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Total begins producing sustainable aviation fuel in France

Total has begun producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its La Mède biorefinery in southern France and its Oudalle facility near Le Havre. The biojet fuel, made from used cooking oil, will be delivered to French airports starting in April 2021.Total will also be able to produce SAF as from 2024 at its zero-crude Grandpuits platform, southeast of Paris. All of these sustainable aviation fue...

Certification test program in natural icing conditions successfully completed for MC-21-300 aircraft

PJSC Irkut Corporation (part of United Aircraft Corporation of Rostec) has successfully completed certification tests of the MC-21-300 airliner under natural icing conditions.  The aircraft attained normal performance even when covered with 8 cm thick layer of ice. This fully complies with Russian and European aviation standards: according to certification rules, performance charact...

The fastest connection to Venice - Pilatus PC-24

For the first time, a business jet lands on the grass runway of the airport closest to the world-famous Italian city of Venice- A premiere for Venice-Lido! The flight aboard a PC-24 provides the fastest connection ever to Venice and many other cities. The Venice-Lido city airport is located about three kilometres east of the city centre on the Lido di Venezia. The PC-24 landed safely...

UPS Flight Forward adds innovative new aircraft, enhancing capabilities and network sustainability

UPS together with its UPS Flight Forward subsidiary, plans to purchase electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft from Beta Technologies to augment its air service for select small and mid- size markets. These aircraft will take off and land on-property at UPS facilities in a whisper-quiet fashion, reducing time-in-transit, vehicle emissions, and operating cost. The BETA...

First in the Baltics employing A-CDM procedures - Riga Airport

Riga Airport becomes the first and so far only airport in the Baltic States to join more then 30 European airports employing A-CDM (Airport Collaborative Decision Making) procedures which allow for significantly improving service quality and safety for airspace users and passengers.  The introduction of A-CDM, which was a joint effort of the air navigation service provider state joint stoc...

SITA biometric solution provides fast track for United Airlines domestic travelers at SFO

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and United Airlines have become the first in the United States to trial a low-touch, biometric-enabled airport experience from check-in to boarding for domestic travelers on select flights. Using SITA Smart Path, passengers participating in the trial can link their driver’s license to their facial biometric at check-in. They can then move throug...

Pilot training with an Airbus A320 FFS starts at BAA Training Spain

The first state-of-the-art Airbus A320 FFS is ready for training in a brand-new pilot training centre BAA Training Spain located in Barcelona, 10 minutes away from El-Prat airport. The Airbus A320 operational readiness, in fact, signifies that pilot training operations are ready to begin.  Managing Director of BAA Training Spain, Aurimas Urbonas, says: “We are delighted to annou...

First G650 6C inspection completed by Metrojet Hong Kong

The Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul station of the Hong Kong-based Metrojet Limited has recently completed its first 6C inspection on a Gulfstream G650 aircraft.  The inspection was completed during the challenging CoVID-19 environment with the team completing the inspection within 25 days including an additional 200+ hours of findings. Metrojet HK MRO is a Gulfstream Autho...

Safran signs by-the-hour support contract with Bundespolizei

Safran Helicopter Engines has signed a Support-By-Hour contract with the German federal police (Bundespolizei), covering their H120 fleet. This contract formalizes a long-term MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) and service agreement supporting a total of 11 Arrius 2F engines.The Bundespolizei currently operates 10 H120 helicopters for training missions. This is the second SBH® contract...

Flying Colours installing its first Ka-band system on a Bombardier Challenger 604

Having completed numerous Ka-band installations on large-cabin business jets, Flying Colours Corp., the international maintenance, repair and overhaul business, has begun its first Ka-band installation on a super-mid-size Bombardier Challenger 604. The connectivity system upgrade forms one part of a wider 96-month heavy maintenance check.  In addition to the technical inspection, the Flyin...

BAR Aviation accepts the first Bell 505 with Med-Pac EMS lite interior in Africa

Bell delivered a Bell 505 helicopter equipped with the Med-Pac Inc. LLC Emergency Medical Services Lite Interior to BAR Aviation. This marks the first Bell 505 in Uganda and the first Bell 505 designed to complete medical evacuation missions in Africa. “We are elated that BAR Aviation has chosen the Bell 505 as its Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) platform and w...

International Design Award granted to an Embraer collaboration FLEXCRAFT

The FLEXCRAFT, a modular and remotely piloted aircraft concept, which allows quick reconfiguration of the cabin for multiple missions, won the International Design Awards (IDA) in the Transport Design category. With the ability to land and take off on short lanes and use alternative energy sources, the concept seeks to foster ideas for transforming the future of air mobility, combining the hu...

An extensive Challenger 604 refurb project completed by FAI Technik

A full refurbishment  of a pre-owned Bombardier Challenger 604 (MSN 5412) was completed by FAI Technik. The aircraft which was handed over to its new Germany-based owner earlier in the month, will be operated under NCC regulations by FAI Technik’s parent company, FAI rent-a-jet GmbH. This latest project represents FAI’s first extensive refurbishment on the Challenger series....

Twenty years of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai

MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, a 50/50 joint venture between MTU Aero Engines and China Southern Airlines Company Limited, marks 20 years since the company was founded. Over the past two decades, the facility has completed over 3,000 engines and grown from a greenfield facility to become the largest engine shop in Asia by shop visits. “We are extremely proud of all that the facility has achieved...

Advanced Flight of New Zealand took delivery of first five-blade Airbus ACH145 helicopter

New Zealand VIP and charter operator Advanced Flight, launch customer for the new Airbus ACH145 with five rotor-blades, has taken delivery of its helicopter. The aircraft is the latest version of the best-selling H145 light twin-engine helicopter and provides a 150kg increase in useful load while delivering new levels of comfort and operational simplicity. Its reduced rotor diameter allows oper...

Israeli Air Force took delivery of a special missions Gulfstream G550

Gulfstream Aerospace delivered a special missions Gulfstream G550 to the Israeli Air Force to support and enhance their mission-critical surveillance operations. "Israel has been a Gulfstream special-missions customer for many years, and we are grateful for their continued confidence in us," said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream. "With unparalleled performance capabilitie...

The 600th delivery of Cessna Citation CJ3 family aircraft

5 of April 2021  marked the delivery of the 600th aircraft from the Cessna Citation CJ3 family. The milestone Cessna Citation CJ3+ was delivered to an unnamed customer in North America. Lannie O4Bannion, senior vice president, Global Sales and Flight Operations commented: The CJ3+ remains a strong performer due to its versatility as COVID-19 limitations have prompted customers to look fo...

Ansat helicopter is now equipped with 270 kg capacity winch

The Kazan Helicopters of the Russian Helicopters holding company, received approval from the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) to install an onboard hoist winch on the Ansat helicopter. The new option significantly expands the helicopter's functionality, allowing it to safely lift and lower people and cargo weighing up to 272 kg.  The onboard winch increases the efficie...

Meet Finnair largest handling provider at Helsinki airport - Aviator

Aviator Airport Alliance continues successful partnership with Finnair, providing services at Helsinki airport. The service agreement, signed in October 2020, will take effect on 1st of April 2021, and will expand the company’s previous de-icing partnership with the airline to now provide ground handling services for Finnair’s Airbus fleet traffic, including all long-haul ope...

Overhaul of another Russian-made helicopter completed in Azerbaijan

The Service Center for helicopter major repair at ASG Helicopter Services has completed the overhaul of another Mi-8AMT helicopter owned by the air carrier. The overhaul was carried out jointly with the specialists from the Russian Aviation Repair Plant No. 356 (Engels). It is the second overhaul of helicopters of this type in Azerbaijan.  In 2016, within the framework of the Azerbaijan...

Rom Top Aviation becomes Etihad Cargo GSA for Israel

Etihad Cargo has selected Rom Top Aviation Ltd as its general sales agent (GSA) for the State of Israel. The appointment comes ahead of the 6 April launch of Etihad’s scheduled twice-weekly Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv service and as official Israeli government figures point to rising trade with the UAE following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two in the wake of l...