UNITED KINGDOM: Rossiya Airbus Wheel Traps Worker's Foot

Rossiya Airbus A319-100, performing flight from London Gatwick to Saint Petersburg, was being pushed back for departure when the aircraft was stopped.

Emergency services staff responded to attend to a ground worker, who became trapped with his foot under one of the aircraft’s wheels.

Emergency services released the man and airlifted the ground worker with serious injuries to a hospital.

The aircraft was subsequently returned to the gate, the passengers disembarked.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Gatwick about 6 hours later.

The airport reported an incident took place in which a ground worker received injuries.

Meanwhile, LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 787-800, performing flight from Mexico to Poland, was enroute over the Atlantic Ocean when the crew needed to shut one of the engines down.

The aircraft diverted to New York JFK and landed safely on New York’s runway 04L about 2:15 hours later.

The crew advised no further assistance was needed and taxied to the apron.

A replacement Boeing 787-800 registration SP-LRB departed about 3 hours after landing of SP-LRF and reached Warsaw with a delay of about 5 hours.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in New York about 91 hours after landing.



Tourism Observer

British Airways A320 at Malaga Rejected Takeoff Due to Safety Warning

A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-GATK performing flight BA-2713 from Malaga,SP (Spain) to London Gatwick,EN (UK), lined up Malaga’s runway 31 full length and was accelerating for takeoff at 20:00L (19:00Z) when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed.

The aircraft slowed safely and vacated the runway via the first high speed turnoff about 1900 meters down the runway and returned to the apron.

The aircraft was able to depart about 80 minutes later and reached Gatwick with a delay of 2 hours.

A passenger reported the captain announced that following the rejected takeoff the tyres and brakes needed to be checked as well as the fuel being topped up. The passenger understood the captain saying that ATC had assigned them to a different runway than expected (runway 13 was obviously expected), during the takeoff run some system raised a safety issue leading to the decision to reject takeoff.

According to radar data the aircraft had arrived into Malaga as flight BA-2712 landing on runway 13 at 18:56L (17:56Z).

ZIMBABWE: CEO For Air Zimbabwe Appointed

Acting CEO Edmund Makona, who served in this position since mid 2013, has retired from Air Zimbabwe and that Mr. Ripton Muzenda, who previously worked at the airline as a pilot and instructor, has taken over as new Chief Executive.

One of the first major tasks for Ripton will be the fine tuning of the upcoming AFRAA Annual General Assembly which is taking place at Victoria Falls later this year, as after Edmund's departure the Presidency of AFRAA will also become his to hold until a new chair is elected at the AGA.

Only two months ago did Air Zimbabwe relaunch flights to Tanzania's commercial capital of Dar es Salaam and has been eying a return to London Gatwick.

Besides regional flights does the airline also serve domestic routes from Harare to Victoria Falls and Bulawayo among other destinations.

Makona, who has been acting CEO since September 2013, was one of the five candidates that underwent psychometric tests and interviews last month.

“I attended the interviews and have been advised that I was unsuccessful. I was told that I am no longer the acting CEO,” he said. Before being appointed acting CEO, Makona was head corporate quality, safety and security.

The airline has been operating without a substantive CEO since the departure of Peter Chikumba when he failed to renew his contract in 2011. Later the post was held first by Innocent Mavhunga and Edmund Makona in an acting capacity.

Muzenda once worked as a pilot at the airline and was also a chief instructor with critics saying he had no management experience to run the flag carrier, which is incurring an estimated $3 million loss monthly.

The fate of Makona could not be ascertained yesterday, with the former acting CEO saying that his bid for the top post was unsuccessful.

Other than Makona, the interviews were also attended by one Kunaka and captain Oscar Madombwe with insiders saying the trio had been shortlisted for the top post.

Muzenda assumed the reins yesterday though he was not one of the five candidates interviewed last month by the board and a human resources consultancy firm hired to help in the selection process, insiders said yesterday.

Sources said the board felt that the five candidates interviewed did not have the requisite experience and know how to give the airline new wings, a move experts said was invalid.

“This nonsense about them being not qualified is a smokescreen to get their candidate in. It’s not genuine. You will most probably find that he is least qualified as compared to those being condemned. If they were to advertise, he will obviously not qualify, so they won’t advertise,” an expert said.

Another source said politics could have influenced the appointment of the new CEO, with indications that a senior politician (name supplied) could have played a key role. Appointments to lead parastatals and State enterprises require political support on top of qualifications.

This is not the first time the airline has brewed a shocker in appointing a CEO. In 2005, Air Zim appointed chemist Tendai Mahachi as CEO. He was suspended a year later alongside divisional director for finance Tendai Mujuru after the planes were grounded due to fuel shortages. He never returned to the airline.

Once one of the best airlines in the region, the national carrier has fallen down the pecking order weighed down by gross mismanagement and political interference. Former Transport minister Herbert Ushewokunze at one time described the airline as “a museum of mismanagement”.

The flag carrier is making monthly losses as it is generating an estimated revenue of $2,65 million against operational expenses of $5,94 million, according to a report by the parliamentary portfolio committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development.

TURKEY: Pegasus Airlines of Turkey Turns Ten

Pegasus Airlines, the independent Turkish carrier which started life as a charter subsidiary controlled by Aer Lingus, will celebrate 10 years of flying scheduled flights on 1 November 2015.

Pegasus currently flies to over 100 destinations in 40 countries including six times a week between London Gatwick and Istanbul, which started earlier this year, twice daily between London Stansted and Istanbul and three times a week to Izmir.

Pegasus have also recently added international flights to Baghdad, Erbil, Kutaisi, Nice, Oslo, Eilat (Ovda Airport) and domestic flights to Kars, Kastamonu and Ordu.

Pegasus Airlines' Sales Revenue Up 14 Percent

Pegasus Airlines has released its financial results for the first nine months of 2015. During this period, Pegasus’ sales revenue increased by 14 per cent year-on-year to reach 2.7 billion TL. Pegasus also achieved an operational EBITDAR (profit before tax, interest, amortization and rent costs) of 636.6 million TL, an increase of 22 percent, and its cost per available seat kilometer decreased by 2 percent to 3.93 Euro cents.

Pegasus carried 16.84 million guests during the first nine months of 2015, translating to a year-on-year increase of 12.1 per cent, while it increased its block hours by 15.6 percent to 205,839. During the same period it operated 114,267 flights, 66,844 on domestic routes within Turkey and 47,423 on its international network, marking a year-on-year increase of 13.7 percent.

During the first nine months of 2015, Pegasus Airlines added London Gatwick, Oslo, Kutaisi, Erbil and Ovda to its international network and within Turkey, Kastamonu, Ordu-Giresun and Kars. Pegasus currently flies to 103 scheduled destinations in 40 countries, comprising 33 domestic and 70 international destinations.

British Airways Flys To Sharm El Sheikh

British Airways starts Sharm El Sheikh service.British Airways entered the Egyptian market from London Gatwick (LGW), with its first route to the North African country from the UK airport – namely to Sharm El Sheikh (SSH).

It does however fly to Cairo on a daily basis from London Heathrow. Life on the airport pair is not going to be easy, with 20 competing weekly frequencies from Monarch Airlines (eight), Thomson Airways (seven), easyJet (three) and Thomas Cook Airlines (two).

The twice-weekly (Mondays and Thursdays) service, which began on 14 September, will be flown by the oneworld carrier’s 162-seat A320s. From 24 October, weekly flights will be increased to three, with the addition of a Saturday rotation.

Colm Lacy, Head of Commercial Gatwick for BA said: “We’re really pleased to add another route to our 2015 portfolio, bringing our total short-haul network to 49 routes and 19 long-haul.”

Still to launch for the airline from Gatwick in 2015 are routes to Vienna (from 17 September) and Valencia (from 6 November).

USA: British Airways Plane Packed With Passengers Burst Into Flames On A Las Vegas Runway

A British Airways plane packed with passengers burst into flames on a Las Vegas runway just moments before it was set to take off.

The flight bound for London Gatwick was taxiing on the tarmac at McCarran Airport on Tuesday night when it suddenly caught fire after a catastrophic engine failure.

Terrified travelers on other flights captured the plumes of smoke coming from the Boeing 777 as those on board were forced to jump down inflatable slides and run away from the blaze.

Fourteen people were then taken to hospital for treatment – many suffering from suspected smoke inhalation while others were hurt when they evacuated.

The British Airways flight bound for London Gatwick was loaded with passengers on the tarmac at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas when it burst into flames – just before it was supposed to take off

There were 159 passengers and 13 crew members on board at the time.

According to preliminary information, the plane experienced a left engine fire on takeoff.

The pilot is heard calling ‘mayday’ and asking for ‘heavy fire services’ in a recorded transmission from air traffic control.

One runway was shut but flights continued to depart on remaining runways as paramedics treated those caught up in the fire.

The Boeing 777-220 has 225 seats. It is the same design of the Malaysian Airways Flight 370 which vanished last year.

A spokesman for British Airways said ‘The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority and we are looking after those who were on board the BA2276 from Las Vegas to London Gatwick following an incident on Tuesday September 8, 2015.

‘The aircraft, a 777-200 experienced a technical issue as it was preparing for take-off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

‘Our crew evacuated the aircraft safely and the fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency services at the airport.

‘157 customers were on board the flight, along with three pilots and 10 cabin crew. A small number of customers and our crew were taken to hospital.

‘All customers have been provided with hotel accommodation, and our colleagues are helping them with anything further they require.’

A spokesman from Boeing said they were looking into the incident.The Boeing 777-220 has 225 seats. It is the same design of the Malaysian Airways Flight 370 which vanished last year.

A spokesman for British Airways said ‘The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority and we are looking after those who were on board the BA2276 from Las Vegas to London Gatwick following an incident on Tuesday September 8, 2015.

‘The aircraft, a 777-200 experienced a technical issue as it was preparing for take-off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

‘Our crew evacuated the aircraft safely and the fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency services at the airport.

‘157 customers were on board the flight, along with three pilots and 10 cabin crew. A small number of customers and our crew were taken to hospital.

‘All customers have been provided with hotel accommodation, and our colleagues are helping them with anything further they require.’

A spokesman from Boeing said they were looking into the incident.The Boeing 777-220 has 225 seats. It is the same design of the Malaysian Airways Flight 370 which vanished last year.

A spokesman for British Airways said ‘The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority and we are looking after those who were on board the BA2276 from Las Vegas to London Gatwick following an incident on Tuesday September 8, 2015.

‘The aircraft, a 777-200 experienced a technical issue as it was preparing for take-off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

‘Our crew evacuated the aircraft safely and the fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency services at the airport.

‘157 customers were on board the flight, along with three pilots and 10 cabin crew. A small number of customers and our crew were taken to hospital.

‘All customers have been provided with hotel accommodation, and our colleagues are helping them with anything further they require.’

A spokesman from Boeing said they were looking into the incident.He added that the pilot then addressed passengers and told them there had been a spectacular engine failure.

BA later sent this apology letter to passengers

MEXICO: Hotel Occupancy Cancun Leads In The Caribbean

The Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced Cancun hotels recorded occupancy rates of 93 per cent in the first half of 2015; this represents a year on year increase of 2.5 per cent.

The figures are published as Mexico’s favourite holiday destination looks on course to enjoy a record year for tourist numbers.

Cancun is now one of the best performing destinations in the world for hotel occupancy levels.

According to statista.com, the independent online statistics analysis website, Cancun is outperforming the market with hotel rooms filling fast.

On average Caribbean hotels were at 67 per cent occupancy during the first half of 2015.

This compares to 61 per cent in the United States, 61 per cent in Europe and 66 per cent in the Middle East.

There were 4.8 million holiday arrivals into Cancun in 2014, which was a 7.5 per cent increase on 2013.

Of this number 202,276 were Europeans with 93,049 Brits choosing to holiday there.

Commenting on the figures Jesus Almaguer, chief executive of the Cancun CVB said: “If 2014 is any indication, we are confident that 2015 will be another record-breaking year for Cancun.”

UK visitors are taking advantage of the excellent air links to Cancun with Virgin Atlantic and British Airways operating direct flights from London Gatwick.

British Airways offer three direct flights a week while Virgin Atlantic customers can choose from two direct flights a week.

The CVB attributes the growth in tourism numbers to a plethora of hotel renovations and attraction openings, increased flight connectivity and to Cancun’s growing reputation as a first class holiday destination for service and quality.

In 2014 the CVB worked closely with its partners in the UK to highlight Cancun’s family product, vibrant nightlife and fascinating cultural sites.

It continues to promote these key messages in 2015 and strives to highlight Cancun’s burgeoning events calendar, enviable gastronomy scene and world class shopping and spa facilities.