NEWSWEEK Airlines for America calls for US air traffic control reform A


irlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organ- isation for US airlines, has highlighted the need to reform the US air traffic control system. Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce Founda- tion’s 13th Annual Aviation Summit in Washington,


DC, A4A president and chief executive officer, Nicholas Calio, bemoaned the lack of progress in the US government’s imple- mentation of its NextGen air traffic control system, which is replacing the existing technology to deliver more capacity to the US air traffic system. NextGen is overseen by the US government’s Federal Aviation


Administration (FAA). The FAA sees NextGen as a process rather than a single project with an end date. It involves global position- ing satellites (GPS) and a ground based augmentation system to improve GPS’ accuracy for aviation (see picture). According to Calio, airlines have already invested hundreds of millions in technology for the NextGen system, yet are still waiting to see it put to use for airline customers. “Air traffic control reform can provide a broad-based approach to changing the governance, financing and delivery of service to travelers and suppliers,” he says. “Putting a new framework in place would be a long-overdue


first step toward creating a system that is not dependent on an annual funding cycle that furloughs our air traffic controllers and leads to consistent delays.” Calio notes that this would be a criti- cal step in correcting the programme management and execution issues which have impeded progress to date. During his keynote address, Calio also examined the costs and benefits of commercial aviation, calling for transformational change and leadership within government and the airline indus- try, pushing towards a holistic national airline policy. Such a policy would, he hoped, not only speed up the imple- mentation of NextGen, but also reform air traffic control and rationalise the rising federal tax and regulatory burdens. “Given the way Congress has moved from crisis to crisis on must-do financial legislation, a comprehensive policy push like the establishment of a holistic national airline policy needs an action-forcing event,” says Calio. “We believe the next FAA Reau- thorisation bill can be such an event.” Calio and a team of US politicians are working towards a reau- thorisation bill that will Calio describes, “be transformational”. He adds: “That’s just the kind of leadership, aspiration and video we need to be the world leader within our industry once again.”


Volga-Dnepr delivers two satellites


tonnes, were transported in Volga-Dnepr Airlines’ Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan freighter to the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.


The satellites were secured inside a special shipping container, measuring 14 metres long, three metres wide and more than four metres high.


THE Luch-5V and KazSat-3 telecommuni- cations satellites, weighing a combined 21


This container was winched into the cargo hold using the An-124’s own onboard handling system. The flight also carried support equipment for the satellites, and Volga-Dnepr later delivered the satellite container back to its manufacturer in Kras- noyarsk (Russia).


NEW AND EXPANDED ROUTES


SAUDIA CARGO is set to start operating three weekly Boeing 747-8 Freighter flights from Shanghai (China) directly to Europe and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.


SINGAPORE AIRLINES will operate daily flights to both New Delhi and Mumbai (India) from 30 May. The new services use an Airbus A380 which will take over from two daily flights that have been operated using Boeing 777.


PEGASUS AIRLINES has increased the frequency of flights from Istanbul to Tel Aviv to three times a day from 30 March. Since then, Pegasus operates flights every day of the week from Sabiha Gokcen Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport three times a day.


FINNAIR is set to operate flights to Phuket (Thailand) three times per week from November 14 and to Krabi (Thailand) twice per week from December 10. Both routes will be operated with Airbus A340 aircraft.


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ACW 14 APRIL 2014


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