Tirana-based start-up Air Albania has begun services after receiving its rst aircraft, Airbus A319-132, TC-JLR (c/n 3142) – acquired on lease from
Turkish Airlines, which is supporting the new venture along with the Albanian Government (via wholly-owned corporation Albcontrol) and local
company MDN Investment. Dave PotterAlbanian Start-upCIVIL NEWS
6 Aviation News incorporating Jets December 2018
More 737 MAXsfor Pobeda
Russian low-cost carrier Pobeda has
committed to lease an additional 20 Boeing
737 MAX 8s. The aircraft, of which lessors
SMBC and GECAS will supply 15 and ve
respectively, increase the airline’s total
commitment to 35. This includes an option
to convert seven of the SMBC-supplied jets
to the higher-density MAX 200 con guration,
which seats 197 passengers, eight more
than the baseline model, and has already
been selected by fellow low-cost carriers
VietJet and Ryanair. Deliveries are expected
to start in the latter half of 2019.A Second Runway for Gatwick?Gatwick Airport has been accused of
trying to create a second runway “by the
back door” after revealing plans to use its
existing standby runway as part of its daily
operations. Its draft master plan, published
on October 18, says the airport “re ects
Department for Transport guidance for
airports to provide regular updates on
their long-term plans, and responds to the
government’s recent call for airports to
make best use of their existing runways”.
A 40-year agreement struck by Gatwick
and local councils has so far ruled out a
second runway but, with the deal due to
expire next summer, the airport is looking
at ways of addressing shortfalls in capacity
up to the early 2030s.
The paper, subject to a 12-week
public consultation, proposes the use of
new technologies to improve utilisation
of Gatwick’s main runway. But morecontroversial are plans to bring its parallel
standby runway – currently used for
cover during periods of maintenance
or emergencies – “into routine use for
departing ights, alongside its main
runway, by the mid-2020s”.
Such a move would, the airport claims,
enable it to handle more than 80,
additional ights, which is 30% more than
current levels.
Gatwick’s chief executive officer
Stewart Wingate has said the draft offers
“agile, productive and low-impact” ways
of unlocking much needed new capacity
and increased resilience from within the
existing infrastructure. Such a proposal,
which the airport says can be delivered
without increasing its noise footprint,
would be subject to planning permission
and public consultation as well as Civil
Aviation Authority approval.It’s been largely welcomed, but
residents group Communities Against
Gatwick Noise and Emissions is critical
of the plan. Spokesperson Sally Pavey
told The Guardian: “Extra ights mean
thousands more passengers every day
trying to get to Gatwick, but they are trying
to increase capacity without any of the
cost of the infrastructure.
“This is simply betrayal of the
communities of Sussex, Surrey and Kent
who have already endured 24% increases
in long-haul movements this year. This
is a second runway by the back door.
How can communities ever trust Gatwick
management again?”
The plan is due to be agreed early
in 2019 and, if approved, could deliver
capacity several years before Heathrow,
where a new third runway is not expected
to be operational until at least 2026.Viva Air Colombia has taken delivery of this bright Airbus A320-214, HK-5273 (c/n 8519), its
livery advocating breast cancer awareness. The jet is named after long-serving cabin crew
member Claudia Obando who successfully fought off the disease. Dirk GrotheViva Air ColombiaPink A