Flight international

AIR TRANSPORT

12 | Flight International | 15-21 August 2017 flightglobal.com

U

K air navigation service pro-

vider NATS has been cleared

of breaching its licence condi-

tions, following a formal investi-

gation by the Civil Aviation Au-

thority, marking the first time the

agency has used investigatory

powers granted in 2000.

The investigation arose from a

complaint by Ryanair and Lon-

don Stansted airport’s operator,

which had alleged that NATS’

En  Route division had failed to

provide adequate resources to

manage traffic performance with-

in London airspace, and had dis-

criminated against traffic landing

at Stansted.

But the CAA says “no compli-

ance breach” has been found, al-

though it notes the decision was

“finely balanced”.

The CAA had been given the

powers to investigate under trans-

port legislation in 2000, and this

first use “highlights the potential

seriousness of the complaint”, di-

rector of consumers and markets

Richard Moriarty says.

Stansted airport’s operator had

complained in April 2016 about

“substantial” flow-restriction de-

lays, and alleged that NATS En

Route had failed to make proper

contingency plans for long-term

controller absences. It also al-

leged that London Heathrow

flights had been given higher pri-

ority over those to other London

airports. Ryanair subsequently

echoed this complaint the follow-

ing August.

While there was evidence of

increased delays in 2016 com-

pared with previous years, NATS

En Route had “not failed to take

all reasonable steps” to meet de-

mand for approach control ser-

vices for Stansted, the CAA says.

There was “no evidence” of

discrimination, it says. Structural

features of the Heathrow service

• such as a larger number of ros-
  tered controllers – enabled it to
  be “more resilient”. ■

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The “finely balanced” decision said there had been increased delays

NATS

Carrier says first of 66 re-engined widebodies will now arrive in 2019

Airbus

A

eroflot is exploring the use of
unmanned air vehicles to per-
form visual inspections of aircraft,
despite Russian regulations which
prevent their use at airports.
The carrier has issued a re-
quest for proposals to supply a
Yuneec Tornado H920 hexacop-
ter fitted with a high-resolution
gimballed camera.
This will be used to survey air-
frame surfaces and structures
during line maintenance checks,
says a source at Aeroflot.
He adds: “This tool should
help us sharply reduce repair
costs and aircraft-on-the-ground
times that may be caused, for in-
stance, by atmospheric electrici-
ty effects.
“The pre-programmed drone
would fly over the aircraft fol-
lowing a strictly defined path
and transmit diagnostics infor-
mation wirelessly to a monitor-
ing station. Technical personnel
would then be able to identify
defects in real time.”
Russian regulations bar the use
of UAVs above or near airports,
so Aeroflot is tentatively plan-
ning to use one within a hangar
until legislation is amended. ■

A

irAsia X could lease several

Airbus A330s as a stopgap

measure to support growth before

it takes delivery of its first

A330neos in 2019, slightly be-

hind schedule.

However, the long-haul, low-

cost carrier says that it is still in

the planning stage and does not

have a fixed timeline for deliver-

ies of the leased widebodies.

AirAsia X declines to specify

the variant that it intends to lease;

the carrier currently operates a

fleet of 22 A330-300s.

Media reports in Malaysia in-

dicate that AirAsia X could lease

four to six A330s, for delivery

from now until 2018.

Flight Fleets Analyzer shows

that AirAsia X has no A330 or-

ders, but has commitments for 66

A330-900neos and 10 A350-900s.

At the recent Paris air show,

AirAsia Group chief executive

Tony Fernandes told FlightGlob-

al that the arrival of the A330neos

had been “slightly delayed” and

AirAsia X now expects to take

delivery of its first example in

2019, slightly behind its original

plan of 2018. ■

DELIVERIES AARON CHONG SINGAPORE

Leased A330s may offer Neo solution for AirAsia X

REGULATION DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

NATS is cleared of breaching

licence over Stansted traffic

CAA makes first use of investigatory powers after complaint of favouritism for Heathrow

MAINTENANCE
TOM ZAITSEV MOSCOW

Aeroflot looking

at UAVs to carry

out inspections