CYYR/Goose Bay was closed by the Canadian Department of National Defence on Nov 8, following the discovery of a problem with their runways. During snow removal operations over the past few days, crack sealant was found on vehicles after they were used on the runways. Specialists are en-route to Goose Bay to assess the situation.

Runway 08/26 has been completely closed, and Runway 16/34 has closed to all except Medevac flights, with a shortened Landing Distance Available of 7600 feet.

The Airport has said that emergency flights will be considered on a “case by case basis”. However, for now, carrying CYYR as an ETOPS alternate does not make sense.

This is now officially a domestic airport – international arrivals are no longer permitted.

We asked the Norwegian CAA the million-dollar question: can ENSB still be used as an ETOPS or emergency enroute alternate?

Their response: “ENSB now being a domestic airport, it shall not be used as an alternate airport in normal flight planning, but in case of emergency, medical – or flight safety related, the airport may be used.”

In other words, if you are planning a Polar flight and want to use ENSB as an ETOPS or emergency enroute alternate, you can. 

We also spoke with the ATC tower at the airport: they confirmed that you can still use ENSB as an emergency divert, and they have someone there on duty H24. The normal RFF category is 8.

So why has the airport been downgraded from international to domestic?

It seems it has something to do with the authorities desire to limit the amount of charter fights operating directly to Svalbard. Now, if you want to go there you will first have to go to one of Norway’s international airports to clear customs, and then continue on to Svalbard as a domestic flight. The Norwegian CAA say direct international charter flights may still be allowed “in the interests of tourism”, but it seems this will be the exception rather than the rule.

Interestingly, you can still fly to ENSB direct from Russia, as they have a separate agreement from 1974 regarding the use of  the airport – which is unaffected by this new rule.

Even more interesting is that when you get to Svalbard, if you decide to leave the main town of Longyearbyen, it is a legal requirement to carry a gun, and to know how to use it – they’re not joking about those polar bears.

At 0800 local this morning, Iraqi controllers returned to work. For the last few days, Iraqi ATC had been on strike for better pay, effectively closing the Baghdad FIR and intermittently Baghdad and Basra airports. An 80nm in trail requirement has been removed. Military controllers, pictured above, who had been running ORBI/Baghdad Airport have completed their duties.

Local ATC controllers tell us that the strike is over – they are running what they call ‘ops normal’ for two weeks, before they will/may strike again as negotiations continue. Inside word is that a number of local controllers have been fired, and Serco were providing most of the staff to cover the centre. Baghdad FIR Control Centre and Iraqi Airports are running normally – for now.

We are still expecting the FAA to remove the restriction for US operators using the Baghdad FIR, this is a separate issue. No further news on that just yet.

Last week we reported on an equipment issue with Iridium satcom that prompted a ban by a number of Oceanic ATC agencies. Some aircraft were receiving massively delayed clearances sent by ATC via CPDLC – and one took the instruction and climbed 1000 feet, even though the message was meant for the flight the aircraft operated previously.

Here were the areas which had previously published Notams restricting the use of Iridium: Brazil Atlantico (SBAO), Auckland (NZZO), Chile (SCIZ), Japan (RJJJ), Anchorage (PAZA), Oakland (KZAK), New York (KZNY and KZWY).

However, all FIR’s have now removed their notams which banned the use of Iridium for CPDLC and ADS-C. This has happened after tests were performed last week using Iridium SATCOM which confirmed that Iridium no longer queues CPDLC uplinks for more than five minutes.

Article header photo by @Zelgomat

As you may know, the FAA is working on Runway Status Lights (RWSL). It’s a new system that’s live at 20 airports in the US. Basically, you get a nice set of red lights (embedded in the ramp) that tell you whether it’s safe or not to proceed. These lights are installed (or placed or located) at the entrance of the runway and at the start of takeoff. If any of these lights are red, you don’t go. Simple as that.

These lights are fully automated and completely independent of ATC, which means they do not have a clue if the lights are red or not. This is intentional. If you get clearance from ATC, and you see red lights, the red lights take precedence over the controller. The FAA has issued SAFO17011, stating:

There have been several instances at RWSL airports where flightcrews have ignored the illuminated red in-pavement RWSL lights when issued a clearance by Air Traffic Control (ATC). Illuminated RWSLs mean aircraft/vehicles stop or remain stopped and contact ATC for further direction, relaying to ATC that the RWSLs are illuminated.

This system will be expanding throughout the United States, and you can read more about the system here: FAA Runway Status Lights.

LFZZ/France The French CGT Union has called for a strike on November 23 targeting the oil sector, which will likely have an affect on fuel supplies at French airports.

MXZZ/Central America Tropical Storm Selma is heading for Central America, landfall El Salvador coast on Saturday, current winds 35G45 kts.

FMZZ/Madagascar The plague epidemic that began in August 2017 has now killed 124 people. Outbreaks of plague occur regularly in Madagascar; however, this year’s outbreak began earlier than usual and is affecting urban, rather than rural, areas. Additionally, authorities have reported that the number of cases is three times higher than the yearly average. Other countries in the region have restrictions on flights from Madagascar, check Notams.

FAOR/Johannesburg A protest by taxi drivers blocked the entrance to the airport this morning, resulting in huge delays. There was a similar protest at FALA/Lanseria earlier in the week, and more may be expected.

HRYR/Kigali is going to be closed daily from 0800-1300Z to upgrade the runway to CATII, until January 24th, they say.

GLRB/Monrovia will be closed to flight operations every Monday and Thursday until further notice, due to WIP.

LOZZ/Austria appears to have a new regulation from today requiring arriving commercial flights (airlines and charter operators) to send APIS to the Austrian Border Police, before departure from port of origin. Anyone doing this already? Any feedback?

SEGU/Guayaquil Runway will be closed Nov 25 and Dec 2 from 1300-2000Z, for maintenance

MMTO/Toluca The Fly Across FBO at Toluca is now – or shortly will be – a Signature facility. MMTO is the most popular GA alternative to MMMX for Mexico City.

EDZZ/Germany Karlsruhe ACC has a new ATC system, with some enroute delays this week and likely next as well. Eurocontrol NM has the latest.

LPZZ/Portugal There is an ongoing strike this week by Met Service officials in Portugal, affecting publication of Metar/TAF information for LP* locations.

GAZZ/Mali On Oct 21, the Malian government extended the state of emergency that has been in existence since November 2015 by a year, until 31 October 2018.

KMSP/Minneapolis St Paul First snowfall of the Winter 2017/18 season today, as the weather grows colder. Ground stop likely later on.

EGLL/London Heathrow has new trial RNAV approaches to both runways. If you want to use them, say “Request RNAV Yankee” on first contact with Heathrow Director 119.725. Refer to temporary charts 12-01 thru 12-04.

EGAC/Belfast City A proposed two hour strike by Swissport baggage handlers was called off on Thursday. Negotiations continue, potential for further as dispute not resolved.

SEZZ/Ecuador Mt Reventador active, volcanic ash cloud seen up to FL380, monitor here.

EGGX/Shanwick will be running voice only on Monday evening for an hour or so from 2130Z – no CPDLC, ACARS, or ADS-B

FOOG/Port Gentil is out of fuel until the end of month, at least. Definitely check before operating, or tanker in.

KZZZ/USA In case you missed the several hundred Notams, KUSA is the new identifier for all logons in the US, including CPDLC-DCL, and enroute. There are some comments that it doesn’t work properly if you don’t have an active FPL in the box, let us know your experiences on that.

RJZZ/Japan Tropical Storm Saola is south of Japan, gusts to 80kts, will affect southerly Japan airports ROAH, RJFF, RJFK on Sunday and on current track Tokyo likely affected by Monday.

SVZZ/Venezuela Updated US State Dept travel advice Oct 23, down a level from previous – still unstable, but the edict requiring embassy family members to leave has been rescinded.

CYYZ/Toronto The nearly three-month strike of Swissport ground crew has ended. 700 workers returned to work on Oct 18, after agreeing a 3 year pay deal.

KTRI/Tri-Cities airport in Tennessee is operational again after a helicopter crash on Thursday

VOTV/Trivandrum will close for 5 hours on Saturday for a religious ceremony. Ops suspended from 16-21 LT.

ENTO/Torp, Norway has ongoing work meaning the airport is closed Sunday-Friday 0000-0600LT. Common alternate for Oslo, so take care.

VMMC/Macau From ATC: Approaches with the suffix Z are the preferred approaches; if you want something different, tell them when you join the Star.

In case you missed the several hundred Notams this week, KUSA is the new identifier for all datalink logons in the US, including CPDLC-DCL, and enroute, which came into use on October 22nd. Now, the only logon you need is KUSA.

For all you could possibly want to know about Datalink operations in the US, take a peek at the new AC90-117, ” an overview of data link communication operations for U.S. domestic
operations and in oceanic and remote continental airspace”, which we’ve uploaded here.

More readable is the FAA’s CPDLC-DCL guide, uploaded here.

There are some comments that it doesn’t work properly if you don’t have an active FPL in the box, let us know your experiences on that in the comment section below.

Tropical Storm Selma is heading for Central America, landfall El Salvador coast on Saturday, current winds 35G45 kts.

Monitor:

• http://www.usno.navy.mil/JTWC/
• https://www.cyclocane.com/

Tropical Storm Saola is south of Japan, gusts to 80kts, will affect southerly Japan airports ROAH, RJFF, RJFK on Sunday and on current track Tokyo likely affected by Monday.

Monitor:

• http://www.usno.navy.mil/JTWC/
• https://www.cyclocane.com/

Earlier this month we reported about the transition of the United States ATC system to a National Single Data Authority (NSDA). https://ops.group/blog/cpdlc-for-us-airspace-the-implementation-process/

The initial phase of this process is scheduled to start this weekend on 22Oct at 0330Z with a single CPDLC logon ID for domestic US airspace (KUSA) and ATC issuing departure clearances using CPDLC.

You can read more details about Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication–Departure Clearance (CPDLC-DCL), general procedures for logging on/notifying, loading the flight plan, receiving the CPDLC-DCL, responding to the CPDLC-DCL message, and disconnecting/logging off  here:

NAS Data Communications Guide

Update: 1800Z / 24October

Good news–the strike scheduled for October 27th has been cancelled, no disruptions in ATC services to be expected.  All FIRs have issued NOTAMs accordingly.

—

Italy ATC Unions have announced a strike on October 27th, which is a Friday (big surprise there). As of now, the strike is expected to take place from 1100-1500UTC.

Negotiations are ongoing, and we have our contacts in Italy keeping us updated to any developments and impact to operations.

ENAV has confirmed the strike could affect:

Milano, Roma, and Brindisi ACCs, ATS and MET at a large chunk of Italian airports, the flight planning data office, ground communications, weather forecasting units…it’s a large strike.

Read up on the full NOTAM below, and we’ll get the updates here when they’re posted.

DUE TO STRIKE OF PART OF OPERATIONAL PERSONNEL FOLLOWING AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES MAY BE AFFECTED:
1) LIBB, LIMM, LIPP AND LIRR ACC/FIC
2) ATS AND MET OBS PROVIDED BY ENAV, AT:
LIBD LIBF LIBG LIBP LIBR
LIEE LIEO LIMA LIMC LIME
LIPH LIPK LIPO LIPQ LIPR
LIRI LIRN LIRQ LIRU LIRZ
3) ATS/AIS/MET AND COM PROVIDED BY
- NOTAM OFFICE (NOF-AFTN LIIAYNYX)
- ATS REPORTING OFFICES WITH CENTRAL BRIEFING OFFICE CAPABILITY 
(ARO-CBO ROMA-AFTN LIRFZPZX AND ARO-CBO MILANO-AFTN LIMLZPZX) NOTAM IN FORCE
- INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION CENTRE (ICC-AFTN LIIDYFYX)
- CENTRALIZED AUTOMATED FLIGHT PLANNING DATA OFFICE (AODO-AFTN LIIRZEZX)
- GROUND GROUND COMMUNICATION MONITORING UNIT (CME)
4) METEOROLOGICAL FORECASTING UNITS (UPM ROMA-AFTN LIJRYMYX AND UPM MILANO-AFTN LIJLYMYX).
REMARKS:
A) ACCORDING TO ITALIAN LAW 146/90 AND 83/2000 THE PROVISION OF ATS WILL BE GRANTED TO:
- STATE/HEAD/FFR/MEDEVAC/HOSP/HUM/SAR/ATFMX AND EMERGENCY FLIGHT
- OVERFLYING FLT AND STATE AIRCRAFT
- INCOMING INTERCONTINENTAL FLT
- FLT TO/FM ITALIAN ISLANDS AND DEP INTERCONTINENTAL AS IDENTIFIED BY CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY
- ALL OTHER FLT SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY 
B) DURING STRIKE ATS/AIS/MET MAY BE PROVIDED TO ADDITIONAL FLT ACCORDING TO RELEVANT 
FLOW CONTROL MEASURES FOR LIBB LIMM LIPP LIRR ACC ISSUED IN DUE TIME BY EUROCONTROL DNM (DIRECTORATE NETWORK MANAGER)
C) AVAILABILITY OF AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES PROVIDED BY ATS/AIS /MET/COM 
UNITS WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY SPECIFIC NOTAM

EGGW/Luton will be closed for 27 nights from 0000L to 0530L daily, starting Monday, November 6th and ending the morning of Sunday, December 3rd, 2017 for runway resurfacing.

So, late night and early morning arrivals and departures won’t be possible.

Standard operations will be practiced outside of these hours, with little to no disruption expected during daytime.

Last week we reported on an equipment issue with Iridium satcom that prompted a ban by a number of Oceanic ATC agencies. Some aircraft were receiving massively delayed clearances sent by ATC via CPDLC – and one took the instruction and climbed 1000 feet, even though the message was meant for the flight the aircraft operated previously.

Today, we checked-in again with all the oceanic ATC centres, to see what their current policy is on the issue.

EGGX/Shanwick told FSB that they are aware of the issue, reviewed it, but have decided not to ban the use of Iridium for either CPDLC or ADS-C just yet. LPPO/Santa Maria have the same position. So, in this airspace, you can use Iridium, for now.

CZQX/Gander said they did a safety analysis of it, and decided not to ban it. They have all kinds of conformance alerts in place to prevent any problems from happening – so if aircraft deviate they get notified immediately.

BIRD/Reykjavik aren’t that concerned about the issue – they use HF most of the time anyway.

Chile (SCIZ)
Japan (RJJJ)
Anchorage (PAZA)
Oakland (KZAK)
New York (KZNY and KZWY)
All these centres have published Notams instructing crews not to use Iridium for CPDLC or ADS-C. Until the fault is fixed, in those regions you’ll have to either use HF for ATC comms, or use another SAT provider.

Auckland (NZZO) and Brazil (Atlantico SBAO) have applied the ban to CPDLC alone. Use ADS-C if you like.

From Iridium themselves, they told FSB: “We’ve updated their queue management system. Every minute, there is a queue check. If there is any message that is older than 4 minutes, it marks as timed out, and will not be delivered. This update was done at ground level, so it does not require any software updates by the user. We’re still waiting on feedback from FAA workgroup on the fix and if it’s sufficient to allow use of Iridium for CPDLC and ADS-C.”

That’s it for now! We’ll keep you posted, or, even better – tell us below in the comment section if you hear news.

So, last week we told you that Iraqi Airspace was about to re-open to international overflights. It still is, though the bit where it was going to happen this week is no longer true.

The FAA were about to hit ‘publish’ on a Notam this past Monday,  which would have enabled US airlines to start overflying Iraq again. The text of this Notam included:

• An amendment to the existing Iraq restriction
• An authorisation for US airlines and operators to overfly Iraq at or above FL260

But then, a military operation by Iraqi forces to take control of Kirkuk from the Kurds the same day, created concern as to overflight safety. Kirkuk sits pretty much underneath the UM860 airway on the map below.

So for now, do nothing and wait. It seems the situation is de-escalating, and we expect now that the Notam may be issued as early as next week.

Once that happens, we’d expect other countries to follow suit and allow overflights in the same way, meaning that these two airways will become busy again.

Keep an eye out, we’ll let you know.

See also:

• 12 October 2017, “Iraq Airspace to re-open for overflights“

Aircraft Operators using the Iridium Satellite service for ATC comms should be aware of an equipment issue that has prompted a ban by a number of Oceanic ATC agencies in the last few days

Right now, Chile (SCIZ), Japan (RJJJ), Anchorage (PAZA), Oakland (KZAK), New York (KZNY and KZWY) have all told operators not to use Iridium for CPDLC or ADS-C. Until the fault is fixed, in those regions you’ll have to either use HF for ATC comms, or use another SAT provider. Auckland (NZZO) and Brazil (Atlantico SBAO) have so far only applied the ban to CPDLC alone. Nothing has been published yet by Gander (CZQX), Shanwick (EGGX), Reykjavik (BIRD) or Santa Maria (LPPO) – although we’re keeping a close eye on them for any update.

Here’s what happened:

On Sep 12th, an Alaskan Airlines flight had a failure of their CMU (Comms Management Unit) that caused the Iridium connection to stop working. An ATC message was sent to the aircraft but not delivered. On the next flight, the CMU power was reset and corrected the issue, and the pending message was delivered. The CMU did not recognise the message as being old, and so it was presented to the Flight Crew as a control instruction. FSB understands that this aircraft took the climb instruction and executed the level change, climbing 1000 feet .

Another flight, operated by Hawaiian out of Oakland, had a similar problem. This aircraft had both Iridium and Inmarsat on board, and during the flight switched over to Inmarsat as the provider. An ATC message was routed via Iridium, but didn’t reach the aircraft before the switch. Some 23 hours later, on the next flight, Iridium was activated again and again the ATC message presented as a “live” instruction. On this occasion, the crew queried the instruction and did not climb.

The problem in simple terms is that if ATC sends a CPDLC message like “Climb FL370“, which is obviously only valid for “right now”, but another crew gets the message hours later, then you have a very high risk of the new crew accepting that and climbing.

For now, Iridium has a plan to fix the ground side to not allow older SBD messages to be delivered, and they say they are testing it at the moment and expect to release it soon.

OpsGroup members will be updated directly on further news.

Notam copies below:

ANCHORAGE PAZA A0626/17 - USE OF CPDLC AND ADS-C VIA IRIDIUM SATCOM IS PROHIBITED WITHIN THE ANCHORAGE OCEANIC, DOMESTIC AND ARCTIC FLIGHT INFORMATION REGIONS (FIRS). SFC - UNL, 13 OCT 19:40 2017 UNTIL 13 NOV 00:00 2017 ESTIMATED. 
CREATED: 13 OCT 19:35 2017

NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND NZZO B4985/17 - USE OF CPDLC (DATALINK) VIA IRIDIUM SATCOM 
IS PROHIBITED WI NZZO FIR. COMMUNICATION WI NZZO FIR IS TO BE VIA HF 
RDO ON THE APPROPRIATE SP6 FREQ. OPERATORS USING IRIDIUM SATCOM MAY 
CONTINUE TO USE ADS-C FOR POSITION REPORTING WI NZZO FIR. HF VOICE 
POSITION REPORTS ARE NOT REQUIRED UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED. 
08 OCT 21:56 2017 UNTIL 08 JAN 21:00 2018 ESTIMATED. 
CREATED: 08 OCT 21:56 2017

OAKLAND KZAK A4306/17 - FOR ACFT EQUIPPED WITH IRIDIUM SATCOM, USE OF CPDLC AND ADS-C VIA IRIDIUM SATCOM IS PROHIBITED WITHIN OAKLAND CENTER OCEANIC AIRSPACE. COMMUNINCATION WITH KZAK MUST BE VIA HF FOR IRIDIUM USERS. 
13 OCT 19:49 2017 UNTIL 31 DEC 23:59 2017. CREATED: 13 OCT 19:54 2017

NEW YORK KZNY A0334/17 - USE OF CPDLC AND ADS-C VIA IRIDIUM SATCOM IS PROHIBITED WITHIN NEW YORK CENTER OCEANIC AIRSPACE. 13 OCT 19:27 2017 UNTIL 30 DEC 08:00 2017. CREATED: 13 OCT 19:38 2017

NEW YORK KZWY A0502/17 - USE OF CPDLC AND ADS-C VIA IRIDIUM SATCOM IS PROHIBITED WITHIN NEW YORK CENTER OCEANIC AIRSPACE. 13 OCT 19:27 2017 UNTIL 30 DEC 08:00 2017. CREATED:13 OCT 19:36 2017

BRAZIL ATLANTICO SBAO N0095/17 - FOR ACFT EQUIPPED WITH IRIDIUM SATCOM, 
USE OF CPDLC IS PROHIBITED WITHIN ATLANTICO CENTER OCEANIC AIRSPACE. 
FLIGHT CREWS CAN LOG ON SBAO TO ALLOW THE USE OF ADS-C FOR POSITION 
REPORTING. COMMUNICATION WITH SBAO MUST BE VIA HF. IF USING ADS-C 
POSITION REPORTING, HF VOICE POSITION REPORTS ARE NOT REQUIRED 
UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED. 15 OCT 12:00 2017 UNTIL
13 JAN 12:00 2018.  CREATED: 15 OCT 01:22 2017

JAPAN FUKUOKA RJJJ J7236/17 - FOR ACFT EQUIPPED WITH IRIDIUM SATCOM, USE OF CPDLC AND ADS-C VIA IRIDIUM SATCOM IS PROHIBITED WITHIN FUKUOKA OCEANIC AIRSPACE. COMMUNINCATION WITH RJJJ MUST BE VIA HF FOR IRIDIUM USERS. 16 OCT 10:08 2017 UNTIL UFN. CREATED: 16 OCT 10:09 2017

Update 18th Oct: No more events are planned at this time. However, we will keep this page updated with the latest news as we get it.

Sections of NAT airspace are set to close on various different dates in October. This is all due to U.S. and NATO joint military exercise that’s going on, called Formidable Shield, which will mean huge chucks of airspace will be closed to civil ops for many hours.

The basics for each event are the same:

• Airspace closed, SFC-UNL.
• Aircraft capable of flying in MNPS airspace will have to keep at least 30nm away from the area, other aircraft will need to keep 60nm away.

Event 1 – Happened on 25th Sep. 

Event 2 – Happened on 7th Oct.

Event 4 – Happened on 15th Oct. (Yes, Event 4 happened before Event 3 – just to confuse us!)

Event 3 – Happened on 17th Oct.

India has new crew visa requirements.

• Visa upon arrival is no longer available.
• It is mandatory for all crew to have visas arranged before arrival to India.

When flying as operating crew you will need an e-Business Visa. Carry a copy with you when disembarking.

Processing time is around 4 to 5 days.

Use the following link to apply.

https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/Registration

Keep in mind e-tourist visa is for pax only.

On October 12th, GCAA announced the changes to the OMAE FIR.  They’ve got it all detailed in the latest AIRAC (AIP link below).

The major change–all aircraft require RNAV1 with GNSS to operate in the Emirates FIR, starting December 7th.  This is a change from the previous RNAV5.  With that, you can expect changes to SIDs, STARs, all ATS routes, holding procedures, communication frequencies, and others.  It’s a major overhaul to anticipate for the expected increase in traffic.

We’ve got for you:

–AIC 04/2017
–AIP Link (you can find all the specifics to the changes here)
–UAE ENROUTE CHART

OMAE/UAE 
TRIGGER NOTAM - PERM AIRAC AIP AMDT NR 13/2017 WEF 07 DEC 2017
RNAV 1 WITH GNSS OPS RQMNTS MANDATED
RNAV 1 ROUTES ADDED
STD ROUTINGS AMD
CONDITIONAL ROUTES ADDED
ENR HOLDINGS ADDED
WAYPOINTS ADDED, DELETED AND AMD
OMR-51 LOWER LIMIT AMD
ADDED FREQ FOR EMIRATES FIR. 
07 DEC 00:00 2017 UNTIL 21 DEC 23:59 2017.

ORBB/Baghdad FIR Overflights of Iraq may be permitted to resume as early as next week, allowing international carriers access again to several previously heavily used routes through the eastern side of the Baghdad FIR.

In May of this year, SFAR 77 – banning US operators from operating within Iraqi airspace – lapsed, and was replaced by Notam KICZ 10/2017 – which had much the same wording.

However, on October 3rd, Iraq issued a new Notam (A0477/17) – with a new restricted area in the northwest of the FIR, from Surface to FL460. The previous restricted areas 601 and 701 were withdrawn.

This re-shuffling of restricted airspace paves the way for two major international air routes to be reopened, UM860 and UM688 – which were realigned in April for this purpose, allowing operators additional route options through the Middle East to Europe and vv.

FSB expects an official announcement shortly, and will update operators further. OpsGroup members will be notified directly.

Post Maria Airport and Airspace status:

Updated October 25, 2017 1800Z

Bahamas

• MYMM/Mayaguana: Open and operating
• MYSM/ San Salvador: Open and operating

Turks & Caicos

• MBPV/Providenciales: Open and operating
• MBGT/Grand Turk: Open and operating

Dominican Republic

• All Airports Open and operating

Puerto Rico

TJZS all aircraft should use caution when operating within the interior or near the Island due to numerous low flying rotary wing aircraft.  For additional operation information click here.

• TJSJ/San Juan: Open and operating. Airport continues to be under massive strain and Humanitarian flights are still top priority. The VHF frequencies and radar are working but intermittent.  CPDLC unavailable.  Fuel is available. Operators must make contact with Aerostar or handler for gate allocation. Slots now only required if you’re using the contingency ramp there. Call MFOC at 001-850-283-5994 all other flights file FPL normal. Overnight parking is available.
• TJIG/Isla Grande: Open and operating from 0600-1900. Customs open 0800-1730.  Frequency 121.7 for advisory. Tower is operational. Overnight parking available.
• TJBQ/Aguadilla: Military and Relief flights only. Tower is open and operating. Limited water, electricity, and internet. For services phone contact has been more successful due to internet complications.
• TJPS/Ponce: Military and Hurricane relief and Air Carriers with PPR.
• TJRV/Ceiba: Military, Hurricane relief, and GA flights only. Sunrise to Sunset only due to airport lighting down. VFR only no ATC or Tower. Fuel available.  No heavy equipment available to offload supplies. Military flights are required 48HR PPR contact: 805-326-9041.
• TJVQ/Vieques: Open and operating. Sunrise to Sunset only due to airport lighting down. Internet not available.

For more information on operating into Puerto Rico

For Ops reports in Puerto Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands

• TISX/St.Croix: Open and operating. A contingency ramp has been established for FEMA/DOD flights they require Slot reservation contact MFOCC at 1-850-282-0236. All aircraft should contact Longhorn Ops on 251.9 or 139.9 (+/-20min) before landing to arrange parking and fueling. Normal ATC procedures. Customs available.
  
• TIST/St.Thomas: Open and operating. Airport hours are 0900-1800 local time.  Customs available 0800-1600LT. Equipment available for Cargo offload.  Fuel available. Fema permit NOT required.  Tower and unicom frequency is 118.8. Limited coverage from SJU Center.  ATIS, navaids, ILS, runway lights – all out of service.  For services contact St.Thomas Jet Center customerservice@sttjetcenter.com (email is best as phones are intermittent Contact Roy Romney: 340-690-5076/ or Terri Thomas: 340-626-5270 for immediate questions.
  Include the following when requesting services:
  Company name
  Tail #
  Make and model of aircraft
  Date of arrival/departure
  Local time ETA/ETD
  Number of crew and pax both in and out
  Method of payment
• TIST have island curfew 1900-0800 still in place

For more information on operating into TIST/STT

British Virgin Islands

• TUPJ/Beef Island-Tortola: Open and operating 1130-2100z, but VFR only. Fuel available, limited internet, and electrical power.  The perimeter fence was badly damaged by hurricane Irma, so the airport is no longer secured. No overnight parking. Only Property owners, residents and citizens are allowed in the territory at this time.  ATS services reduced to 5nm radius of the airport. Flights will need to get PPR here: http://ppr.bviaaops.com or via email: clevons@bviaa.com mfrance@bviaa.com Csmith@bviaa.com Lyrubain@bviaa.com Dhamm@bviaa.com
• TUPA/Anegada: Airport closed.
• TUPW/Virgin Gorda: Airport closed.

Sint Maartin

• TNCM/Princess Juliana: Open and Operating 0700L-Sunset (due to no lighting). Fuel is available.  File FLP from point of origin due to com difficulties.  Equipment to offload cargo is fine, Menzies in charge of the cargo loader.  Main Frequency 118.7. ATC is operational (1100Z-Sunset daily). 3 fire vehicles active at the airport, fire CAT 9. Hotel rooms are difficult to find but handler can help arrange.

For information on TNCM/SXM

St. Kitts & Nevis

• TKPK/Basseterre: Open and operating
• TKPN/Nevis Island: Open and operating

Antigua

• TAPA/Antigua: Open and operating.

Anguilla

• TQPF/The Valley: Open and Operating. Open from 1100Z to Sunset only. PPR required. Call sign Anguilla Radio on 118.500 25NM out. Fuel is available, Internet, Water and Electrical in terminal. ATC not available contact: 1-264-476-9642 or 1-264-476-5655. Comms with weather and traffic only. Call Aeronautical station for slot reservations (arrival and departure) 1-264-497-1646 and 1-264-584-5397

Guadeloupe

• TFFR/Pointe-a-Pitre: Open and operating

Dominica

Serious damage. Homes and trees flattened. Recovery efforts are currently being coordinated from the nearby islands of St Lucia and Antigua.

• TDPD/Roseau: Open and operating with limitations. Hours Sunrise – Sunset. Electricity is via standby generator. Water supply is limited and JetA1 fuel is available only. Comms 118.9 standby radio is working and Fire CAT5. Ground handling available on request. Customs, Immigration, and agriculture officers present. Perimeter fence is limited to 60%.
• TDCF/Canefield: Open and operating on a limited basis. Largest aircraft that can operate there is a Twin Otter. Only handheld ATC from offsite location, tower was heavily damaged. Difficult to contact as most communications are still down. Most utilizing Helicopters and St.Lucia is being used as a staging airport.

• TTCP: Open and operating normally
• TTPP: Open and operating normally

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Effective immediately Turkey has suspended all Visa services to US citizens. This includes both physical Visa and E-Visa.

• Any visa granted before 08OCT will stand until expiry of validity date.
• Any visa granted after 08OCT will be revoked.
• No new visa will be granted from now.

However, most operating crew will not be impacted. When listed on Gendec as Operating crew and you have a valid crew ID, you may stay up to 72hrs without visa.

We will update any changes here as and when known.

Several ATC unions have called for a national strike, affecting French airports and airspace from Monday evening at 1700UTC (Oct 9) through Wednesday at 0400UTC (Oct 11).

All FIRs are experiencing high delays.

Impact expected to the FIR’s per current  (10OCT) information are as follows:

LFRR/Brest Experiencing high delays

LFFF/Paris All sectors experiencing delays with highest delays in the west. Situation is starting to show signs of improvement.

LFEE/Reims All sectors experiencing delays with highest delays in the East and North

LFBB/Bordeaux Some high delays and with no ease forseen

LFMM/Marseille High delays all around. Regulations will be in place until a least 2359UTC

The following routes are available:
Tango 9 Global and Tango 213 Global, UM30 and UZ180 are fully available.
T9 is still dealing with alot of delays.

Airports:

LFPG/Paris DeGaulle and LFPO/Paris Orly are experiencing delays and there is a 30% capacity reduction in both airports plus at the following airports:

LFOB/Beauvais, LFLL/Lyon, LFML/Marseille, LFMN/Nice, LFBO/Toulouse and LFRS/Nantes
LFSB/Basel – unconfirmed as of yet but may be used as an alternate
LFPB /Paris-Le Bourget will not be affected.

Expect high impact. Ops over or to France are best avoided today.

We will continue to post any further information here as soon as received.