European safety regulators have refused to lift an operational ban on Pakistan International Airlines imposed at the end of June. While the airline does not feature on the European Commission’s blacklist of banned carriers – which was revised on 2 December – it has not been reinstated on the list of third-country operators approved by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. EASA imposed the sanction following preliminary findings over the fatal loss of a PIA Airbus A320 at Karachi and the revelation, around the same time, that a high number of pilot licences issued by the Pakistani civil aviation authority were obtained fraudulently. The licensing concerns and the “lack of effective implementation” of a safety-management system led EASA to suspend PIA’s approval, states documentation associated with the Commission’s blacklist revision. Third-country authorisation was also suspended for Pakistani Boeing 737 operator Vision Air. The Commission has consulted with the country’s civil aviation authority since the suspension, requesting information on its oversight of carriers and the personnel licensing situation – seeking evidence that similar doubts over licence validity are not present in the cabin crew or maintenance sectors. Technical meetings were held with the civil aviation authority on 9 July and 25 September, and the Commission says the authority has been “co-operative and transparent”. Examination of the situation ultimately led to the revocation or suspension of the fraudulent licences, the Pakistani authority has told the Commission, as well as the decision to stop issuing new licences from the end of June 2020. “They also informed us that new aviation rules had been put in place to deal with the issues raised and, where appropriate, enforcement actions had been taken,” says the Commission. But with regard to safety-management system oversight, the civil aviation authority has acknowledged that implementation is still at an early stage. “It appears that the authority still needs to effectively identify the root causes of its problems, and to deal with them in a sustainable manner,” says the Commission. While the Commission believes the Pakistani authority is “engaged in a significant effort” to take the corrective actions necessary to address safety concerns, PIA’s third-country approval remains suspended. European regulators plan to conduct an on-site assessment visit to Pakistan. PIA’s permission to operate to the UK is also suspended, as a result of the EASA decision, a consequence of the UK’s still being in a transition period following its departure from the European Union.

A top US pilot union wants to ensure pilots can get jabbed with the Covid-19 vaccine – and not lose their medical certificates. The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is urging the Federal Aviation Administration to approve the vaccine for use by flight crews, and to ensure pilots get priority vaccine access. “Airline pilots are required to maintain medical certification from the FAA, but approval for use of the vaccine is required by the agency before it can be administered to flight crews,” ALPA says in a 9 December letter to US senators. “It is essential that the FAA approve this vaccine for use by airline pilots as soon as possible following” the vaccine’s approval by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). An FDA decision on whether to approve Pfizer’s vaccine is viewed as imminent. The UK government has already approved the vaccine. ALPA sent the letter to members of the Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, which held a 10 December hearing about distributing the Covid vaccine. The union says pilots of cargo aircraft “have experienced an alarming increase in Covid-19 exposure and infections”. “It is critical that, following the initial distribution, airline pilots are provided priority access to the vaccine,” ALPA says. “Ensuring this prioritisation will allow the logistical component of transporting the vaccine to continue unencumbered.” ALPA has for weeks been working “to expedite the FAA’s approval of upcoming vaccines for flight crews”, it adds. The FAA says it “is closely monitoring the active vaccine trials and awaiting the outcome” of vaccine-related hearings currently underway by an FDA advisory panel. “While the agency has made no final decisions, we are prepared to evaluate the use of each vaccine by medical certificate holders as soon as an emergency-use authorisation is issued,” the FAA says. The agency “historically” does not approve vaccines or medications for pilots for at least one year after approval by the FDA. “However, given the nature of the current public health emergency, the FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine will expedite its review of the emergency-use authorisations for the vaccines,” the FAA says.

Electric aircraft company Ampaire has flown its hybrid-electric powered Cessna 337 Skymaster on what it calls an “actual airline route”, between two of Hawaii’s islands. On 22 November, the company flew the modified aircraft, which it calls the Electric EEL, round trip from Kahului to Hana, both on Maui. Kahului and Hana are about 24nm (45km) apart, making for one-way flights lasting about 20min, the company says. The Electric EEL completed the round trip on a single charge of the aircraft’s batteries, it says. Los Angeles-based Ampaire is among several companies working to equip existing small aircraft with electric-propulsion systems. Other projects have outfitted a Grand Caravan and de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver with electric propulsion. Ampaire says the Kahului-Hana flight makes it the first company “to complete a demonstration flight of a hybrid-electric aircraft along an actual airline route”. Ampaire is performing demonstration flights in Hawaii via a partnership with local intra-island carrier Mokulele Airlines. It expects to fly the EEL on the Kahului-Hana route “regularly” as part of a “one-month demonstration programme” with Mokulele. Ampaire has authority to fly the EEL with “crew and essential personnel” under an FAA experimental certification, it adds. Kevin Noertker, Ampaire chief executive, says the flights will demonstrate the “robustness of Ampaire’s technology” and aid development of future related projects involving larger aircraft. Cessna 337s typically have two piston engines – one driving a forward-facing prop, the other driving a pusher prop. For the EEL, Ampaire replaced the six-seat aircraft’s forward engine with an electric system “capable” of producing 119hp (160kW), it says. The aircraft carries a battery pack in an “under-fuselage aero-optimised shell”, and the forward piston engine produces 300hp. That configuration provides a 40-50% reduction in fuel consumption, says Ampaire. Mokulele has signed a “letter of interest” to acquire aircraft from Ampaire, and the EEL project has support from Mokulele parent Southern Airways. “We expect to put hybrid and all-electric designs into service as soon as possible”, says Southern chief executive Stan Little.