TAP performed 1,000 flights in February, one third of the number in January, which compares with the more than 10,000 flights operated in February 2020, before the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “For the fourth consecutive month, the number of flights has declined, with February experiencing a deepest drop, with only 1,077 flights taking place, a third of the number of flights in January. Both figures are very distant from the more than 10,000 flights / month operated in January and February 2019 and 2020”, says the executive president of TAP, Ramiro Sequeira. In its internal newsletter, the airline said that “in February the downward trend in terms of number of flights and capacity (ASK - Available seat kilometre) was accentuated, compared to February 2020, pre-pandemic”, with a 89% reduction in the number of flights and 92% in capacity“, due to the worsening of restrictive measures, by all regions of the world, as a way of containing the pandemic”. This downward trend is also visible in the evolution of the number of flights over the past few months, said TAP.<br/>
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India’s government has reportedly shortlisted the Tata Sons conglomerate and the owner of SpiceJet for its long-planned Air India divestment, and due diligence on the hoped-for sale is expected to begin in early April, the business television news channel Zee Business reported on March 23. The channel’s executive editor, Swati Khandelwal, claimed that sources close to the matter had told her that only Tata and SpiceJet would proceed to the next round of bidding. Other prominent local news sites such as The Times of India later corroborated the development. “Tata Group and SpiceJet had given their expressions of interest, which have been accepted by the government, facilitating the Air India acquisition process. Soon they will be given an invitation to submit financial bids. Before that, due diligence, which will begin in a couple of weeks, will be taken care of. This process may take two to three months,” she said. <br/>
SA’s aviation industry regulator says it is investigating an alleged take-off delay and safety incident involving an SAA flight that collected the second consignment of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines from Brussels in late February. Several aviation industry watchers said that an SAA flight from SA to Brussels on 24 February 2021 “didn’t go well” as the airline’s crew allegedly miscalculated the take-off weight (TOW) of the aircraft (Airbus 340-600) that collected the Covid-19 vaccines. The crew miscalculated by almost 90 tons. With an error like this, the take-off speeds are calculated as far too low. Fortunately, the Airbus is designed to correct these speeds, but not the speeds for flap retraction. Thus when the crew retracted the flaps the plane went into “alpha floor” event. This is where the airspeed is too low and the aircraft is in danger of stalling. A disaster was averted because once again the aircraft’s safety systems took over, adding power and lowering the nose slightly, preventing it from stalling. <br/>
Ethiopian Airlines has partnered with the African Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (Africa CDC) for the implementation of the African Union Trusted Travel Pass to make continental travel easier and safer amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Africa CDC has mobilised a broad multi-stakeholder public-private partnership with the help of its strategic partners, with the objective of addressing current challenges posed by citizens' and institutions' difficulty in accessing accurate health information, high costs and inconvenience in cross border travel, and poor data for health policy and biosecurity planning. The Trusted Travel pass programme will ensure country regulations regarding Covid-19 travel requirements are met with minimal room for error and hassle to the travelling public. Ethiopian Airlines' customers will enjoy a hassle-free travel experience, with their travel pass helping them verify whether their medical information meets the various Covid-19 regulations of their travel destination.<br/>