’re also not very good at assessing threats visually, especially at altitude and it does not give us any info about what the other aircraft is intending to do.

Is this aircraft above, below or at our level? And what is it planning to do next? RAs do a lot better job of assessing a threat than our eyes can.

Startle Factor – Put us in a stressful situation and we react in different ways. RA’s are a rare event, and they’re not always preceded with a TA. In other words, without warning they can emerge with significant ‘pucker factor’. A large number of mis-flown RAs in the EUROCONTOL report lasted for less than 8 seconds. Beware of the ‘knee jerk’ reaction – our instinct is to act but surprise can get in the way of procedure.

Beware of Contradictions – It’s not ATC’s fault, but it’s important to understand. They don’t know what your TCAS is telling you to do and they will be working hard to help. The issue is when ATC instructions contradict your RA. In 2002, a Tupolev passenger jet collided with a 757 over Germany – one crew followed the RA and the other ATC. The industry learnt an important lesson: always follow the RA. Use the phrase “TCAS RA” on the radio and ATC will understand you are following one.

When a TCAS RA and ATC conflict, the TCAS takes precedent.

Performance – RA’s are often not followed as the crew are worried about performance. This usually happens when they’re heavy and high or near their service ceiling and get a climbing RA. So, what should you actually do? The official word is this: do your best to follow it, even if your response is weak. Even if it means maintaining your level. In most cases an RA will only result in a level change of less than 500 feet. The biggest threat by far is opposing the RA, which will put your aircraft in far more danger.

Performance limited? A weak reaction is safer than an opposite one.

Training – That old chestnut. But the reality is it is really important to practice these things in the sim. Weird ones. Unexpected ones. Ugly ones. Ones with multiple threats. Because this is usually what we’re up against in the real world. Also keep your finger on the pulse for changes. Some modern aircraft can now fly RA’s automatically, but the sims you train in may not have had the same update.

Practice all the nasty ones – reversal RAs, multiple aircraft, low and slow, high and heavy – you name it.

Older Versions – watch out for them. The latest one (7.1) has a number of major safety updates including clearer instructions and ‘reversals’ – a fancy term for knowing when the other aircraft isn’t doing what it is supposed to do. Older versions of TCAS are more likely to be misunderstood by crew. One phrase in particular is especially bad – “Adjust Vertical Speed, Adjust.” In many cases crew have increased their vertical speed rather than reduce it. If you’re using older versions it is important to be aware of its limitations.

TCAS is an awesome piece of kit that has made huge advances in preventing completely avoidable accidents. But it is only as reliable as the humans who respond to it. That’s why it is so important we learn about what we we’re getting wrong so it can do its job – keeping us safe up there.

Other Useful Things

• Eurocontrol’s recent report on RA non-compliance
• The FAA’s Guide to TCAS 7.1  (the latest version)

The November 24th “East/West-One-Day-Two-Calls” OpsChat Bonanza was great! Thank you to all who joined us, and those who shared some useful intel with the group.

Boy, did we cover a lot! The good news is if you missed the show, you can re-watch the recording here:

During the chat, we provided a bunch of links for each topic covered. If you weren’t quick enough to catch them at the time (we don’t blame you), here’s a little summary….

November Updates…

Greenland

What? Baffling Notam issued declaring Greenland’s airports were closed.

What else? Panic not, a better one was then reissued, saying that you could still use Greenland’s airports for ETOPS and diversion alternates. We called them and they said that tech-stops and ferry flights are also allowed (although not listed in the Notam). They’ve basically just banned passenger flights, and don’t want people staying overnight.

More Info:
– Greenland Closes Its Airports To (Nearly) All Passenger Flights – Opsgroup Blog Post
– Official Word from The Danish Civil Aviation 

Israel

What? You can now overfly Israel (as well as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain).

What else? You need a local sponsor, should depart from an approved airport (but they do make exceptions) and need a permit.

More Info:
– Israel overflights now allowed – Opsgroup Blog Post

Hong Kong

What? Strange ILS behaviour, especially on Runway 07R/25L. Pretty much down to antennas, terrain and Boeing AFDS…

What else? They have also updated their Covid entry restrictions for crew – it’s now slightly harder to get in.

More info:
– The Thing About the ILS
– Hong Kong Entry Rules for Flight Crew – OpsGroup Blog Post
– The Official Word

CENEMAR (Central America)

What? There are some new flight planning requirements you need to know about.

What else? You can flight plan direct above FL200, and must include the new AFTN address MHFPZYZX when filing your flight plan.

More info:
– CENEMAR: New Flight Planning Requirements – Opsgroup Blog Post

Other big updates from 2020…

November 5th ICAO changes

When? Er… November 5th!

What? We are talking changes to wake turbulence categories, NAT Contingency Procedrues, SLOP and Gross Navigation Errors.

More info:
– The 511 on Nov 5th Changes – Opsgroup Blog Post
– Hopefully a Link to the New 4444

Wake Turbulence Categories

Other overflights that are now ok

What? FAA SFAR updates – where US operators can’t go!

Where?
– Ukraine: UKFV/Simferopol FIR is ok, UKDV/Dnipro FIR is not ok.
– Iran: Not ok, but the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf are – Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Muscat FIRs.

More info:
– Safeairspace
– Overflying Crimea – Opsgroup Blog Post

Ukraine Airspace and a link to Safeairspace

Russian Me-trics

What? Russia are moving to feet (referenced to QNH) below transition through their airspace, starting with major airports.

When? From December 3rd.

More info:
– Russia are still playing me-trics on us – Opsgroup Blog Post
– The Russian AIP (don’t worry, it is in english too)

ADS-B

What? When will you get in trouble for not having it.

Where?
– Europe: ADS-B is required from June 2023, but have your retrofit plan in by December 7 (unless your AoC is before 1995).
– US: ADS-B is required anywhere Mode C, or in the picture below.
– Rest of World: Above FL290, pretty much.

More info:
– European ADS-B Mandate – Opsgroup Blog Post
– The FAA FAQs on ADS-B

Where you need ADS-B in the US

North Atlantic Datalink Mandate

What? The North Atlantic Datalink Mandate (NAT DLM) is the thing that came into effect in Jan 2020, which meant that CPDLC was then required between FL290-FL410 throughout the entire NAT region. Simply put, you must be equipped with CPDLC and ADS-C if you want to fly between these flight levels.

And then what happened? Then Covid happened. Because of the resulting reduction in traffic they suspended this mandate, and it looks set to stay this way until the end of Feb 2021. Bottom line, aircraft which do not have CPDLC and ADS-C can continue to operate across the North Atlantic between FL290-410 until then.

More info:
– North Atlantic Datalink Mandate – Opsgroup Blog Post

SafeAirspace Update…

Ethiopia

What? Escalating conflict – Danger to overflying aircraft – beware of open airways!!

Where? Ethiopia – the Tigray region bordering Eritrea

More info:
– Safeairspace – Ethiopia
– Airspace Risk Warning: Eritrea and Ethiopia – Opsgroup Blog Post

Ethiopia Tigray region and a link to our post

Saudi Arabia

What? Drone and ballistic missile strikes continue from Yemen, no end in sight.

Where? Southern Saudi Arabia particularly, but Jeddah and Riyadh have also been attacked.

More info:
– Safeairspace

Armenia/Azerbaijan

What? The conflict is ‘officially’ over, but the airspace remains dangerous!

Where? The airspace between Azerbaijan’s UBBA/Baku FIR and Armenia’s UDDD/Yerevan FIR.

More info:
– Safeairspace

Western Sahara

What? An emerging conflict zone, with the threat of anti-aircraft weaponry. Little info or warnings, that may well affect aircraft operating into the Canarias.

Where? Northwestern Africa – a area region between Morocco and the Polisario.

More info:
– Safeairspace

Stay tuned for our next Ops Chat coming up in January 2021!

Hong Kong has published extensive guidance on its entry rules via its dedicated Covid website, but in a bizarre twist, it’s actually the Notams which make it clearer to quickly work out exactly what’s allowed here:

A1199/20 – IN VIEW OF THE LATEST SITUATION OF COVID-19, THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION GOVERNMENT IS IMPLEMENTING THE FOLLOWING MEASURES:
1. ALL NON-HONG KONG RESIDENTS COMING FROM OVERSEAS COUNTRIES AND REGIONS BY PLANE WILL BE DENIED ENTRY TO HONG KONG.
2. NON-HONG KONG RESIDENTS COMING FROM THE MAINLAND, MACAO AND TAIWAN WILL BE DENIED ENTRY TO HONG KONG IF THEY HAVE BEEN TO ANY OVERSEAS COUNTRIES AND REGIONS IN THE PAST 14 DAYS.
3. ALL TRAVELLERS COMING FROM MACAO AND TAIWAN, INCLUDING HONG KONG AND NON-HONG KONG RESIDENTS, WILL BE SUBJECT TO A 14-DAY COMPULSORY QUARANTINE, WHICH IS THE SAME AS THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR PEOPLE ENTERING HONG KONG FROM THE MAINLAND.
4. HONG KONG RESIDENTS ARRIVING IN HONG KONG WHO HAVE BEEN TO ANY OVERSEAS COUNTRIES AND REGIONS IN THE PAST 14 DAYS WILL BE SUBJECT TO A 14-DAY COMPULSORY QUARANTINE.
5. AIR CREWS ARE EXEMPTED SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS. DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN HTTPS://WWW.CORONAVIRUS.GOV.HK/ENG/INBOUND-TRAVEL.HTML
29 SEP 07:39 2020 UNTIL 29 DEC 15:59 2020 ESTIMATED. CREATED: 29 SEP 07:39 2020

Ok, still not actually that clear. Big block of text, all upper case, an assault on the eyes…

So, to make that even clearer, between now and Dec 29:

• Non-residents may only enter if coming from China, Macao or Taiwan, but not if they have travelled to any other country within the past 14 days.
• All inbound pax, including Hong Kong residents, are subject to a 14-day quarantine.
• There are special rules for flight crew…

Rules for Flight Crew

On Nov 24, Health authorities in Hong Kong published a document with the revised entry rules for flight crew. There are basically slightly different rules depending on whether crew have been in “very high risk places” in the past 14 days. Either way, all crew should have a negative PCR Covid test taken within 48 hours of operating, along with a letter from their airline/company that certifies an accredited laboratory was used. On arrival, all crew get tested again and must isolate until departure.

Click to download the rules!

Rules for Positioning Crew

You have to go through all the same health checks, but there’s a way to get around the 14-day quarantine on arrival. You need to prepare a letter in advance (see below). As positioning crew, you’re required to self-isolate at a hotel for medical surveillance whilst you’re waiting for your outbound flight. You’ll have to wear a mask and get your temperature checked daily for reporting to the authorities. If you have a residence in HK, you should be allowed to go there instead.

To apply for the exemption from the 14-day quarantine for positioning crew, you have to send a letter to HKBAC, who will charge you HKD500 (around $65 USD). Here’s how it works, and the info you need to include:

1. Flight Operator issues the letter with company letter head describing travel purpose and duty of the concerned crew
2. The Operator sends email to HKBAC to get verification endorsement on the letter. After verification, a scanned copy of the letter would be sent to the Operator by email.
3. The Operator provides that letter with verification by HKBAC to its concerned crew.
4. The concerned crew brings along the letter when travelling as passengers on commercial flight
5. Upon landing in Hong Kong, the crew approaches Crew Channel to obtain exemption from the Duty Immigration Officer before going through Immigration as passenger

Remarks:

1. HKBAC’s checking is only for the identity verification based on the information provided by the Operator. HKBAC does not hold any liability on the exemption approval process.
2. Administration fee at HKD500 per endorsement would be applied and will be charged to the Operator which requests for the crew exemption letter. 
3. Validity of the letter for crew exemption will be 7 days from the commercial flight date.
4. Although air crew can be exempted from the compulsory quarantine, the Department of Health (DH) will arrange Medical Surveillance for persons under the exempted categories of persons during their stay in Hong Kong. Exempted persons are subject to the temperature check and health declaration procedures carried out by DH. 
5. In order to avoid your crew members being denied check in or boarding the commercial flights, please contact the commercial airlines that the crew would be travelling in in advance to ensure they are aware of the exemption.
6. Please be advised there is no guarantee that HK Health accepts the air crew letter for inbound positioning crew.

Hong Kong has always been a tricky place to fly to, unless you’re an airline with landing rights secured for the next two decades. As the world’s third busiest airport, with only two runways, it goes without saying that congestion is a big issue here!

Things have gotten slightly easier this year due to the downturn in traffic caused by the Covid pandemic, with airport authorities now allowing airlines to keep their slots even if they don’t use them. So, good news for them, but also good news for GA/BA operators, as the overall reduction in traffic means that a lot more slots are available right now – daytime ones too! So if need to go to Hong Kong and can navigate the entry rules, slots and parking should not be a problem.

Have you flown to Hong Kong recently? How did it go? Send us an email and let us know, or even better – file a report on Airport Spy and it will automatically go out to everyone in the group!

We have decided to run not one, but two Ops Chats on Tuesday November 24th!

Why two calls?

The calls have been getting bigger and bigger. So, we’re runing two so there’s more time to talk, answer questions, and make sure that if you want to get a chance to take part, you can. And also, so that you don’t have to stay up until midnight (or worse) if you’re not in the United States.

Who can join?

This is an open call. If you work in international flight ops, you’re welcome to join us.

So, when should I set my alarm for?

The date is Tuesday, November 24th.

Chat 1, the EAST-CHAT is at 10am London time. (10am London, 11am Berlin, 2pm Dubai, 6pm Singapore, or 1000Z)
Register and save your spot at ops.group/eastchat

We will have some lunch.

Chat 2, the WEST-CHAT is at 10am New York time (9 am Paris (Texas), 7 am Forks of Salmon (California, or 1500Z).
Register at ops.group/westchat

So, pick the time that suits you best and join us for a chat. Or, join us for both chats. Your choice!

What are we chatting about?

• We are getting to the end of this year, and the plan is to get out from the Covid fog and take a look at what else has been going on in 2020.
• There have been some big changes, and in case you have missed them, we will give you brief rundown of what they are.
• We will look over the “highlights” of November’s ops alerts.
• There will be a 2020 Airspace risk review looking at Conflict Zones and changes this year.

Get your questions ready

You can be nice and send these through early (email us) so we can look clever answering them, or you can put us on the spot. But we love questions so prepare some for us.

There is a new Conflict Zone in the east of Africa, which carries elevated risk to flight operations that may not be obvious from NOTAMs or other risk warning sources.

Some airways have been closed by the Ethiopian and Sudanese CAAs. Other airways that are still open are very close to the Conflict Zone. These are frequently used by international operators on the Europe- East Africa route. In particular: UN321, UG300 and UL432. We are concerned that operators may be using these routes without being aware of the risk.

OPSGROUP has today issued an Airspace Risk Warning to its members.

Download OPSGROUP Airspace Risk Warning – Ethiopia/Eritrea (PDF)

Download Hi-Res version of this Conflict Zone map

Situation

The region being disputed is called Tigray. It’s in the north of Ethiopia. Government forces are fighting a regional force that wants independence, called the TPLF. In the past week, there has been heavy fighting, multiple airstrikes, missiles launched, and a growing refugee crisis. A domestic conflict has become a cross-border war.

Our Concerns

There are many warning flags that point to previous shootdown incidents – not least MH17 and PS752. These are the reasons we are particularly concerned about the risk to civil aviation in this region:

Local NOTAMs are misleading
The NOTAMs issued by the Ethiopian CAA to close airways in the conflict zone (UM308, UT124) do not say why they are closed. NOTAMs issued to reroute traffic to adjacent routes (UN321, UL432) do not say why they are rerouted. The same applies to NOTAMs issued by the Sudan CAA to close airways and reroute traffic. Flight crews and aircraft operators are therefore not alerted to any conflict in the area by NOTAM.

Arbitrary Reroutes
Traffic is being rerouted to other airways by ATC, but it’s not clear, or likely, that there has been any risk assessment. European flights are now using UN321/UG300, and UL432 – all of which come exceptionally close to the conflict zone. As we’ve learned from MH17 and PS752, just because airspace is open and available, does not mean it is safe.

Previous shootdowns
The Ethiopian Army shot down an Embraer 120 in May 2020, in Somalia. The Ethiopian Air Force shot down a US Learjet in August 1999 in the Eritrean border region. Both were misidentified.

No guidance to operators
No aviation authorities or official sources have issued any guidance or warnings to date via normal channels.

Rapid Escalation of Conflict
The situation has intensified rapidly, and is extremely unpredictable and unstable. The impact on aviation has not been widely reported.

Guidance

Enroute – Overflight:
If you’re transiting any airspace near or over Ethiopia, Eritrea, or Sudan, take a close look at the map and cross check the airways you are operating on. Several open airways are exceptionally close to the Conflict Zone. Just because they are open does not mean they are safe.

Landing – Airports:
Airports in the north of Ethiopia, including the Tigray and Amhara regions, are unsafe at present. Many are closed. There have been missile attacks on HABD/Bahir Dar, and HAGN/Gondar. HHAS/Asmara in Eritrea should be avoided – missile attack on Nov 14, 2020.

Information Sources

The Conflict Zone & Risk Database at SafeAirspace.net contains all current published warnings and alerts for Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The countries that issue the most relevant updates for unsafe airspace are:

• US (FAA) – through Notams and SFARs
• UK (DFT) – by Notam and then AIP
• Germany (BMVI) – by Notam
• France (DGAC) – by AIC

Note: Operators should not rely on EASA Conflict Zone Information Bulletins (CZIB)’s as a primary source of information. These serve only as pointers to the above sources, and often are not issued until several months after updates, if at all. Note that the Civil Aviation Authorities of the countries whose airspace is determined to be unsafe are unlikely to issue reliable guidance.

Group effort

This information is compiled from OPSGROUP member input, information, intelligence and analysis. If you have additional information to share, please send it to report@safeairspace.net.

Members: More information

OPSGROUP Members: More information in the discussion in the Forum about Ethiopia/Eritrea:
Forum > International Ops > New Conflict Zone Ethiopia/Eritrea

All links to further resources are there.

Greenland have closed (nearly) ALL their airports to international passenger flights.

Well, apart from ones that come from Denmark. But don’t go thinking you can make a quick stop off there first, they’ve even specified those are not allowed.

There is a provision for you to get special permission if you are transporting someone particularly important to the Greenland economy, but beyond that, no pax.

Here is the NOTAM:

BGGL SONDRESTROM FIR/FIC
A0621/20 – COVID-19: FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS.
ALL CIVIL FLIGHTS FROM OUTSIDE BGGL FIR, ARE BANNED FROM LANDING AT AERODROMES WITHIN BGGL FIR. FOLLOWING EXEMPTIONS APPLY:

1. FLIGHTS FROM AERODROMES IN DENMARK

1A. FLIGHTS ORIGINATING IN OTHER COUNTRIES THAN DENMARK, WITH INTERMEDIATE STOP IN DENMARK BEFORE CONTINUING TO GREENLAND, ARE NOT EXEMPTED FROM THE BAN.

2. FLIGHTS TO BGTL. SPECIAL PERMISSION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DANISH TRANSPORT-, HOUSING- AND CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY FOR THE PURPOSE OF TRANSPORT OF PERSONS WITH PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE TO THE ECONOMY OF SOCIETY. FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT RESTRICTIONS AND PROCEDURE FOR THE APPLICATION FOR SPECIAL PERMISSION CAN BE OBTAINED VIA THE FOLLOWING LINK: HTTPS://TBST.DK/EN/CIVIL-AVIATION. THE FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS DO NOT IMPACT THE USE OF AERODROMES AS ETOPS ALTERNATE OR FOR EMERGENCIES.

Still confused? Fear not, the government have now published a full clarification of the rules here – in plain language (which we like very much).

Can I do a tech stop?

Yes! Ferry flights and tech stops (gas and go) can continue – but you’ll need to remain onboard.

Overnight tech stops are not allowed without special permission.

Can I pick up passengers in Greenland?

Yes! You are allowed to ferry an empty aircraft to collect passengers. You just can’t bring them in.

What about ETOPS? Polar Alternates?

Yes! These are still permitted at BGBW/Narsarsuaq and BGSF/Kangerlussuaq. But watch out for extra charges if filing one of these airports on your flight plan as an alternate.

BGTL/Thule is only open to emergency diverts – not as a planning alternate because it’s a military airfield which has no passenger facilities.

Who is this going to impact?

Mainly anyone who wants to bring in passengers for entry to Greenland. If you want to do it, you will need to apply for a special exemption at least 48 hours in advance. And you’ll need a really good excuse.

Greenland serves as an important spot for ETOPS aircraft, and for an en-route alternate for polar operations – to repeat, you can still use BGBW and BGSF as ETOPS alternates.

So far they think the rule will remain in place until the end of January next year. Given the current mutated mink situation Denmark have found themselves in, we don’t expect it to reopen sooner.

Russia have never been in much of a rush to join (most) of the rest of the world in how they measure stuff, but they are slowly getting there…

No longer playing me-trics on us?

Way back in 2011, they decided they would start using Feet instead of Meters above the transition level. So traffic cruising on through did not have to worry about sudden changes to metric levels, but any descending down into Russian airports still needed to whip out the old conversion tables once they went below transition.

Then in 2017, they started a trial at ULLI/St Petersburg to see if the whole Foot thing might work for them.

It turns out it went ok, because as of 3rd December 2020 they will be implementing this across Russian airspace – check out AIC 08/19 for the official announcement.

It’s not all smooth sailing yet though…

The AIC seems to suggest that changes will occur in all airspace from Dec 3, but this requires lots of chart updates – in reality it’s more likely that the big international airports will get updated first, and then the rest will follow.

At the end of November, European Regulators issued a caution to operators because some of the chart and database folk are struggling to update everything in time. We are talking en-route charts, SID and STAR charts, updates to prohibited and danger areas, updates to sector boundaries…

In their Safety Information Bulletin, EASA say if you are heading to Russia, check your charts to ensure they are in date, and keep an eye out to see what the changes are and if they have been implemented where you are heading.

What has changed?

• En-route stays the same: Flight Levels in feet, and metres if you are in a Russian aircraft.
• Below transition you will now also receive clearances in Feet (QNH).
• Pressure will be reported in hPa, unless you are a Russian aircraft then you can request in mmHg.

Last time we checked 188 out of 193 ICAO member states are using feet and QNH, instead of meters and QFE. The only countries still working in Meters are China, Mongolia, North Korea, and Russia and Tajikistan (in lower airspace).

Here is a picture of UUWW airport showing the change:

The bit to look out for

Transition Levels

Initially, we had information that the transition altitude was going to be fixed at 10,000 feet across Russian airspace. Not so, it turns out. Each airport will have their own transition altitude and associated transition levels, so be sure to check the approach plates.

It looks as if Moscow is standardising it across their airspace with a transition altitude of 10,000′, and transition levels based on the pressure

• FL110 when QNH is 1012hPa or above
• FL120 when QNH is 977hPa or above
• FL130 when the QNH is less than 977hPA

And there is more

• All ATS routes have changed to RNAV5.
• A lot of TMA structures, and airspace areas around airports have changed which means a lot of arrivals and departures for airfields in the Moscow TMA airfields will also have changed.
• UUDD/Moscow Domodedovo and UUEE/Moscow Sheremetyevo airports now have independent simultaneous arrivals on their parallel runways.

Click to download PDF

References:

• You can access the Russian AIP here
• You can read up on Metric Altitude Reference info here
• Read our article from 2017 when ULLI/St Petersburg made the switch to feet and QNH

Thanks to Igor Nikolin, Deputy Head of the Air Navigation Support Service UTair Airlines for assistance with this post.

We live in a GPS world. This fantastic technology has revolutionised aviation since the first basic unit was approved for IFR use back in 1994.  It has become engrained in day to day operations. We use it for a bunch of really important stuff – navigation, communication, surveillance, ADS-B and even TAWS. It is a technology that we rely on to stay safe.

And herein lies the problem. It relies on radio signals from satellites to work, and they can be intentionally interfered with. If you operate between Europe and Asia then the chances are this is not new. What is concerning is that it is happening more and more. In the last five years EUROCONTROL report that cases of GPS outages have risen dramatically. The number one suspect? Deliberate interference.

The Hot Spots

Almost always, widespread GPS outages occur in areas of political tension. It’s no surprise then that the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and Caucasus are consistently the most affected regions – last year alone there were 3,500 reports of outages there. About 10 a day. And that’s just from the people who spoke up. The LCCC/Nicosia FIR over Cyprus extending through to LLBG/Tel Aviv is particularly bad, with reports as far north as Italy, as well as Turkey and Egypt.

It is a part of the world alive with tension – spill over from the Syrian War, ongoing conflict in Libya and the current Azerbaijani conflict. Unfortunately it is also a major air corridor for flights between Europe and the Middle East and Asia. It is almost unavoidable.

But it’s not just there – There are reports of GPS sabotage throughout the world – rings of interference (also known as ‘crop circles’) have been traced to China, North Korea and even the US.

So why tamper with GPS?

Unfortunately electromagnetic warfare is real. The goal for military interests is to make things as difficult as possible for the other side including disrupting communications and navigation. GPS jamming is also used as a defence against drones – the explosive ones which we see in the headlines, and the ones that are spying. In other cases, jamming is used to protect people’s privacy, and sometimes as a source of criminal mischief. Unfortunately for us, whether we like it or not, civil aviation is along for the ride…

Portable GPS Jamming Device

Jamming or Spoofing?

GPS signals are low power, which means that a weak interference source can cause a receiver to fail, or more concerningly produce false information. A basic way to achieve this is with jammers – devices that mask the signal with noise. Although they are illegal in the US, they’re not in other countries. And they’re readily available.

Readily available: jammers for your car.

A more sophisticated approach used by the military is ‘spoofing’ where a ground station transmits a fake GPS signal that overrides the legitimate one.

In simpler terms – jamming causes the receiver to die, spoofing causes it to lie.

In powerful military applications, the effect of a single device has been known to affect a 300nm radius, and it is almost impossible to locate them. They can be installed at bases, mounted in vehicles or put onboard ships.

Jammer mounted in an SUV

So why is this a problem for aviation?

The issue is getting worse, and outages are sporadic and unpredictable. Three quarters of GPS loss worldwide is occurring in the cruise, and in ten percent of these cases it lasts for more than half an hour. There have also been reports where GPS receivers never regained a signal. According to ICAO’s rules, frequent outages must be Notamed but the reality is, few states are actually doing it. To make matters worse, with so few aircraft flying during the pandemic it is unclear just how bad it is getting.

For crew, a loss of GPS forces an aircraft to rely on other means to navigate in airspace that relies on accurate navigation to separate you from other traffic. It can also lead to other issues including false alerts and even GPWS warnings. Requiring pilots to ignore them is a concerning precedent.

The plot thickens, enter 5G.

We’ve all heard about it – the revolutionary technology that will let you download your favourite episode of ‘The Bachelor’ in record time. Worrying news in the US has emerged that the federal government has allowed a new network provider to access a slice of the radio spectrum usually reserved for GPS signals to power a huge 5G network across the country. The frequencies are powerful, and there is no guarantee that they won’t won’t interfere with GPS signals.

The mighty 5G antenna

So what can we do it about?

Unfortunately, like Covid, the problem isn’t going away anytime soon. While manufacturers work on new ways to protect your aircraft, there are a few things you can do.

The most important thing is contingency – have a plan. Be aware of the threat of jamming if flying in affected areas of the world, and the issues it may create for you in the flight deck. If you lose GPS signal, report it to ATC. The more reports they get, the better. They will work to increase your separation and coordinate with other units.

When you’re flying a GPS-based approach, know what you’ll do if the screen goes blank. Be prepared for the unexpected because as recent events have shown, that super reliable technology can fail.

And stay informed, here are some useful resources:

• EUROCONTROL – check out the latest stats on GPS outages here, and report loss of signal here.
• FAA – GPS Anomaly Reporting Form. For all US based GPS issues.

History has shown that every ten years or so, earth comes under attack from high amounts of space weather– and we’re about to embark on the next cycle.

Wait, there’s weather in space?

Yep, but not in the conventional sense. That big ball of burning energy we call the Sun does more than provide us with the light and warmth we all seek on vacation.

It also constantly spews gas and particles into space, in what is known as the solar wind. These particles are charged with electricity, and are flung towards earth at up to a million miles an hour.

Luckily for us, our atmosphere and the earth’s magnetic field acts like a shield. But sometimes these determined particles make it through to our atmosphere. When that happens we are often treated to the spectacular light shows we know as auroras. If you fly at high latitudes at night, chances are you have been lucky enough to see them. Sadly space weather can have more serious consequences for aviation than struggling to capture that illusive insta shot on your trusty iPhone 4.

An Aurora – the only good thing about space weather.

Like the earth weather we’re used to, space weather is changeable – its severity depends on what is happening on the sun.

Its surface is a busy place – hot gases are constantly on the move as powerful magnetic fields twist and turn. When things get especially rowdy, a storm occurs and the solar wind gets stronger. Occasionally these storms produce a solar flare – essentially the sun burps, and sends significant amounts of radiation towards earth. This is where the trouble can occur.

What kind of trouble?

Communications. During solar events, HF and satellite communications can be disrupted. In severe cases, even disabled. There may be effects on CPDLC and ADS-C services. Line of sight VHF is less likely to be impacted, but that does not help much when you’re over the middle of the ocean.

Systems. Some of your aircraft’s systems are sensitive to radiation storms. Space weather may induce sudden electrical failures that can range broadly from insignificant to ‘ruin your day.’ Systems that rely on magnetism can also be affected

Navigation. The sun’s particles disrupt the upper layers of the atmosphere, which can interfere with GNSS signals from satellites. You guessed it – the result is unexpected position errors. If it gets really bad, the signal may be lost all together. We’re using RNAV based approaches more than ever these days, and the likelihood of not having ground based aids as a backup is increasing.

The Body. During these storms, you can be exposed to unusually high levels of ionising radiation (the nasty one for humans, think Chernobyl). As a general rule, the higher you fly or the higher the latitude, the more exposed you are. The effects of this on crew is the subject of ongoing studies. But the more you can avoid higher exposure levels the better.

The broad effects of a solar flare.

What can we do about it?

Here’s the best news: space weather is predictable. And ICAO are onto it.

Solar monitoring has improved significantly in recent years. A number of countries have joined forces to create three agencies responsible for issuing ICAO Space Weather Advisories (SWX) around the clock.

Space Weather Advisories have a standardised format, and are not the same thing as a SIGMET.

They are only issued whenever space weather conditions get bad – essentially moderate and severe impacts, and only when operations above FL250 are affected. They are activated for comms, GNSS and radiation interference, so seeing an SWX advisory during your pre-flight briefing is a pretty good indicator to have a closer look.

Example of a SWX Advisory, this time for GNSS outages.

They predict the effect of space weather at six hourly intervals across a twenty four hour period. To define the areas affected, SWX advisories effectively draw a box. They divide the world into six bands of latitude, and tell you how wide the box is with longitude. Still confused? A picture always helps…

Beware the square!

For a full briefing, the FAA has recently published a helpful information bulletin which explains how Space Weather Advisories work in more detail. And if you’re really brave, more info can also be found in ICAO Doc 10100.

Some other useful stuff:

• NASA’s frequently asked questions on space weather.
• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention – and their work on radiation exposure risk.

It has been a record breaking season for the Hurricanes. We are not talking the Carolina based NHL team. We are talking actual hurricanes.

2020 has now tied with 2005 as the most active hurricane season in history. No surprise there given what’s gone on in 2020 so far.

Hurricane Zeta became the 11th hurricane of the year. It is also the earliest in a season that 27 storms have needed naming (2005’s Zeta only formed at the end of November).

2005 is still (thankfully) beating 2020 in terms of major hurricanes.

What is the difference?

‘Hurricane’ comes from an old world which means ‘god of the storm’. ‘Typhoon’ comes from the beast Typhon – a Greek monster who fathered the sphinx, Cerberus and the super lion Nemean that Hercules had to kill. The etymology of the world ‘Cyclone’ is less terrifying, but they all boil down to the same thing – 

They are fancy terms for great, big, mess-making, flash-booming, horror storms. Whether it is a Hurricane, a Cyclone, or a Typhoon just comes down to where in the world it is wreaking havoc.

Hurricanes, Cyclones, Typhoons also get individual names if they get big enough. Some of these names get retired if they cause too much damage and destruction – like Katrina in 2005.

A full list of Hurricane names can be found here.

So, what are they?

They are “large-scale, atmospheric wind-and-pressure systems characterised by a low pressure at the centre, and by a circulating wind motion”. They spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Buys-Ballot famously stated if you stand with your back to the wind in the Northern Hemisphere then the low pressure will be to your left. I wouldn’t recommend standing with your back to a Hurricane though.

These storms only get classified as a Storm if the tropical depression they form from gets mean enough – basically, winds exceeding 39 mph. If the storm’s winds exceed 74 mph it gets reclassified as a Hurricane.

Hurricane’s also get classified from 1-5 based on their capacity for damaging things.

Why does aviation hate them?

Well, mainly because of the weather they bring. The crazy winds, serious rainfall and flooding, and power outages they cause.

How can we avoid them?

Meteorology departments track storms and try to forecast their movement. Some of the movement is based on air currents and sea currents (because hot water feeds them) amongst other things. From this they can create what are called Spaghetti models which help forecast where the storm will travel.

Agencies such as NOAA also (on purpose) fly airplanes into them. These Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft have 4 turboprops and are pimped out with probes for measuring every wind and pressure change to help scientists see what is going on inside. 

Little salute to the pilots who do those flights!

These aircraft measure everything! They have radars which can scan the storm vertically and horizontally, and can even drop probes to test the water temperature.

Satellites monitor storms as well, but mainly just send down horrifying photos of how massive they are.

All this information gets fed to sites, some of which we monitor…

What do we tell you?

We check a site called Cyclocane which tells us about active tropical storms, and their forecast paths. We try to give an alert about severe weather forecasts, and alerts on airports that are cancelling operations due to weather.

We also check other weather forecast sites, and NOAA for warnings on serious weather which might affect operations.

Zeta…

Zeta is a serious storm. Still currently over the water, it is strengthening and is expected to bring storm surges and extreme winds of over 100 mph

There are storm surge, tidal and hurricane warnings in place for Florida and Louisiana.

It is expected to turn North on October 28 or 29, and is expected to make land fall close to New Orleans late in the evening of October 28

One of the rowdy Icelandic volcanoes is at it again. Earlier this month, the Icelandic Met Office changed the aptly named Grímsvötn to a ‘Code Yellow’ after it started showing high levels of activity.. There has also been a fair amount of action in the Pacific Rim, and even Mount Etna has been rumbling…

Why is volcanic ash so dangerous?

For starters, it is not the same thing as smoke.

Volcanoes are on the ground, airplanes are in the air, but unfortunately volcanoes spit out loads of hot, nasty stuff and they tend to spit it rather high. That hot, nasty stuff is a mixture of glass, rock and mineral particles, and it is really fine – the diameter of a particle measuring less than 2mm. It is also very porous meaning it weighs next to nothing and is easily carried along on the wind. 

Once the ash cloud starts to spread it, it can be very hard to spot – even a fairly dense ash cloud is unlikely to show up on your weather radar because the particles are just too small.

If it is ingested into a jet engine, it will erode the compressor blades before forming a substance similar to molten glass inside the combustion chamber, and this then re-solidifies on the turbine blades. The end result can be stalling and engine failure – and you might not be able to get them going again. And if that wasn’t enough, it can also damage the flight deck windows, block pitot static systems, and get into the cabin air and damage ventilation and pressurisation systems.

So volcanic ash is to airplanes, like sand is to picnic on a beach – it gets everywhere, and pretty much ruins it.

Take British Airways Flight 9 for example…

In 1982 a British Airways 747 was en-route from London Heathrow to Auckland (with a few stops along the way). While overflying Indonesia, late into the night, their windshield began to glow an eerie shade of blue. They had unwittingly entered an ash cloud from the recently erupted Mount Galunggung. Within three  minutes, all four engines had stopped. They descended over 25,000’ and were making some pretty close-up eye contact with fish before they finally managed to get the engines running again.

In December 1989, a KLM 747 had a similar incident when en-route from Amsterdam to Tokyo, Narita. This time it was an ash cloud from the Redoubt Volcano that caused all four engines to fail. They also eventually managed to re-start and landed safely into Anchorage with no injuries, but with around 80 million dollars worth of damage to the airplane…

Okay, so what can we do about it?

For starters, understand the alerts you see in your pre-flight briefings.

To help operators plan against potential ash encounters, ICAO have helped develop a universal alerting system for aviation that uses a simple but informative colour coding to give a heads up of the activity level of volcanoes.

ICAO also coordinate several Volcanic Ash Advisor Centers (VAACs) around the world that operate under the International Airways Volcano Watch. They use a network of met stations, satellites and even reports from pilots to provide forecasts, SIGMETS and advisories to the aviation community regarding ash clouds and eruptions. In other words, they try to tell you where it is, how bad it is and if it will get worse.

So, you can plan your flights to avoid affected areas both laterally and vertically.

Know the signs… 

Click to download.

We have made you a handy infographic explaining what happens, and what you should do about it, but the general gist is:

Watch out for the signs that you might be entering an ash cloud – a strange colored cloud (in the vicinity of a known volcano), sulphuric or acrid smells in the cabin that can’t be blamed on the co-pilot, increased static charge around the flightdeck windows, garbled radio, or a picture of it on your sigmet chart (that you missed in the pre-flight briefing) are usually a good giveaway;

If you think you’ve flown into ash, get out fast. A 180 degree turn is usually best. Follow the actions or volcanic ash checklist for your aircraft type, and consider getting yourself on oxygen;

Look after your engines. Monitor your engine closely – you might see surging, stalling or high EGTs. If they are, reduce power and turn the auto throttle off. Do not try to climb out of it;

Watch your speed. If you’re getting erroneous speed indications, go back to basics using pitch and power until you can confirm your speed is safe;

Report it – Chances are if you’ve flown into it, so will another aircraft behind you, so make sure you put a radio call out to warn them, and to let ATC know why you just did a massive wheelie in the sky.

The Bigger Issue for Aviation

In 2010 the unpronouncable Eyjafjallajökull erupted and caused enormous disruption to air travel across Europe. The disruption lasted for over a week, and that was just one volcano!

A previously published report established that over one hundred airports in twenty-six different countries were affected by the eruptions of just forty-six volcanoes within a three period. Unfortunately for aviation, there are about 1500 active volcanoes in the world (not counting the ones that line the ocean floor.) 75% of these fire breathing mountains live in the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific, but there are some seriously cranky calderas on all continents bar Australia.

Which ones should we keep an eye on?
Volcano-watching organizations and aviation authorities have established a ranking system for volcanoes using an overall threat score, and a threat to aviation score which take into account 24 factors.

In the US, Kīlauea in Hawaii ranks numero uno worst with an overall threat score of 263, and an aviation threat score of 48. Mount St. Helens, Washington poses the greatest threat to aviation with a score of 59.

So what other resources are there to help avoid serious aviation disruptions from eruptions?
Unfortunately, volcanic eruptions can be a little hard to forecast, but generally how much they are rumbling, GPS data that monitors seismic activity, and historic eruption data are used to predict if and when they might pop.

Ash clouds are relatively hard to track as well – normally data is plugged into ash cloud modeling programs that consider the density and plume size, and the wind conditions for the day to model how it might disperse. Satellite sensing to detect radiation absorption levels, and thermal infrared wavelength levels also help, but there is no one sensor for observing everything.

Aviation authorities determine ash zones based on the concentration of ash. These are either a No Fly Zone, or an Enhanced Procedure Zone, and are based off tolerance levels agreed with aircraft and engine manufacturers. Generally enhanced procedures require training for the pilots (on identifying effects) and additional maintenance checks for the engines and aircraft.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

1. Keep an eye on our alerts. Opsgroup will send out alerts on any volcanic eruptions that look like they will significantly impact flight operations;
2. Familiarise yourself with the signs of ash clouds, and the actions to take in case you ever do end up in one.

Other resources

• http://www.bom.gov.au/aviation/warnings/volcanic-ash/ – shows the Volcanic Ash SIGMETs received in the last 24 hours for all regions around the world.
• https://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/vaac.html – links to the individual websites of all the different Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers.
• http://icelandicvolcanos.is – shows a nice clear map of the volcanoes in Iceland, color-coded to show varying levels of activity.
• How to make your own volcano at home!

A whole bunch of procedural stuff will be changing from 5 Nov 2020, with the release of a new amendment to ICAO’s Procedures for Air Navigation Services document. There will be changes to Oceanic Contingency and Weather Deviation Procedures, Wake Turbulence Separation, SLOP Procedures, and how the FAA defines Gross Navigation Errors.

What is the PANS-ATM (ICAO Doc 4444)?

Procedures for Navigation Services – Air Traffic Management. In other words, the ‘go to’ manual for aircrews who operate internationally. It explains in detail the standard procedures you can expect to be applied by air traffic services around the world, and what they expect in return.

Here is a summary of the most important changes coming on 5 Nov 2020. Thanks to Guy Gribble at International Flight Resources for this update.

Oceanic Contingency Procedures

Basically, what you should do if you need deviate from your flight path without a clearance. Weather avoidance, turbulence, depressurisation, engine failure – you get the picture. Published procedures are changing: there will be one standard set of Contingency and Weather Deviation Procedures for all oceanic airspace worldwide.

If you’ve been flying in the North Atlantic Region over the past year and a half, you’ll be familiar with how it works – the new procedures were introduced there back in March 2019, and now they’re being rolled out everywhere.

The main change here is that Contingency offsets which previously were 15 NM are basically now all 5 NM offsets with a turn of at least 30 degrees (not 45 degrees).

For more on this, check out our article.

Wake Turbulence

Flight Plan Category
There will be a new wake turbulence category for flight plans:

No longer will ‘Heavy’ rule the skies. ‘Super’ is about to be added, which will cover the largest aircraft including the A380-800, and Antonov 225. You will even get to say it after your callsign on initial contact with ATC.

ICAO Doc 8643 will shortly include all aircraft which qualify for the category.

You’ll need to tell them your category in Flight Plan Item #9 too. For Super, the letter ‘J’ is what you’ll need to include.

Here’s the new line up:

J – SUPER (Check Doc 8643 to see if you qualify)
H – HEAVY (Max take-off weight greater than 136,000kg/300,000Lbs)
M – MEDIUM (Max take-off weight greater than 7,000kg/15,500Lbs)
L – LIGHT (Max take-off weight less than or equal to 7,000kg/15,500Lbs)

Wake Turbulence Separation Categories
Countries may choose to use the ICAO wake turbulence codes above to determine how much room to give you from preceding traffic, or they can elect to use a grouping.

Currently, ICAO groupings are based simply on weight and there’s only three of them. The problem with that approach is that sometimes the separation provided is excessive which slows down the flow of traffic and creates unnecessary delays.

The US and Europe were on to it when several years ago the FAA and Eurocontrol joined forces to look at the wake characteristics of aircraft in more detail. They came up with a better system – it was a process known as Aircraft Wake Turbulence Re-Categorization or simply, RECAT.

Turns out that when you take into account factors such as approach speeds, wing characteristics and handling abilities of various aircraft it is possible to safely reduce separation.

As a result, six new categories were created. You can read about those in FAA SAFO #12007 and EU-RECAT 1.5 if you would like to know more.

The point is, ICAO is now adopting those categories.

So why does it matter?
Because the separation applied when following smaller aircraft may be reduced to as low as 2.5nm on approach. Closer than you may be accustomed to.

Out with the old, in with the new. Here’s what you can expect to see in November:

Old:
HEAVY (H) – aircraft of 136,000kg or more
MEDIUM (M) – aircraft less than 136,000kg but more than 7,000kg
LIGHT (L) – aircraft of 7,000kg or less

New:
GROUP A – ≥136,000kg and a wingspan ≤80m but >74.68m
GROUP B – ≥136,000kg and a wingspan ≤74.68m but >53.34m
GROUP C – ≥136,000kg and a wingspan ≤53.34 m but >38.1m
GROUP D – <136,000kg but >18,600kg and a wingspan >32m
GROUP E – <136,000kg but >18,600kg and a wingspan ≤32m but >27.43m
GROUP F – <136,000kg but >18,600kg and a wingspan ≤27.43m
GROUP G – <18,600 kg or less (no wingspan criterion)

Separation standards will soon be published accordingly.

Strategic Lateral Offset Procedures (SLOP)

Wait, what?
As a result of extremely high levels of accuracy in modern navigation systems, if an error in height occurs there is a much higher chance of collision. It is also greatly increases the chance of an encounter with wake turbulence.

In some airspace, when the lateral separation applied or the distance between adjacent parallel routes is greater than 6nm, aircraft can deviate up to 2nm right of track without a clearance. This is what is known as SLOP.

The way in which it is applied is changing
Where the lateral separation minima or spacing between route centerlines is 15NM or more; offsets to the right of the centerline will allowed up to 2nm.

When the lateral separation minima or space between route centrelines is less than 15nm (but more than 6nm), you will be able offset up to 0.5nm right of track.

So, it is important you are familiar with what kind of lateral separation is being applied in the airspace you are operating.

The FAA will change their definition of GNE’s

On 5 Nov 2020, the US FAA will change their definition of Gross Navigation Errors to mean anything more than 10nm (down from 25nm), to align with ICAO’s 10nm definition that currently exists on the NAT HLA. So after this date, the FAA will require you report all lateral errors, 10nm or greater worldwide.

More on this from Guy Gribble at International Flight Resources:

“Keep in mind that ATC does not always advise a crew that it files a report; therefore, the FAA inspector will try and contact the crew as soon as possible so the crew will remember details of the event. ATC keeps voice and communications records for between 30-45 days. New York Radio and San Francisco Radio keep voice communications for 30 days. The FAA directs that oceanic error investigations should be complete within 45 days of the incident.”