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Airline staff fume over toxic air on planes

September 11, 2017 By administrator

 A growing number of flight attendants and pilots want answers from airlines about what they say is toxic air on board flights. They argue this is causing serious health damage. Andreas Becker investigated their claims.

Flight attendant Kerstin Konrad still remembers her first “fume event” – as the industry calls air inside the aircraft that is possibly contaminated.

“On the flight, passengers were asking for headache tablets,” Konrad told DW.

Passengers had noticed a peculiar smell at the back of the plane and the captain asked her to check it out, she says. “I went back and sniffed the air nozzle.”

“I immediately got a headache and a tingling sensation in my limbs that spread like numbness.” She says she then became dazed and so confused she could not perform even the simplest task. “I could not sort the juices on the trolley anymore, which sounds crazy.”

Konrad says that since 2013 she has experienced a total of four such fume events, sometimes accompanied by odd smells, sometimes without. She says she has on each occasion had headaches and abdominal pain, numbness and confusion and has also suffered permanent health damage meaning she can no longer fly. She has nerve damage and restricted lung functions, both confirmed by a doctor.

Konrad has become an activist in fume events, organizing petitions and demonstrations with others, most recently at the beginning of September in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin.

And she is not alone. Some 228 such fume events were reported to the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BfU) in 2016 alone.

And the number of cases reported by pilots and cabin staff to their employers may be even higher, according to TV channel ZDF, referring to internal records held by the airlines, some of which are not passed on to the BfU.

What is a dangerous level? 

The German Flight Accident Investigation Act and an EU regulation determine what constitutes near-accidents, which need to be investigated by authorities. Here, the situation in the cockpit is crucial.

“Circumstances that force a pilot to use an oxygen mask are what can lead to a serious incident,” Jens Friedemann, an accident inspector at the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BfU), told DW.

Using these criteria for the 228 fume events reported last year only two were considered serious incidents. In other words, there is no fundamental, and above all no particularly pressing, problem.

Contested cause and effect 

But others are less certain. Doctor Astrid Heutelbeck told DW, for example, that she can prove a causal connection using residues in the blood and urine of people who have suffered a fume event, by using a procedure called human biomonitoring.

“In human biomonitoring — in connection with the time of the event — we find substances and groups of substances that are not described as components of the normal environment, but as the ingredients of kerosene, oils or hydraulic fluid,” Heutelbeck said.

It is proven that these substances can damage the nervous system and the lungs, Heutelbeck, who is the head of the work and environmental medicine outpatient department of the Göttingen University Medical Center, believes.

Cabin air is tapped from the plane’s engine

The air in the cabin is tapped from the turbines of the aircraft; it is also called bleed air. But it may possibly be contaminated with constituents of kerosene, oil or hydraulic fluid.

“People can still inhale and exhale the same amount of air as everyone else. That’s not a problem, but to get the oxygen out of this air does not work anymore and they notice it in terms of physical strain. When they go upstairs, for example, people may say they feel like grandma.”

Since the beginning of 2014, Heutelbeck has investigated “several hundred” patients from the aviation industry with these symptoms, using standardized medical procedures and ruling out other pathologies.

‘No evidence’ 

The aviation industry, meanwhile, is dragging its feet.

It has yet to recognize a scientifically proven link between the above outlined symptoms and what is called the bleeding of toxic air into plane cabins.

“The bleed-air system has been standard in the aviation industry since the 1960s and has proven to be reliable,” Claudia Nehring of the Federal Association of German Air Transport (BdL), representing the interests of airlines and airport operators, told DW.

“In addition, the air is drawn off in front of the combustion chamber of the engine – the kerosene injection and the combustion take place later, which means that it is technically impossible that the air is connected with exhaust gases or residues from the combustion chamber,” she goes on.

“There are different studies that have examined the quality of cabin air,” she says. “None of them has demonstrated that cabin air is contaminated in such a way as to cause health damage.”

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has also air-tested plane cabins for toxic substances in two studies and found that air quality in the aircraft is no worse than that in normal offices.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: air quality, airline

World’s longest flight lands in New Zealand

February 6, 2017 By administrator

The world’s longest commercial flight, from Qatar to New Zealand, has touched down in Auckland for the first time. The Qatar Airways Boeing 777-200 crossed 14,535 kilometers and 10 time zones on its epic journey.

The Qatar Airways flight was greeted with a celebratory water cannon salute as it taxied down the runway at Auckland airport on Monday.

“We’ve officially landed in New Zealand, the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud,'” the airline tweeted.

he 16-hour, 23-minute flight from Doha covered a distance of 14,535 kilometers (9,030 miles), crossing 10 time zones and five countries. Qatar Airways said the flight was operated by four pilots and 15 cabin crew.

New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay welcomed the inaugural flight, saying the estimated economic impact of the new daily service “will be well in excess” of NZ$50 million ($36 million/33 million euros).

“This increased freight capacity will support New Zealand exporters getting their fresh product to the Middle East and beyond,” he said. According to the airline, the daily service provides a weekly freight capacity equivalent to 1,162 sheep.

Longest flight in the world

In March, Emirates launched a 14,200-kilometer Dubai-Auckland service, at the time considered the world’s longest nonstop commercial flight.

Air India also claims to offer the world’s longest flight with its Delhi to San Francisco service, spanning 15,300 kilometers. That flying distance is indeed greater because the Air India planes add 1,400 kilometers to use favorable tailwinds, but Doha and Auckland are geographically further apart.

Singapore Airlines plans to resume its 15,344-kilometer, 18.5-hour nonstop flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Singapore in 2018.

nm/tj (AFP, dpa)

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: airline, longest flight, Qatar

Armenia airline will fly to Barcelona, London, Brussels in 2017

December 1, 2016 By administrator

armenian-airline-1Armenia airline will start implementing flights to European destinations, including Barcelona, London and Brussels, in 2017, company co-founder Tamaz Gaiashvili told reporters Thursday, December 1.

“We faced many problems this year,” Gaiashvili said citing the air company’s intention to fly to Tel Aviv and its ultimate failure to do so due to lack of permission.

According to him, the company almost doesn’t fly to Moscow, which was set to be a primary destination, due to unfair competition.

CEO Robert Hovhannisyan said the issue has been discussed with the government on multiple occasions. He said discussions will continue to make competition between Armenian and Russian carriers fair.

“I understand that passengers wish to fly as cheaply as possible, however, offering prices below the cost price causes dumping,” he said.

“We’re charged much more for the services offered to us compared to our Russian competitors.”

He added that the company has secured permission to fly to any destination across Europe, which they will use to activate the transporter’s schedule.

Related links:

Aysor.am: 2017-ին «Արմենիա» ավիաընկերությունը կզարգացնի թռիչքների եվրոպական ուղղությունները.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: airline, Armenia

Russia airline to conduct flights to, from Gyumri international airport

October 26, 2016 By administrator

russian-airline-gyumriYEREVAN. – Pobeda Airlines of Russia will start flights to and from Shirak International Airport in Gyumri, the second largest city of Armenia.

According to the agreement reached with this airline, the latter will be conducting flights between Shirak International Airport in Gyumri and Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, starting from late November, and three times a week, informed the Armenian Government-Affiliated General Department of Civil Aviation.

The ticket prices for this flight will start from 10,000 drams (approx. US$21).

The flights will be conducted during daytime.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: airline, airport, Gyumri, Russian

Armenia new airline to conduct first flights on April 21

March 9, 2016 By administrator

armenian airlineYEREVAN. – The new Armenia Airline will launch flights on April 21, shareholder Robert Hovhannisyan said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The first flights will be conducted to Moscow and Tel Aviv.

“The airline has already been registered and it received an operating license two weeks ago,” Hovhannisyan stated. “Now, we have submitted an application to obtain a license [to fly] in several directions.”

Another shareholder, Tamaz Gaishvili, informed that, first and foremost, Armenia Airline plans to conduct flights to Moscow and other Russian cities as well as to Tehran, Dubai, Tel Aviv, Kiev, Minsk, London, Barcelona, Prague, and Larnaca.

“We will accept applications at the airports, from pilots and maintenance personnel so that Armenian specialists can work in their homeland,” Gaishvili added.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: airline, Armenia

Argentina football club rejects Terrorist State of Turkish Airlines sponsorship

December 16, 2015 By administrator

202431The president of the Argentinean football club Racing Victor Blanco confirmed on Tuesday, December 15 that they rejected the sponsorship of Turkish Airlines, Agencia Prensa Armenia reports.

The move was welcomed by the Armenian community of Argentina. In a statement titled “Turkish Airlines tried to sponsor Racing to wash the image of the authoritarian government off Turkey,” Armenian Youth Federation of South America organization hailed the decision. “For several years, Turkish Airlines became the main weapon of Turkish diplomacy around the world sponsoring important sports figures like Kobe Bryant or Lionel Messi. They exhibited their brand with recognized and admired figures to hide the reality the Turkish people currently live in,” said the Armenian youth organization.

“The persecution of the Kurdish people and the People’s Democratic Party, which last November reached a new peak with the murder of human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi, the harassment of opposition media that intensifies during elections in the country, the repression of peaceful demonstrations of the civil society, the imprisonment of opponents or simply those who “insult” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the harassment of those who challenge the official story about the Armenian Genocide, the censorship and blocking of Twitter and other social networks and the complicity with the Islamic State to intensify the conflict in Syria, are some of the many reasons that the Turkish diplomacy has to hide their true intentions,” added the Armenian Youth Federation of South America.

“In football, the shirt and the colors are immaculate,” said Alfonso Tabakian, director of the Armenian National Committee of South America. “They are the identity of supporters of a club. Therefore, no fan would like their club to be sponsored by a government that violates human rights.”

Last year, another Argentinean club San Lorenzo de Almagro rejected a millions’ worth sponsorship offer from Azerbaijan. Racing and San Lorenzo are two of the biggest clubs in the country.

Related links:

Armfootball.com. Արգենտինական «Ռասինգը» հրաժարվել է «Turkish Airlines»-ի հետ պայմանագիր կնքելուց Հայոց ցեղասպանության պատճառով
Agencia Prensa Armenia. Racing Club Rejected the Sponsorship of Turkish Airlines

Filed Under: News Tagged With: airline, Argentina football, Rejects, Turkish

Armenia Civil Aviation: Plane that crashed in South Sudan belonged to Tajik airline

November 4, 2015 By administrator

plane crash south sudanYEREVAN. – The Armenian government-affiliated General Department of Civil Aviation (GDCA) confirmed that five crew members of the cargo aircraft, which crashed in South Sudan on Wednesday, were Armenian.

Press secretary of the GDCA, Ruben Grdzelyan, told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the plane belonged to a Tajik airline.

“According to preliminary data, five crew members are Armenian,” he said. “Now, we are checking the details from our colleagues in Tajikistan.”

According to preliminary information, the aircraft, which was carrying five Russian citizens, crashed immediately after take-off, and just 800 meters from the airport of the South Sudanese capital city of Juba.

The local media put the death toll as high as 40.

It is noted that there were two survivors, including a child, reported LifeNews, which is a Russian news website and TV.

Eyewitnesses said the plane’s pieces were scattered all along the White Nile

Filed Under: Articles, Events Tagged With: airline, Armenia, crashed, south sudan, Tajik

All 224 people aboard a Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt early Saturday have been confirmed dead No Armenian citizens

October 31, 2015 By administrator

airline crashtYEREVAN. – There were no Armenian citizens on the board of Russian plane that crashed in Egypt, Armenian Foreign Ministry told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

At the same time it is still unclear whether citizens of other countries of Armenian descent were on board.

A Russian aircraft carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members crashed Saturday in Egypt.
All 224 people aboard a Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt have been confirmed dead
Saturday, October 31, 2015 9:08 AM EDT
All 224 people aboard a Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt early Saturday have been confirmed dead, officials say.
An Egyptian cabinet statement on Saturday morning said that military aircraft had spotted the wreckage of the Airbus plane in a mountainous area in Sinai. The Russian Embassy in Cairo said in a tweet that all on board the plane had been killed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: airline, crashed, Egypt, Russia

Iran files case to claim ownership of Turkish carrier

October 22, 2015 By administrator

231497Iran‘s Oil Ministry has opened a legal case in an İstanbul court demanding the ownership of Onur Air, the Turkish airline that in 2013 was acquired by two allegedly official partners of Babek Zanjani, the controversial businessman who has been in jail pending trial on corruption charges for almost two years in Iran.

According to a report in the Hürriyet daily on Thursday, the ministry filed a case against the budget airline carrier to take over its ownership from Kudret Tuncel and Mahdi Shams, Zanjani’s two alleged partners who paid some $235 million to purchase Onur Air from its Turkish owner in 2013. The ministry is arguing that Onur Air’s real buyer two years ago was Zanjani, according to the newspaper.

Reports in the Turkish media claimed earlier this month that all assets belonging to Zanjani might be confiscated, as is sought in the indictment of his trial, which is known as the biggest corruption case in Iran’s recent history. The deputy chief prosecutor in the case also said this month that Zanjani and his two former partners had spent $235 million from Iran’s oil money to buy Onur Air.

Zanjani, supposedly the richest businessman in Iran with $14 billion in assets, who also has alleged ties with Reza Zarrab, the prime figure in Turkey’s graft scandal, is accused of embezzling $2.7 billion of state money while trading oil for the National Iranian Oil Company (NOIC) on behalf of the Iranian government, along with money laundering and corruption within Iran and in several other countries, including Turkey.

It is the first time that Iranian officials have filed a case against a private Turkish company. Onur Air officials have refused to comment on the issue, telling Hürriyet: “One-sided remarks for an issue currently on trial would be misleading. It is better to talk about the issue on a platform with a chance for questions and answers.”

A member of Iran’s special parliamentary committee investigating Zanjani’s case previously asserted that a significant portion of Zanjani’s illegal money was in Turkey under the management of Zarrab, who was implicated along with four of Turkey’s Cabinet ministers in 2013 corruption investigations that were later closed due to what many believe was government pressure on members of the judiciary.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: airline, Iran, ownership, Turkey

EU border force blames Turkish Airlines for surge in illegal African migration

September 18, 2015 By administrator

File photo: Turkish Airlines, who Frontex have said could be the cause of the dramatic increase of refugees who are crossing the borders of the Western Balkans Photo: Rex

File photo: Turkish Airlines, who Frontex have said could be the cause of the dramatic increase of refugees who are crossing the borders of the Western Balkans Photo: Rex

Rapid expansion of Turkish national carrier is in part behind surge in African migrants through the Western Balkans, EU agency says

By Matthew Holehouse, in Brussels

The European Union’s borders agency has suggested one of the world’s biggest airlines is fuelling the illegal migration crisis by opening new routes in Africa.

Frontex said a dramatic increase in migrants from Africa illegally crossing the borders of the Western Balkans in order to reach the EU “could be partly explained” by the commercial strategy of Turkish Airlines.

The flag carrier, which serves more destinations than any airline in the world, has a fleet of 296 and revenues of £5 billion last year, has opened a raft of new routes to Africa – a move interpreted as a drive by President Erdogan to increase Turkish influence.

While the world’s attention has been on illegal smuggling gangs, the allegation suggests that major corporations – acting entirely legally – also play a major and poorly-understood role in the mass migration affecting the continent.

Turkey is a major route for would-be migrants, travelling by land from Syria and Afghanistan onwards by land or sea to Greece, the Balkans and central Europe.

Frontex noted there had been a threefold increase in Africans detected making illegal border crossings in the Western Balkans in the three months June to compared to the previous quarter..

They included a nine-fold increase in Congolese, a six-fold rise in Cameroonians, and a four-fold rise in Ghanaians.

In total it detected some 4,071 Africans out of 54 437 illegal border crossings.

The report goes on: “The increase in detected Africans in the Western Balkans could be partly explained by the expansion of Turkish Airlines connection network in Africa.”

• ‘I wasn’t in charge when boat capsized’ says father of Aylan Kurdi

It notes how the carrier now has the largest network in Africa, nearly doubling its weekly seat capacity from 38,000 to 70,000, and planning to open six new destinations.

“It already boasts the largest network in the continent among foreign carriers, overtaking Air France and Emirates. By the end of 2015, Turkish Airlines will have at least 45 destinations in its African network across 30 countries. For comparison, Air France, which has the second largest African network among European carriers, offers flights to 34 destinations. Brussels Airlines has 19 African destinations on offer, British Airways 18 and Lufthansa 13.”

Earlier this year the Telegraph revealed how Turkey’s lax e-visa regime had made it an easy back-door into Europe.

Turkish Visa

Turkish Visa

The problem is down to Turkey’s policy of “visa diplomacy”, under which its Islamist government has sought influence across Africa and the Middle East, by easing visa restrictions. Citizens of countries such as Somalia, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Sudan can all get “e-visas”, which require only a form to be filled in and a fee to be paid online.

A Telegraph reporter pretending to be from Afghanistan was able to buy such a visa in less than five minutes, using the name John Smith:

 

 

 

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Filed Under: News Tagged With: airline, illegal African, migration, Turkish

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