O.R. Tambo is Africa's cargo airport of the year

O.R. Tambo International Airport walked away with the title “African Airport of the year” at an awards ceremony held as part of Air Cargo Africa 2015 in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg yesterday evening.

“We are especially proud as this is the second time in a row that our airport has been bestowed with this accolade,” said Ms Bongiwe Pityi, the General Manager of O.R. Tambo International Airport.
“Together with our excellent location, accessibility and connectivity, O.R. Tambo International also has great and reliable infrastructure. We also collaborate well with the relevant stakeholders to continue providing efficient service to our cargo customers,” he said
The African Airport of the year award comes hot on the heels of Airports Company South Africa’s signing of a cargo management cooperation agreement with Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding of Leipzig/Halle Airport. The agreement, signed at the Air Cargo Afirca event, will expand international air cargo market opportunities, elevating both airports’ status in the air transportation industry. The strategic partnership will involve the exchange of information and individual expertise along with cooperation in customer acquisition.
O.R. Tambo International Airport services over 50 airlines to approximately 100 destinations, locally, regionally and internationally. The airport is the largest cargo airport in Africa and boasting capacity of 390 000 tons per year.

Hurghada passengers benefit from SITA solutions

Hurghada International Airport is transforming the passenger experience at its new terminal with airport solutions from air transport IT specialist, SITA.

The airport is using SITA’s passenger processing platform, baggage management and airport operations systems to enhance the passenger experience with new self-service options, the latest baggage management solutions and shorter queues. 

The new solutions are also helping the airport improve operational efficiency by integrating airport systems and providing a single control point for airport operations.

Dr. Mahmoud Esmat, chairman of Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, said: “SITA was able to provide us with a complete solution that corresponded exactly to our needs. We have worked with SITA for many years, and we appreciate their strong presence and support team in Egypt.” 

Ismail Aboulez, chairman and CEO of the Aviation Information Technology Company (AVIT), the organization that manages the airport, said: “We have made major renovations at Hurghada Airport to better serve the growing number of leisure passengers in the region as Egypt’s tourism sector continues to recover. SITA’s airport solutions incorporate the industry’s most advanced technology and align with industry trends, such as self-service. So we’re creating a more enjoyable passenger experience, while at the same time cutting costs and improving operational efficiency.” 

SITA has implemented a full range of industry-leading airport solutions in Hurghada. SITA’s AirportConnect Open  passenger processing platform provides the airport with more than 135 common-use workstations and 10 common-use AirportConnect Kiosk self-service kiosks for check-in.  With the new platform, all airlines using the airport can access their respective IT applications in real-time on shared equipment. They can also use any airport desk, gate or self-service kiosk for passenger check-in and boarding for maximum flexibility and convenience. 

SITA’s Airport Management Solution helps integrate and simplify operations management so the airport has a single control point and can take action as needed. This includes an advanced resource management tool, AirportResource Manager, which enables the airport to manage resources and equipment in real time and make sure they are available when and where they are needed. 

And SITA’s BagManager baggage management system is improving baggage processing efficiency at the airport, while simplifying baggage operations and facilitating on-time departures. 

Hani El-Assaad, SITA president, Middle East, India & Africa said: “SITA has partnered with Egypt’s Aviation Information Technology Company for more than a decade, helping to facilitate its strategic growth plans with innovative technology. We worked very closely together on this project to design and deliver an in-house turnkey solution aligned with the airport’s specific needs.” 

Hurghada International Airport provides regular service to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and offers direct connections to several European destinations. More than 40 airlines offer seasonable charter flights to cities in Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. The new terminal, which was officially inaugurated in December 2014, will raise the airport’s capacity by 115% to 13 million passengers annually.

Hurghada passengers benefit from SITA solutions

Hurghada International Airport is transforming the passenger experience at its new terminal with airport solutions from air transport IT specialist, SITA.

The airport is using SITA’s passenger processing platform, baggage management and airport operations systems to enhance the passenger experience with new self-service options, the latest baggage management solutions and shorter queues. 

The new solutions are also helping the airport improve operational efficiency by integrating airport systems and providing a single control point for airport operations.

Dr. Mahmoud Esmat, chairman of Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, said: “SITA was able to provide us with a complete solution that corresponded exactly to our needs. We have worked with SITA for many years, and we appreciate their strong presence and support team in Egypt.” 

Ismail Aboulez, chairman and CEO of the Aviation Information Technology Company (AVIT), the organization that manages the airport, said: “We have made major renovations at Hurghada Airport to better serve the growing number of leisure passengers in the region as Egypt’s tourism sector continues to recover. SITA’s airport solutions incorporate the industry’s most advanced technology and align with industry trends, such as self-service. So we’re creating a more enjoyable passenger experience, while at the same time cutting costs and improving operational efficiency.” 

SITA has implemented a full range of industry-leading airport solutions in Hurghada. SITA’s AirportConnect Open  passenger processing platform provides the airport with more than 135 common-use workstations and 10 common-use AirportConnect Kiosk self-service kiosks for check-in.  With the new platform, all airlines using the airport can access their respective IT applications in real-time on shared equipment. They can also use any airport desk, gate or self-service kiosk for passenger check-in and boarding for maximum flexibility and convenience. 

SITA’s Airport Management Solution helps integrate and simplify operations management so the airport has a single control point and can take action as needed. This includes an advanced resource management tool, AirportResource Manager, which enables the airport to manage resources and equipment in real time and make sure they are available when and where they are needed. 

And SITA’s BagManager baggage management system is improving baggage processing efficiency at the airport, while simplifying baggage operations and facilitating on-time departures. 

Hani El-Assaad, SITA president, Middle East, India & Africa said: “SITA has partnered with Egypt’s Aviation Information Technology Company for more than a decade, helping to facilitate its strategic growth plans with innovative technology. We worked very closely together on this project to design and deliver an in-house turnkey solution aligned with the airport’s specific needs.” 

Hurghada International Airport provides regular service to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and offers direct connections to several European destinations. More than 40 airlines offer seasonable charter flights to cities in Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia and Russia. The new terminal, which was officially inaugurated in December 2014, will raise the airport’s capacity by 115% to 13 million passengers annually.

Kenya tops the region's on-time performers.

Kenya Airways was the best on-time performer among Africa's major airlines in Janurary according to the results issued today by flightstats.com.

The Nairobi-based national carrier achieved more than four out of every five flights arriving on time with an average of 84. 41%.

Ethiopian Airlines also performed well with almost three quarters of its flights arriving on time.
With an average of 69.24% of on-time arrivals by Middle East and African carriers, many of the others fell below.
EgyptAir achieved 65.16%.
The Gulf carriers that have been making an impact in Africa were not so hot . Qatar was the best with 81.17% but Emirates achieved only 66.15% and Etihad was the most delayed major airlines was with more than half of its 7,968 flights failing to arrive on time.
 

Gulfstream G650ER demonstrates its long-range capability

Gulfstream Aerospace has announced that the Gulfstream G650ER has once again demonstrated its ability to go the distance by completing the farthest flight in its history.

In January, a G650ER, owned by Steve Wynn, CEO of Wynn Resorts, flew 8,010 nautical miles/14,835 kilometers nonstop, traveling from Singapore Changi Airport to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas with four passengers, including Wynn, and three crew members on board. 

The trip took 14 hours and 32 minutes at an average speed of Mach 0.85, with tail winds of 76 knots. The G650ER landed with fuel in excess of the National Business Aviation Association instrument flight rules reserves. 

“This flight demonstrates how powerful an aircraft the G650ER is,” said Larry Flynn, president, Gulfstream. “To be able to travel distances like this is remarkable and truly captures the essence of this aircraft. Its range and speed are just two of the many reasons for its success and will continue to be the driving forces behind the demand for this aircraft.” 

At Mach 0.90, the G650ER can travel 6,400 nm/11,853 km. Its max speed is Mach 0.925. The G650ER is powered by twin Rolls-Royce BR725 engines. 

“The G650ER is a game-changer,” said Wynn. “It’s a vital business tool that gives me peace of mind thanks to its superior range, speed, cabin comfort and enhanced safety features. I fly around the world for my business, and this aircraft takes me there. Gulfstream continuously goes above and beyond; the proof is in the performance.” 

Wynn was one of the first G650 customers to receive a G650 when the aircraft entered service in 2012. He was also one of the first to upgrade to the extended range G650 when Gulfstream began offering the option last year.

'This is your captain speaking... my co-pilot's my little girl'

'This is your captain speaking... my co-pilot's my little girl': Father and his 30-year-old daughter fly together on Thomas Cook flight to Tenerife

Captain Peter Elliott has worked as pilot for Thomas Cook for over 30 years

He inspired his daughter Laura to join and learn to fly herself in 2009 

She flew Airbus and her father Boeings so working together was unlikely

Fluke in the roster meant father and daughter shared cockpit this month 

Mr Elliott made announcement to passengers that it was a special flight 

He told those travelling to Tenerife he was flying with his daughter  

After 30 years as a pilot, Captain Peter Elliott got to fly with a co-pilot he knew more than most.

The pilot, who has clocked up more than 15,500 hours of flying during his career, made a special announcement to passengers travelling from Birmingham to Tenerife to tell them he was flying with his daughter. 

Senior First Officer Laura Elliott has been flying for six years but has never before got to work her father who first inspired her to fly when she was 18.  

+10

Captain Peter Elliott (left) and his daughter Senior First Officer Laura Elliott flew together for the first time 

+10

Mr Elliott inspired his daughter (pictured with her father as a child) to take to the skies when she was just 18

'It's a dream come true to be able to fly with my Dad - even if he was still checking up on me,' said Laura of Birmingham in the West Midlands.

The father-daughter pairing at the controls was a fluke but Miss Elliott said she hopes she will be able to fly with her father again before he retires. 

It had seemed unlikely the pair would ever co-pilot the same aircraft because Miss Elliott learned to fly on Airbus planes when she joined the company in 2009, and her father flew Boeings. 

However when Miss Elliott took a break from Thomas Cook to work for another company her father retrained to work on the Airbus fleet and the pair were able to co-pilot their first flight.  

Miss Elliott, 30, became interesting in flying when her father got her a trial flight for her 18th birthday.

She said: 'Becoming a pilot was never something I had considered, even though Dad had been a pilot since before I was born.

+10

The father and daughter flying team made their dream a reality after Mr Elliott trained to fly an Airbus

+10

Mr Elliott told passengers aboard the Airbus that the flight on February 6 was a special one for him 

+10

Miss Elliott (pictured in yellow headband) said she had never thought about flying until she went on a trial 

'It was only when my Dad bought me trial flight as a birthday present that I got the bug.

'But I was already preparing to go to university so I headed off to study sport and exercise science like I'd always planned.

'It was only when I graduated four years later that I considered following in my Dad's footsteps.

'I applied for a flying course and spent 14 months in southern Spain getting my license and then started with Thomas Cook in 2009.

AAD: Denel announces launch of indigenous South African regional aircraft SARA

South Africa is to develop its own regional aircraft dubbed SARA – South African Regional Aircraft – programme, led by the country's defence giant Denel.

“We have all of the skills from the work we have done in the defence industry and believe we can work with partners to make this happen,” said Denel Aerostructures chief executive Ismail Dockrat.
Denel unveiled a mock-up of the 24-seat turboprop at the AAD event in Tshwane this morning..
Riaz Saloojee, the Group CEO of Denel said the plan for SARA has been endorsed by a wide range of government and industry stakeholders and that Denel will continue to lead research and feasibility studies to make the project a reality.
Dockrat said the company was anticipating a seven year development programme through FAR Part 45 certification. “We are in pre-development stage right now,” he said. “We could have an aircraft flying in two years but we have experience on working through certtification programees – with the A400M for example – so we know what is involved.”
Denel’s research showed that while a lot of the world with major hubs will be using larger Aircraft, the rapid growth in air travel on the African continent will create a demand for a new generation aircraft that can fly point-to-point. “There is a clear need to link regional centres that are not currently accessible for passenger flights,” he said. “There is proven capacity within the local aerospace industry to deliver on an indigenous South African aircraft, as demonstrated with the success we achieved in the development of the Rooivalk helicopter.
Dockrat stressed that Sara is not a Denel airplane. “ It is not a Denel project it is just Denel led,” he said. “We will work with others and will be looking for risk sharing or financial investment from international companies. Perhaps even other OEMs. From around the world.”
The SARA is expected to have a range of 1,500 nautical miles and will have a pressurised cabin to enable it to avoid weather issues that affect similar sized aircraft.
“If you look at the market, aircraft in this category are using 20-year-old technology. This will utilise the latest technology which will make the aircraft economic with fuel burn and comfotable for passengers.
It will have three configurations. Commuter with up to 24 seats, Combi or all cargo.
There is not fixed plans on cost at this stage.
Saloojee said the SARA project is in line with the country’s Aerospace Sector Development Plan which has identified aerospace as a “priority sector.” It is an exciting and challenging project that will come to fruition over the next decade and ensure the participation of the country’s next generation of aeronautical engineers and artisans,” he said. “It could be a catalyst for economic growth, infrastructure development, tourism and job creation in rural and outlying areas,” he said
Among the challenges will be to design a 15-passenger variant that will be able to take off and land on short airfields in regional centres that are currently not served by scheduled flights. Only 17 of the more than 420 local airfields in South Africa currently form part of a scheduled airline service.
Regular passenger flights to such destinations will help to unlock the economic potential of previously marginalised areas and deliver significant benefits to local and regional economies, Saloojee said.
Speaking at the launch, Denel said that while this was primarily a civilian project, the designers would look at the possibility of defence applications.