Morocco and Egypt close off airspace to Libyan operators
February 20, 2015
The Moroccan and Egyptian civil aviation regulators have both moved to formally suspend all operations to Libya. The regulators have also closed their airspace to all Libyan operators entering due to the deteriorating security situation within Libya. Both regulatory authorities stated that the failure of Libyan operators to adhere to internationally recognised standards in safety and security oversight prompted the regulators to close their airspace to Libyan operators. The ban prohibits any Libyan operator from entering Moroccan or Egyptian airspace, which also includes any over-flying transit operations.
SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka set to merge
February 13, 2015
The newly appointed Government of Sri Lanka has recently revealed plans to merge the operations of its two state-owned airlines, SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka. Both airlines, which continue to be operated as individual entities, have recorded consecutive years of ailing financial performance. With SriLankan operating as a full-service International carrier and Mihin Lanka operating as a regional Low-Cost Hybrid Carrier, the airlines had failed to generate any significant success in their respective markets while they were operating as separate entities. A merger of the two operators is expected to generate significant operational efficiencies and reduce their overheads. No formal merger date has yet been set.
French regulator issues warning over Pakistani Airspace
January 28, 2015
The French civil aviation regulator, the DGAC, has issued an official warning to French-based airlines citing the increase in risk of operating over Pakistani airspace. The regulator noted that the deteriorating security situation and increasing prevalence of terrorist activity within Pakistan has corresponded to increased risk to commercial operations over the region. The DGAC has advised airlines to avoid operating below an altitude of 24,000ft due to the increase in perceived risk of militant activity in the region.