Airlines flew empty aircraft for more than 20 times: Know the reason
California: Airlines are taking extreme measures to survive the pandemic, with Asiana Airlines Inc. flying the world's biggest commercial plane more than 20 times, going nowhere and carrying no passengers, just to keep trainee pilots certified.
Keeping crew flight-ready is one of the challenges carriers face as they grapple with the unprecedented crisis that keeps more than a third of the world's fleet grounded.
The empty Airbus SE A380 flew over South Korea for a few hours a day for three days in May to enable pilots of the 495-seat superjumbo to practice taking off and landing. The alternative -- a trip to Thailand to use a simulator owned by Thai Airways International Pcl -- was blocked because of travel bans, an Asiana spokesman said.
"Takeoffs and landings of this plane cost a lot of money, and it's money that needs to be used wisely, especially these days," said Um Kyung-a, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities Co. in Seoul. "Asiana is in a bind because it also can't afford for its pilots to lose their licenses."
Asiana had another 135 pilots who didn't have enough flying time on its six A380s, but it couldn't afford to keep flying the empty jet. In the end, the country's transport ministry extended the pilots' flying credentials as a special exemption. Japan's All Nippon Airways, which operates two A380s, received a similar extension from Japan's aviation authority.
Most of the big A380 operators, like Asiana's rival Korean Air Lines Co., have their own simulators.
The International Civil Aviation Organization has provided guidelines to state members on how to help pilots keep up their skills. Normally, pilots must have taken off and landed an aircraft at least three times within the previous 90 days to keep their license.
The problem is acute for the biggest jets, which were designed for an age of mass travel. But Boeing Co.'s 747 has more simulators and is used by many airlines, including Korean Air, for cargo flights, allowing carriers to rotate crews to keep them certified.
The International Air Transport Association said international air traffic may not return to pre-Covid levels until 2024.
One of the few that's still flying the A380 is Emirates Airlines, which has the world's biggest fleet of the superjumbos. The airline restarted A380 flights on July 15 to London Heathrow and Paris as Dubai eased travel restrictions.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG said last month its A380 jets will be mothballed for at least two years and may never return to service. Even before the virus, weak demand for the giant plane caused Airbus to announce it would stop making the A380 next year.
"It's like you're basically stuck with a 1990 car that's running on diesel," said Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation consulting firm Endau Analytics in Malaysia. "We're going to see more heading to the scrapyard."
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Kolkata Port: Decline in number of voters during SIR brings in uncertainty in TMC bastion
Kolkata (PTI): A sharp decline in the number of voters following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has injected an element of uncertainty into the Kolkata Port Assembly constituency, considered a safe seat for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The electorate in the south Kolkata constituency has dropped from 2.36 lakh in the 2021 Assembly polls to around 1.75 lakh, a fall of nearly 26 per cent, prompting political parties to closely assess its potential impact on the April 29 polling.
The TMC re-nominated senior minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, who has held the seat for two consecutive terms, while the BJP fielded Rakesh Singh. The Congress nominated Aquib Gulzar, and the CPI(M) put up Faiyaz Ahmad Khan, making it a four-cornered contest.
Kolkata Port, part of the Kolkata Dakshin parliamentary constituency, comprises dock areas, old business districts and densely populated neighbourhoods. Muslim voters form a significant segment of the electorate, alongside traders, transport workers and working-class Hindu families.
The reduction in voter numbers has prompted party workers across formations to scrutinise the revised rolls booth-wise to identify deletions and assess whether specific localities have been affected.
Singh’s candidature has added a twist to the contest. He had earlier contested against Hakim as a Congress candidate but is now in the fray on a BJP ticket.
Hakim won the seat in 2016 by 26,548 votes, defeating Singh, and increased his margin significantly to 68,554 votes in 2021, polling over one lakh votes.
While the TMC has expressed confidence in retaining the seat, opposition parties have raised concerns over the voter list revision, alleging that names of genuine voters have been removed.
“People here know who has stood by them. Elections are decided by trust,” Hakim told PTI during a campaign event.
Singh claimed several residents had complained about missing names in the rolls, stressing the need for transparency. The CPI(M) nominee also said voters in several areas had raised similar concerns.
The constituency has remained a difficult terrain for the opposition in recent elections.
Civic issues such as sanitation, traffic congestion and declining business activity in traditional markets also feature in the campaign in the constituency, though the revised voter list has emerged as a key talking point.
Polling in the constituency will be held in the second phase on April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
