One of our primary missions at FSB is to monitor the world’s airspace and report on new risks to civil aviation. When enough changes occur, we update our “Unsafe Airspace Summary“.

Today, we published a new summary effective 16AUG2017 – version “INDIA”.

First up, the map as things stand:

Red is Level 1 – Avoid this Airspace
Orange is Level 2 – Assessed Risk
Yellow is Level 3 – Caution.

A live version of this map is always updated at safeairspace.net

What’s changed since the last summary?

• Somalia is downgraded to Level 2, so there are now five Level 1 – Avoid countries: Libya, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and North Korea.
• Saudi Arabia is upgraded to Level 2, due to assessed risk in the southwestern portion of the FIR (Yemen border area)
• French Guyana no longer a threat as strikes and airspace closures have ended
• Addition of Japan, Venezuela and South Korea at Level 3 – Caution advised

If you have ops to any of these countries, make sure to have a read of the risk information. A full library is at safeairspace.net.

Download the latest summary

• Latest summary available at safeairspace.net – click download PDF there.
• OPSGROUP members check your inbox, you will already have received it to your email.
• Join OPSGROUP to stay current.

LEBL/Barcelona Security staff at Barcelona airport have announced Industrial action for Fridays, Sundays and Mondays starting from 4th August, with the following time schedule: 0330-0430, 0830-0930, 1430-1530, 1630-1730 UTC.

HAZZ/Ethiopia The government lifted on Aug. 4 a state of emergency that has been in place since last October, AP reported.

DISP/San Pedro, Ivory Coast is closed for two weeks since August 2 to renovate the runway, which is in urgent need of repair, according to Ivorian authorities. The runway has been renovated in the past; however, past repairs were insufficient to prevent the runway from deteriorating to its current state of disrepair.

KZZZ/USA The eclipse is coming! As the moon moves in front of the sun on August 21st, a “path of totality” will develop in portions of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina. This rare event has created intense demand for airport services in these areas, and operators should expect delays to ground support, parking and possibly even approach sequencing to busier airports. NBAA has published some useful guidance for business operators in the US.

DFFD/Ouagadougou is reporting some capacity issues, and would prefer not to be filed as an alternate until August 19th.

EDDK/Cologne is PPR for non-scheduled traffic, apply 72 hours prior to flight: +49 2203 40 4310, flightinfo@cgn.de.

VTBD/Bangkok On August 7th, authorities stated that they were conducting an investigation into Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport (VTBD/DMK) following reports that approximately 5,000 passengers were forced to stand in lines for four to five hours at the facility’s immigration checkpoints. The 4 August incident occurred when several delayed flights resulted in increased passenger traffic at the facility. Heightened security measures in place at the airport — resulting in extended immigration screening — exacerbated the security processing delay. Several passengers required medical attention due to poor ventilation in the immigration checkpoint area and lack of available food or water. An airport official stated that the facility would open more immigration counters in response to the incident, which will allow authorities to process at least 1,800 visitors per hour.

YZZZ/Australia Further details have emerged about the foiled attack targeting commercial aviation in Australia, which authorities first revealed on July 30. An Australian Federal Police (AFP) official stated that two Lebanese-Australian nationals plotted to place an improvised explosive device (IED) on an Etihad Airways flight departing Sydney Airport (YSSY/SYD) on 15 July. One of the suspects brought the luggage containing the IED to the airport but then left before reaching the check-in counter. Officials have not yet established why he abandoned the attempt. The man intended to give the luggage to his brother, who boarded the aircraft. Officials stated, however, that the passenger was likely unaware of the contents of the luggage, and therefore have not charged or arrested him. The components used to manufacture the IED, which officials described as a “high-end military-grade explosive,” originated in Turkey and were transported to Australia via air cargo. This development prompted officials to enhance security measures employed to screen cargo aircraft.

LPZZ/Portugal Planned strike action by Portuguese immigration officers on 24 and 25 August 2017 may cause delays entering/exiting.

OTZZ/Qatar It had been reported that Bahrain and UAE authorities had lifted the ban on Qatar registered aircraft using their airspace, but this has been denied by both authorities and the ban still exists. Qatar aircraft have been using airspace above international waters which is managed by GCAA UAE but not airspace above their territory.

KTEB/Teterboro has a new RNAV SID – The Ruudy 6 – effective from August 17th, in response to ATC concerns over pilot deviations – 112 reports filed – on the previous version of the SID.

HSZZ/South Sudan The FAA has extended the warning on South Sudanese airspace for another year. Review the full page at http://safeairspace.net/information/south-sudan/

KZZZ/USA The FAA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) – operators with aircraft equipped with ADS-B out systems and meeting specific altitude equipment requirements may no longer need to go through the lengthy and challenging RVSM approval process. Comments due by 06SEP. ADS-B will be mandatory in most US Airspace by Jan 2020.

WIHH/Jakarta Halim The Indonesian government has announced it has decided to transfer all Jakarta outbound Hajj flights from Jakarta Halim to Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta Airport effective immediately. A statement issued by the Ministry of Transportation said it had taken the decision after a departing B777 ripped a hole measuring 3x2x0.25m in Halim’s runway on Friday last week. The aircraft was the first of three such flights scheduled to depart from Jakarta Halim during the first day of charters. Repairs to the affected strip took three hours to complete resulting in light delays to other departing flights.

RKSI/Seoul is introducing High Intensity Runway Ops (HIRO) at Incheon, new procedures, review the related AIC here.

VHHH/Hong Kong is now doing the CDM thing (Collaborative Decision Making), so have a read of AIC 12/17 for the details if you’re operating in there and want to know what TOBT and TSAT mean.

• July 2017: First launches of ICBM’s from North Korea
• Western portion of Japanese airspace is a new risk area
• New OPSGROUP guidance to Members, Note 30: Japanese Missile risk

The North Korean game has changed. Even if aircraft operators stopped flying through the Pyongyang FIR last year, nobody really thought there was much of a tangible risk. The chances of a missile actually hitting an aircraft seemed slim, and any discussion on the subject didn’t last long.

Things look different now. In July, the DPRK tested two Hwasong-14 Intercontinental missiles (the July 4th one is above), the first ICBM’s successfully launched from North Korea. ICBM’s are larger, and fly further, than the other missiles we’ve previously seen. Both of these landed in the Sea of Japan, well inside the Fukuoka Flight Information Region (Japanese airspace), and significantly, at least one did not re-enter the atmosphere intact – meaning that a debris field of missile fragments passed through the airspace, not just one complete missile.

We drew a map, with our best estimates of the landing positions of all launches in the last year that ended in Japanese airspace. The results are quite clear:

View large image

Zooming in even further, we can see each of the estimated landing sites. It is important to note that the landing positions vary in the degree of accuracy with which it is possible to estimate them. The highest accuracy is for the 28JUL17 landing of the Hwasong-14 ICBM, thanks to tracking by the Japanese Defence Force and US STRATCOM, as well as visual confirmation from land in Japan. The remaining positions are less precise, but in an overall view, the area affected is quite well defined – south of AVGOK and north of KADBO. In 2017, there have been 6 distinct missile landings in this area. The primary airways affected are B451 and R211, as shown on the chart.

View large image

So, in a very specific portion of Japanese airspace, there have been regular splashdowns of North Korean missiles. As highlighted by the Air France 293 coverage, this area is crossed by several airways in regular use, predominantly by Japan-Europe flights using the Russia route.

Determining Risk

The critical question for any aircraft operator is whether there is a clear risk from these missiles returning to earth through the airspace in which we operate. Take these considerations into account:

– The regularity and range of the launches are increasing. In 2015, there were 15 launches in total, of short-range ballistic and sub-launched missiles. In 2016, there were 24 launches, almost all being medium-range. In 2017, there have been 18 so far, with the first long-range missiles.

– In 2016, international aviation solved the problem by avoiding the Pyongyang FIR. This is no longer sufficient. The landing sites of these missiles have moved east, and there is a higher likelihood of a splashdown through Japanese airspace than into North Korea.

– Almost all launches are now in an easterly direction from North Korea. The launch sites are various, but the trajectory is programmed with a landing in the Sea of Japan. From North Korea’s perspective, this provides a sufficiently large area to avoid a missile coming down on land in foreign territory.

– The most recent ICBM failed on re-entry, breaking up into many fragmented pieces, creating a debris field. At about 1515Z on the 28th July, there was a large area around the R211 airway that would have presented a real risk to any aircraft there. Thankfully, there were none – although the  Air France B777 had passed through some minutes before.

– Until 2014, North Korea followed a predictable practice of notifying all missile launches to the international community. ICAO and state agencies had time to produce warnings and maps of the projected splashdown area. Now, none of the launches are notified.

– Not all launches are detected by surrounding countries or US STRATCOM. The missile flies for about 35 minutes before re-entry. Even with an immediate detection, it’s unlikely that the information would reach the Japanese radar controller in time to provide any alert to enroute traffic. Further, even with the knowledge of a launch, traffic already in the area has no avoiding option, given the large area that the missile may fall in.

Can a falling missile hit an aircraft?

What are the chances? Following the AFR293 report on July 28, the media has favoured the “billions to one” answer.

We don’t think it’s quite as low.

First of all, that “one” is actually “six” – the number of North Korean missiles landing in the AVGOK/KADBO area in 2017. Considering that at least one of them, and maybe more, broke up on re-entry, that six becomes a much higher number.

Any fragment of reasonable size hitting a tailplane, wing, or engine as the aircraft is in cruise at 450 knots creates a significant risk of loss of control of the aircraft. How many fragments were there across the six launches? Maybe as high as a hundred pieces, maybe even more.

The chances of a missile, or part of it, striking the aircraft are not as low as it may initially appear. Given that all these re-entries are occurring in quite a focused area, prudence dictates considering avoiding the airspace.

What did we learn from MH17?

Whenever we discuss missiles and overflying civil aircraft in the same paragraph,  the valuable lessons from MH17 must be remembered. In the weeks and months leading up to the shooting down of the 777 over Ukraine, there were multiple clues to the threat before the event happened.

Of greatest relevance was that State Authorities did not make clear the risk, and that even though five or six airlines decided to avoid Ukrainian airspace, most other operators did not become aware of the real risk level until after the event.

Our mission at Flight Service Bureau is to make sure all aircraft operators, crews, and dispatchers have the data they need to make a fully informed decision on whether to continue flying western Japan routes, or to avoid them.

Guidance for Aircraft Operators

– Download OPSGROUP Note to Members #30: Japan Missile risk (public version here)

– Review the map above to see the risk area as determined by the landing sites in 2017.

– Consider rerouting to remain over the Japanese landmass or east of it. It is unlikely that North Korea would risk or target a landing of any test launch onto actual Japanese land.

– Check routings carefully for arrivals/departures to Europe from Japan, especially if planning airways R211 or B451. Consider the previous missile landing sites in your planning.

– Monitor nti.org for the most recent launches, as well safeairspace.net.

– OPSGROUP members will be updated with any significant additions or updates to this Note through member mail and/or weekly newsletter.

References

– Nuclear Threat Initiative – nti.org

– Opsgroup Note to members #30 – Public version

– OPSGROUP – Membership available here.

– Weekly International Ops Bulletin published by OPSGROUP covering critical changes to Airports, Airspace, ATC, Weather, Safety, Threats, Procedures, Visas. Subscribe to the short free version here, or join thousands of Pilot/Dispatcher/ATC/CAA/Flight Ops colleagues in OPSGROUP for the full weekly bulletin, airspace warnings, Ops guides, tools, maps, group discussion, Ask-us-Anything, and a ton more.

– Larger area map of Japan airspace risk 2017

– Contact news@ops.group with any comments or questions.

Effective August 1st, the new charge for overflying the Kabul FIR is a flat fee of $700 USD.

Previously, the charge was $400 USD. The Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) has determined the increase was necessary to support the additional infrastructure costs now that it manages its own ATC.

The fee applies to all civil flight operations using the FIR to transit enroute, regardless of aircraft size or distance flown.

For NAT Ops on Sunday August 27th, note that BSGF/Sondrestrom will be closed to all traffic, as they are upgrading infrastructure. Sundays in Greenland see most airports closed in any case, but the option of paying $1000 or so to have them open for you is normally there. On this date,  BGSF won’t be, which may affect your diversion options.

They do say that if there’s an emergency, call them on +299 52 42 27 to determine availability.

RJZZ/Japan The frequency of North Korean missile launches that end with a splashdown in the Fukuoka FIR is of concern. Last weekend, one such missile came close to civil traffic, and this is not the first such event. We are preparing a summary for operators, and would request wider reader input on this. Has your operation/airline/authority made any changes recently to operations in the western portion of the Fukuoka FIR in Japan? Talk to us at bulletin@fsbureau.org.

BGSF/Sondrestrom For NAT Ops on Sunday August 27th, note that BSGF/Sondrestrom will be closed to all traffic, as they are upgrading infrastructure. Sundays in Greenland see most airports closed in any case, but the option of paying $1000 or so to have them open for you is normally there. On this date,  BGSF won’t be, which may affect your diversion options. They do say that if there’s an emergency, call them on +299 52 42 27 to determine availability.

RJZZ/Japan As of 1800 local time (0900 UTC) on August 3, Typhoon Noru was located approximately 350nm east-northeast of Kadena Air Force Base, Japan, and was moving in a northwesterly direction at a speed of approximately 8 knots. At that point, Noru was posting maximum sustained winds of 80 knots with gusts up to 105 knots. Noru is expected to make landfall after 48 hours in southern Japan. Southern parts of South Korea, including the port city of Busan, will also likely experience torrential rainfall, which could trigger flooding and landslides.

LFLL/Lyon has some fuel supply issues ongoing, advising tankering where possible.

FAZZ/South Africa The U.S. Mission to South Africa advises travellers to exercise caution when arranging ground transportation from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to hotels, guest houses, and residences. Numerous U.S. citizens and other travellers have been robbed at gun point while traveling from the Airport to their place of lodging in what are known as ‘follow home’ robberies. In some instances, U.S. citizens have been injured or shot at during these robberies.

RPLL/Manila Increasing levels of reports of laser lights within 10nm of the airport. [more in Aireport]

ZYHB/Taiping No overnight parking for Business or General Aviation due to parking until 30SEP. [more in Aireport]

SPIM/Lima Volcano eruptions from Mount Sabancaya continue to create airspace warnings up to FL250.

FOOL/Libreville Will be closed overnight 2300-0900Z until August 12th. [more in Aireport]

LIZZ/Italy Baggage handlers at Milan’s Malpensa Airport (LIMC/MXP) and Linate Airport (LIML/LIN) staged a last-minute strike on August 1. The handlers apparently warned the airport operator the day prior, although airport officials claim they did not know ahead of time. The strike caused significant delays for passengers.

UMMS/Minsk, Belarus Will be closed for runway maintenance at various times overnight until the end of August.

LGGG/Athens FIR Strike action planned for Air Traffic Safety Personnel (ATSEP) until 05Aug. Emergency frequencies will remain uninterrupted, although the authorities advise caution as “problems to systems may arise affecting communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) services” during this period. Probably not too much effect.

LTBA/Istanbul Ataturk The airport is balancing “Supply and Demand.”  Here’s the rundown:
– New seasonal charter and cargo flights to land will not be accepted.
– Technical landings and diversions will not be accepted (unless you’re stationed there).
– Business flights are allowed, as long as the hourly flight limits haven’t been exceeded.
– Flights for MX are allowed to LTBA, but you’ll need to get your slot well in advance.
– Make sure you have a valid slot, they’ll reject your plan if not.
– If you have a permit prior to 24JUL, you’ll be accepted. [more in Aireport]

EETN/Tallinn PPR required for all parking needs over 3 hours. Get in contact at ad.apron.control@tll.aero until the end of August. [more in Aireport]

KZZZ/United States The TSA has announced that travelers will be required to separate more electronic devices from their carry-on baggage when passing through security screening points at U.S. airports. Currently, travelers are only required to take out laptop computers from their carry-on luggage for separate screening; under the new regulations, all devices larger than a mobile phone — including tablets and e-readers — will need to be placed in their own bins to be screened separately. The regulations are already in effect as part of a pilot program at 10 U.S. airports and are expected to be rolled out to facilities across the country in the coming months. The enhanced measures will not affect travelers who are enrolled in pre-check security programs.

FOZZ/Gabon New phone numbers for ANAC- +241 1 44 56 54, and +241 1 44 56 58.

ZKZZ/North Korea On August 2, the U.S. Department of State issued a Travel Alert for North Korea, which reads in part as follows: “The Secretary of State published a Notice on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 that will restrict the use of U.S. passports to travel into, in, or through North Korea/the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), effective Friday, September 1, 2017. The Secretary has authorized the restriction due to the serious and mounting risk of arrest and long-term detention of U.S. citizens under North Korea’s system of law enforcement. Persons who wish to travel to North Korea on a U.S. passport must obtain a special passport validation under 22 C.F.R. 51.64, and such validations will be granted only under very limited circumstances. The Department of State will publish information on how to apply for a passport with a special validation on travel.state.gov when OMB approval is effective. Persons currently in North Korea on a U.S. passport should depart North Korea before the travel restriction enters into effect on Friday, September 1, 2017”

EISN/Shannon FIR The introduction of direct routings in the lower FIR was planned for 14SEP but has been delayed to 12OCT (maybe longer).

YZZZ/Australia Security procedures at Australian airports have been tightened, with pictures of huge lineups in the media. This follows a foiled attack plot last week. Sydney is the largest delay location.

All operators, in particular those with an N-reg on the tail, should be aware of the rapidly deepening crisis in Venezuela. The more tabloid news sources will say that “Venezuela is on the brink of civil war”; while that’s not quite the case (yet), it does give you a good indication of the level of concern. In OPSGROUP Note to Members #29 we will summarise the current situation.

 Sanctions  On July 31, the US government imposed sanctions on Venezuela, specifically on President Maduro. This creates an uncertain situation for US registered aircraft operating in Venezuelan airspace. Retaliatory sanctions, even as far as grounding a US aircraft, are not out of the question.

Embassy withdrawals On August 1st, the UK Foreign Office followed the US in withdrawing family of personnel from their respective embassies. This is a common precursor to a deeper security risk, and in the last 5 years we’ve seen this pattern in Libya, Syria, and Yemen.

 Flight Ops  See below on overflight. There have been interruptions to Notam and Metar service throughout 2017. At one point it appeared that SV** had lost its connection to the international AFTN system.

 Aireport  The most recent OpsGroup member reports are not encouraging. The top report on SVMI is titled “Hazardous in Caracas“. “The operating conditions in Caracas have deteriorated to a new level. New ATC controllers that have been installed in the last few months do not speak English very well, if at all, and in some cases and they are issuing clearances not appropriate for IFR or terrain clearance. Tremendous caution should be exercised especially when moving internally within Venezuela. SVMI authorities are now demanding to see the complete insurance policy for the aircraft, not just proof of insurance. We had Spanish speaking personnel with us and when we questioned a local SVMI controller about not using English, his response was that we should all be speaking Spanish! “. More in Aireport. If you’ve been through recently, add your report.

Threats SVMI/Caracas Simón Bolívar airport is located in an extremely high-risk area for armed robbery and kidnappings. The US describes the greatest current risks as social unrest, violent crime, and pervasive food and medicine shortages.

Travel advice Western countries are all now recommending against “all but essential travel”. A large majority of airline carriers have now stopped operating to Venezuela, for a mix of reasons – primarily the fact that onward payment of ticket monies have been stopped by the Venezuelan government. There are frequent violent protests.

Overflight Operations through Venezuelan airspace do not require an overflight permit, and so there have been no incidences recorded of US aircraft being denied a permit. However, on several occasions in the last month, Venezuela has for short periods arbitrarily closed its airspace to overflying aircraft. A common problem with Venezuelan overflight is the denial of airspace entry due to unpaid navigation fees, which is why checking this in advance is recommended. This may be a tool used to deny US aircraft entry in the future. Plan operations through the SVZM/Maiquetia FIR with caution. To be clear, we do not assess any risk to enroute aircraft, but be mindful of the fact that if you do enter SVZM airspace, you may end up diverting to an SV** airport. Right now, that’s not ideal. 

Avoiding Venezuela If you elect to avoid SVZM airspace, to the west will be via Colombia – permit required for all overflights, and to the east will be via the SYGC/Georgetown FIR (Guyana) – permit not required, or via the Paramaribio FIR (Suriname) – permit required. Finally to the east, if you use the SOOO/Rochambeau FIR (French Guyana) – permit required unless operating a GA aircraft under 12.5k lbs. 

If you need a tech stop and previously used/considered SVMI, then look at alternatives like TNCC, TTPP, SBEG, SMJP. Use the OpsGroup planning map to figure your best alternate options. 

Published August 2nd, 2017 :

• The full Note to Members is available to OPSGROUP Members as Note to Members #29 in your OPSGROUP dashboard.
• We recommend you review this in full before operations in the northern half of South America.

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

747 Cockpit pics: unannounced missile launch

28JUL ZKZZ/North Korea Another ballistic missile was fired by North Korea today, landing in Japanese waters. Earlier this week, a B747 crew enroute to Baku captured a series of images of an unannounced missile launch close to their aircraft, over China. Read the article.

26R at Bucharest is SHORT! 2 aircraft have now over-run

28JUL LROP/Bucharest Runway 26R is shortened by about 1250m/4000 feet, and on Tuesday a Ryanair 737 became the second aircraft to run off the end in a couple of weeks: on June 22, a Turkish A321 did the same thing. Word on the street is that there isn’t much in the Notams to remind you of this. Read the article.

SVZZ/Venezuela The U.S. Department of State has updated its travel warning for Venezuela, warning against travel due to social unrest, violent crime, and pervasive food and medicine shortages. On July 27, the Department ordered the departure of family members and authorized the voluntary departure of U.S. government employees from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. For flight ops to Venezuela, it’s highly recommended to avoid tech stops or unnecessary visits to any SV** locations.

RCZZ/Taiwan The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has granted visa-exempt status to nationals of 11 Latin American countries. Effective immediately, nationals of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Paraguay are granted visa-exempt stays of up to 90 days while nationals of Belize, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Christopher and Nevis, and Saint Lucia are granted visa-exempt stays of up to 30 days.

EGCC/Manchester Night ops into Manchester? Carry extra holding fuel due WIP until August 17. [more in Aireport]

FEFF/Bangui has had a few interruptions to ATC service due to power cuts – not the only issue in Bangui, but another reason to think twice about travel to the Central African Republic.

OEZZ/Saudi Arabia On 27 July, Saudi air defences shot down a Houthi ballistic missile in the sky over Taif. Reports indicate that the Yemeni-based Houthi rebels fired the missile from northern Yemen; however, the precise target is unclear. The interception did not result in any casualties or damage on the ground.

VTBB/Bangkok Extra holding fuel into Bangkok is recommended for the monsoon season until end of October.

HCSM/Mogadishu FIR HF is unreliable. Here are the alternate contact details, if you do insist on flying through their FIR (and we think you shouldn’t): SATCOM INMARSAT 466601. ATC/FIC Telephone: +254202365679, +254207622774, +254207626028 or +254202445632.

UUZZ/Russia Volcanic activity advisory ongoing for the Sheveluch volcano (56 38 N 161 19E) on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia.

OPKC/Karachi The United States Consulate General in Karachi has resumed the movement of U.S. government personnel traveling to and from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi (KHI). Local security forces have increased security measures at the airport and in the city of Karachi. Movement of U.S. government personnel within Pakistan remains severely restricted due to the overall security environment. The consulate general canceled all travel of U.S. government personnel to and from the airport on 25 July, citing an elevated threat of violence “at or near this location.” The consulate general did not release further details on the nature of the threat.

EDDK/Cologne Don’t use this as an alternate overnight – at their request – that is, from 2000Z-0400Z. [more in Aireport]

LFMP/Perpignan Air show on, check for arrival slot and parking availability if you’re planning to use it between 28-30 July.

LDZZ/Croatia Several hundred taxi drivers are staging protests throughout Croatia on 28 July against the ride-sharing service Uber. Reports indicate that the protests have disrupted traffic in Dubrovnik, as well as around the airports in Split and Zagreb. Thus far there have been no reports of associated violence.

LHDC/Debrecen Limited hours of service, 48 hrs prior notice required if intending to use outside normal hours of service until end of July.

MMMX/Mexico City They’re planning on building a new airport near Mexico City. The outlines of the runway have already been painted onto the surface of a dry lake in the exact position it will be built, including full markings. These are all clearly visible when departing from the existing Mexico City Airport (MMMX) RWY 05 and approaching on RWY 23. These painted lake bed surfaces are not intended for use as a runway!

LGAV/Athens Prior permission required – contact ASOC@AIA.GR 24 hours before arrival. [more in Aireport]

CYYZ/Toronto Pearson Ground crew workers launched a strike on 27 July over a labor dispute with their employer, Swissport. Reports indicate that approximately 700 workers — including baggage handlers, cargo handlers and cabin cleaners – are participating in the strike. Swissport serves 30 airlines at Pearson.

KZZZ/USA Qualifying citizens of India are now eligible to apply for Global Entry membership. Applicants who meet program requirements and pass a background check can benefit from expedited entry to the United States at designated airports.

UBBB/Baku If you’re headed down Baku way – be aware that they are pretty much out of fuel. Check latest.

EYVI/Vilnius is closed from 14 July – 17 August due to the reconstruction of the runway. The most suitable alternate is EYKA/Kaunas, but also consider EYSA, EYPA, EVLA, EVRA.

MMPR/Puerto Vallarta has overnight closures at present, check Notams.

CYFB/Frobisher Bay has multiple closures and restrictions on going, check before using this as your NAT enroute alternate or tech stop.

FAOR/Johannesburg Another robbery occured on July 8 in a process that is becoming common here: Armed robbers followed a couple from the terminal and forced the victims to stop their vehicle in Centurion, on the corner of Rietvlei Dam Street and Delmas Road, and proceeded to steal belongings. The victims were not injured.

ENGM/Oslo From July 17-August 2, if you’re bringing your 777, 787, 330, or other Code E or larger aircraft to Oslo, plan on not getting fuel there, due to work on fuel pits and pipes – carry onwards fuel.

North Korea has been the country of greatest concern when it comes to unannounced missile launches. Back in the day, they would advise ICAO of their plans, and a couple of fairly specific Notams could be issued to keep crews and airplanes away from the hot spots.

They stopped doing that for every launch a few years back – and now, there’s pretty much zero warning. On safeairspace.net, North Korea is still listed as Level 1 – Do Not Fly, primarily for this reason. Since most DPRK launches end in failure, the tracking of the missiles is anything but controlled. And therefore we worry.

This week, we’ve seen images from a Cargolux 747 enroute Hong Kong to Baku, whose crew encountered an unannounced test launch of a Chinese ballistic missile, with some amazing photos.

The route of flight, and location of the launch, can be seen here:

The full gallery can be seen at this blog.

A recurring theme at Bucharest, Romania: Runway 26R is shortened by about 1250m/4000 feet, and on Tuesday a Ryanair 737 became the second aircraft to run off the end in a couple of weeks: on June 22, a Turkish A321 did the same thing.

So, first, if you’re planning to land on 26R at Bucharest, be aware that it’s about 2200m/7000 feet long instead of the previous 3500m/11500 feet.

Word on the street is that there isn’t much in the Notams to remind you of this: there’s a (yawn) Trigger Notam pointing to an AIP Supplement that nobody will have on board:

A1240/17 NOTAMN
A) LROP B) 1706220000 C) 1707060000
E) TRIGGER NOTAM – AIRAC AIP SUP 03/17 WEF 22 JUN 2017
WORK IN PROGRESS AT BUCURESTI/HENRI COANDA AIRPORT.

Maybe a simple Notam that said …

A1240/17 NOTAMN
A) LROP B) 1706220000 C) 1707060000
E) Runway 26R is much shorter now! LDA 2237M

… would be better? Of course, since we haven’t evolved to using ASCII yet in the Notam system, we can’t use exclamation marks or correct case, but you get the idea.

Either way, heads up when heading to LROP.

There has been a flurry of activity in Libya of late. The people with their hands on the AFTN printer for Libya have been putting out all kinds of information, advertising availability of aerodromes and the Tripoli FIR. All are welcome!

Don’t be too hasty.

Libya is still a desperately unstable country. A Notam published today (A0070/17) indicates that HLLM/Mitiga is open and available “H24 for International Flights and Diversions”.

We’d love you to come visit, they say. What the Notam doesn’t mention is that two weeks ago, 5 people were killed and 32 injured during fighting at the airport.

As a matter of update on the Libyan ATM situation, we can inform operators that there are regular outages in the provision of ATC services especially at the main airports due to security or technical failure issues.

The main ACC in Tripoli is also subject to severe limitations with no radar service and limited provision of CNS/ATM services in most of the HLLL FIR airspace.

Overflight through HLLL FIR is only approved by the Libyan authorities on one southbound route from RASNO-LOSUL but even this is subject to severe limitations and a degree of confusion as to who is actually authorizing flights to transit the airspace.

There are several NOTAMs issued by adjacent States prohibiting overflights on certain entry/exit points creating further complications.

Here’s a simple guide for you from FSB:

1. Don’t overfly Libya or enter the Tripoli FIR, and don’t land in Libyan airports.
2. Refer to 1.

Libya remains categorised as a Level One country (Do Not Fly) at safeairspace.net

Update Jan 21: Heavy clashes broke out in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Jan 15, leaving at least twenty people dead and forcing the airport to close for five days, re-opening again on Jan 20. Gunfire at Mitiga Airport damaged multiple aircraft, including a few A319s and at least one A330.

July 5, 2017 – HLLM/Tripoli Mitiga : Intense fighting at the Airport yesterday, with 5 people killed and 32 injured. The fighting is ongoing between rival members of the Buni Brigade militia, which controls the airport terminal building. It is understood that there had been a falling out over the distribution of the income the militia earns from goods and passengers passing through the terminal.

Operations were switched to Mitiga from HLLT/Tripoli International in 2014, after that airport was severely damaged in the heavy clashes that broke out across the capital in mid-2014 and closed to all operations.

Also yesterday, July 4th, the first flight in three years to land at HLLT/Tripoli International arrived from Addis Ababa, which was a non-scheduled flight operated by Libyan Arab Airlines. There is no indication yet that HLLT is open again for regular traffic.

Libya remains categorised as a Level One country (Do Not Fly) at safeairspace.net

KZZZ/USA The US has opted for ‘Enhanced Security’ instead of a wider laptop ban. In fact, the existing ban is likely to end once airports can comply with the new rules. The information in the official DHS release is somewhere between vague and zero, which kind of makes sense.

So, the story is pretty simple – there is no wider laptop ban, but no specifics have yet been released publicly as to what exactly ‘Enhanced Security’ means for Aircraft Operators. The DHS will work directly with larger AO’s directly affected.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

References

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

Following OpsGroup Note 28 on Monday (“Qatar sanctions“), there are some important new additions to the sanctions that all operators should be aware of:

Effective today, Bahrain now requires Special Authorisation for all traffic inbound to and out of Qatar. This one is critical because Bahrain controls almost all of the airspace around and over Qatar.

That requirement was just published today, Wednesday in Notam A0210/17. The preamble states that no Qatari registered aircraft can fly through Bahraini airspace. This one seems like it would be a big issue for Qatar Airways, but for all other international operators, the next part is equally important:

“Operators not registered in Kingdom of Bahrain intending to use Bahrain Airspace from or to the state of Qatar require approval from Bahrain CAA”

That means everyone now needs permission to get into Doha, because you can’t get into the Doha TMA without going through Bahrain Airspace, unless you are planning to route through Saudi Arabia (which already has that requirement). Check the map again below.

OBBB/BAHRAIN A0210/17 07JUN 1140Z

ALL FLT REGISTERED IN THE STATE OF QATAR ARE NOT AUTHORISED TO OVERFLY BAHRAIN 
AIRSPACE. OPERATORS NOT REGISTERED IN KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN INTENDING TO USE 
BAHRAIN AIRSPACE FROM OR TO THE STATE OF QATAR REQUIRE PRIOR APPROVAL FROM BAHRAIN 
CAA ON THE FLW CONTACT: TEL:00973 17329035 / 00973 17329069
EMAIL: AT-SCHEDULE(AT)MTT.GOV.BH. 07 JUN 11:35 2017 UNTIL PERM. 

Jordan has joined the team

Governments of Jordan, Libya, Maldives and Mauritania have joined the other countries in severing their diplomatic ties with Qatar. The closure of borders with neighboring countries and the withdrawal of the diplomatic staff from various embassies in the region have resulted in restrictions on travel to and from Qatar.

Qatari Nationals

Qatar has urged its nationals to comply with the decision of the countries involved and leave the territories of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) within 14 days of June 5, 2017. Qatari nationals should contact the respective consular posts abroad for assistance with travel arrangements and travel back to the country via Kuwait or Oman.

Bahraini, Saudi and UAE Nationals

Bahraini, Saudi and the UAE authorities have announced bans for their nationals from travelling, transiting or residing in Qatar. Those currently in Qatar are requested to leave as soon as possible.

Other Foreign Nationals Residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Holders of Residency Visas from Qatar will face difficulties in obtaining Visit Visas to countries which have closed their diplomatic representations in Doha, Qatar, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Foreign nationals residing in Qatar applying for visas to Egypt or Saudi Arabia may have to travel back to their home country to do so.

It is likely that foreign nationals residing in Qatar will face restrictions in obtaining a GCC Resident Visitor Visa to enter Bahrain or the UAE. Foreign nationals who are not eligible for a visa-on-arrival based on their nationality should prearrange their visas in advance and seek out other categories of sponsorship including airlines, hotels or tourist agencies.

It is unclear whether there will be any impact on foreign national residents of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE seeking entry to Qatar based on the GCC Resident Visitor Visa.

Courier Services

Courier services and document deliveries between Qatar and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are severely delayed. The majority of carriers are rerouting their shipments, while others, including FedEx, have suspended their services between the affected countries.

Media

The Qatari-based broadcaster Al Jazeera has been banned in a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Qatari beIN Sports channel has been suspended in the UAE.

The UAE’s General Prosecutor warned against showing any sympathy for Qatar on social media which is considered a cybercrime, punishable by law.

OPSGROUP Note to Members 28 is published on Qatar Sanctions.

As of today, Monday June 5th, there are several new sanctions affecting operations in the Middle East if any part of your flight involves Qatar. Primarily this will affect ops to/from OTHH (the primary Doha airport) and OTBD.

Because of sanctions applied by other Middle Eastern countries, you will find restrictions applied for these operations. If you are a Qatari-registered aircraft, then most of these countries are completely off limits, otherwise the specifics are as follows:

• Egypt: You now need permission to overfly Egypt if operating to Qatar. +202 22678535, 24175605, or AFTN HECAYAYX
• Bahrain: You cannot operate from an airport in Bahrain to an airport in Qatar, and vv. 
• Saudi Arabia: Special permission required to overfly/depart Saudi to Qatar. Call +966115253336, email special@gaca.gov.sa 
• UAE (Emirates FIR): Ops to Qatar require special approval on +971 50 642 4911 or via email at AVSEC-DI@GCAA.GOV.AE

ATC Routings

OTHH is a busy airport. Traffic to and from Qatar, much of which is now banned from neighbouring countries, will reroute primarily into Iran.

Iran has published a Traffic Orientation Scheme.

– Qatar outbound Northbound via Tehran FIR-Ankara FIR. FL150-FL190 routing RAGAS-UT430-LAGSA -UL223-TESVA/ALRAM.
– Qatar outbound Southbound via Muscat and Karachi FIRs, FL150-FL190 via RAGAS-M561-ASVIB (KARACHI FIR), and RAGAS-M561-KHM-NEW FIR (MUSCAT FIR)-BUBAS
– Inbound to Qatar from North: FL240-FL300 via ALRAM-UT36-MIDSI
– Inbound to Qatar from South: FL240-FL260 via N312/A453-MIDSI.

Qatar and Bahrain

Qatar does not have its own FIR. It sits entirely within the Bahrain FIR. For this reason, Bahrain’s position on airspace availability to traffic to and from Qatar is critical. The Doha TMA extends from SFC to FL245. Above that sits the Bahrain UIR.

Visa situation – impact

The following is a summary of the impact of the entry, residency and transit ban:

• Qatari nationals in the region:  Qatari nationals will be denied entry, residency and transit through the territories of the Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
• Qatari nationals in UAE:  Qatari diplomatic staff will have 48 hours to leave, and regular Qatari nationals must exit the country in the next 14 days.
• [blur]Bahraini, Egyptian, Saudi, UAE, and Yemeni nationals: UAE and Bahraini authorities have announced bans for their nationals from travelling, transiting or residing in Qatar. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have not yet applied similar restrictions on their nationals. [/blur]

…. full note available in your  OPSGROUP Dashboard.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UT430 OUTBOUND VIA RAGAS
UR659 INBOUND VIA MIDSI
—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The challenges of operating to Greece during the summer look to be far worse than normal this year.

Fraport are not off to a good start with non-scheduled flights and business aviation. On April 11th this year, they took over control of 14 international airports from the state: Aktion, Chania, Corfu, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kos, Lesvos, Mykonos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos, Thessaloniki and Zakynthos.

Initial reports on the Fraport change from OPSGROUP members are not positive:

• “During the last few weeks, it has become clear that operations to these airports (including all popular Islands – Kos, Rhodes, Mykonos etc) is a nightmare. Very few slots are made available to non-scheduled ops, overnight parking is scarce, even quick turn arounds are extremely difficult in some cases. As a pilot flying in this area in the last 20 years, I have never seen such difficulty in operating.”
• “Previously, LGMK/Mykonos was usually the only airport in the last 3 years to have parking problems. The parking Notams were limiting stays to 2-3 hours from June till September. Now, the max parking time there is 1 hour, PPR was introduced last year but we managed to have them “flexible” with the right handler. Now, with Fraport, no flexibility is allowed.”
• “When we tried to fly to LGKO/Kos this weekend, we are forced to leave the ramp on Saturday at 8am local. Rhodes denied parking for 3 nights, which has never happened before…”

Last year, the capacity challenge at Greek Islands was most acute on weekends, with healthy slot delays if operating to LGIR/Iraklion, LGKP/Karpathos, LGMK/Mikonos, LGZA/Zakinthos, LGSR/Santorini, LGSK/Skiathos, or LGSA/Chania. Coupled with the Fraport changes, be prepared for difficulty in operating to Greece this summer.

The only answer is to plan as far ahead in advance as possible. We’d love to hear your reports from Greece – in Aireport if you are an OpsGroup member, or comment below if you’re not.

Of late, the level of interest in OpsGroup for European Ramp Checks has been very high.  There has been a lot to think about. First, we discovered in March that French inspectors had started recording a finding for operators that were using the Manufacturer MEL instead of a customized one, and it turned out that across EASA-land inspectors were raising the same issue. There is an update on that below.

One of our members posted a great list of the most popular findings/issues raised by EASA Inspectors in the last 12 months, together with the skinny on “how to fix these, so you don’t get a finding”.

So, first let’s look at the Top 3 Categories, with the subset questions, and then an update on the D095 MMEL/MEL issue.

Popular European Ramp Check Items

Visiting and locally based aircraft may be subjected to ramp inspections as part of a States’ Safety Programme. The EU Ramp Inspection Programme (EU RIP) is one such inspection regime which currently has 48 participating states. The EU Ramp Inspectors review findings and use this intelligence as a basis for prioritising areas to inspect during a ramp check.

The most frequent findings and observations raised since January 2016 follow. This information can be used to help avoid similar findings being raised during future ramp inspections on your aircraft.

Most Frequent Findings

The main 3 categories of findings, relate to: Minimum Equipment Lists, Flight Preparation and Manuals.

1. Under the category of Minimum Equipment List, the finding is.
• MEL not fully customised.

2. Under the category of Flight Preparation, the main findings are:
• PBN Codes recorded on the flight plan which the operator did not have operational approval for
• Use of alternates which were not appropriate for the aircraft type; and
•[blur]Use of alternate airports which were closed[/blur]

[blur]3. Under the category of Manuals, the main finding is.
• AFM was not at the latest revision.[/blur]

[blur]Simple Steps to Avoid Similar Findings[/blur]

[blur]1.    Review your MEL, especially amendments made to the MEL after the initial approval, and ensure it is fully customised:
•    Where the MMEL and/or TC holders source O&M procedures require the operator to develop ‘Alternate Procedures’ or ’Required Distribution’ etc. these must be specified in the operators MEL and/or O&M procedure;[/blur]

Full report in your OpsGroup Dashboard, including the standard ramp checklist PDF:

To get the full report and checklist – there are two options:

1. OPSGROUP Members, login to the Dashboard and find it under “Publications > Notes to Members”. All FSB content like this is included in your membership, or 
2. Join OPSGROUP with an individual, team, or department/airline plan, and get it free on joining (along with a whole bunch of other stuff), or

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

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

From the interim report, these facts are confirmed:

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

In an interview, the crew said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

References:

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

Bermuda will host the Americas Cup from May 29 – Jun 27.

As a result, the airport will be busier than usual, so plan ops and parking well in advance.

There are now a number of requirements for private/non-scheduled flights, applied between May 23 until June 30:

• PPR is mandatory. You must have permission from the Airport Company before operating
• The Americas Cup dates are May 29-Jun 27, but PPR is required from May23-Jun 30.
• The request must be made at least 24 hours in advance, unless you are operating a Medevac flight
• PPR Number will be issued and must be shown in Field 18 of the FPL
• Request the permission from ac35ppr@skyport.bm, or phone them on +1 441 299-2470

PPR is not required to carry TXKF as an enroute alternate (it’s a popular ETOPS airport), but bear in mind that if you do choose to divert here, recovery may take longer.

In most of the world, Ramadan is expected to begin on May 26 and end on June 24, with both dates depending on lunar sightings. Eid-al-Fitr is expected to be observed June 25, though the exact dates will vary by country. Across the countries which celebrate the holiday, there will be delays processing permits, slots, and other operational requirements involving CAA’s and Airport Authorities.

Ramadan Summary for 2017

Foreign nationals and their employers can expect immigration processing delays over the coming weeks in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and parts of Asia during the observance of the month of Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr. Many government offices worldwide reduce their hours and/or close during Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr.

Algeria: The month of Ramadan is expected to begin May 26 or 27 and end June 24 or 25, depending on lunar sightings. While public offices are not officially closed during Ramadan, most government offices will open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 3:30 p.m. Government offices will also likely be closed on Eid-al-Fitr. Processing delays can be expected.

Bangladesh: The month of Ramadan will begin on May 26. While the government offices will operate with reduced workforce during this month and until June 29, they will be closed from June 23 through 27 in observation of Eid-ul-Fitr. Processing delays of permit applications should be expected throughout the month of Ramadan.

Brunei: The month of Ramadan will begin on May 27. Government offices are expected to operate on reduced business hours throughout the month of Ramadan. These offices will be closed for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday, which is expected to take place June 26 through 28, but may change depending on lunar sighting. Processing delays are expected throughout the month of Ramadan and may continue for up to two weeks after Ramadan ends.

Indonesia: The month of Ramadan will begin on May 26, ending with Hari Raya Idul Fitri which will fall on June 25 and 26. Most government offices and consular posts are expected to reduce their business days by one to two hours throughout the month of Ramadan, and closures will likely occur several days before and after the Idul Fitri holiday due to staffing shortages. Processing delays are also expected throughout the month of Ramadan.

Malaysia: The month of Ramadan will begin on May 26. Government offices are expected to operate with reduced hours throughout the month of Ramadan. Government offices will be closed for Hari Raya Aidilfitri on June 26 and 27. Processing delays are expected throughout the month of Ramadan and may continue for up to three weeks after Ramadan ends.
Middle East/North Africa (Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates): The month of Ramadan is expected to begin on May 27 and end on June 24. Government offices across the Middle East will be working reduced hours during Ramadan, which may affect processing times for all permit applications. Foreign nationals and employers are advised to check with the relevant office for exact hours of operation. Processing delays could continue in the weeks following Ramadan due to application backlogs that accumulate during the closures.

Turkey: Government offices will be closed June 26 and 27. Processing delays can be expected on these days.

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

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

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

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