Rescue aid for Romanian flag carrier Tarom, amounting to nearly €37 million, has been cleared by European Commission regulators. The Romanian government had previously indicated that it was aiming to support the ailing operator with a funding package, and notified regulators earlier this month. Tarom faces an “acute liquidity shortage” arising from operating costs associated with its ageing fleet, says the Commission. “Absent the aid, Tarom will no longer be able to fulfil its payment obligations while keeping operations running,” it adds. Tarom’s funding will take the form of a temporary loan. “The measure will contribute to ensuring the orderly continuation of air transport services, in particular on numerous routes where Tarom is the only provider,” the Commission states. It says the loan will only cover the airline’s demonstrated liquidity needs for the next six months. Romania’s government will conduct “stringent monitoring”, says the Commission, to check how the funds are distributed. The Commission adds that the government has committed to ensuring full repayment of the loan after the six-month period. If this fails, Tarom will either be required to submit a liquidation plan or undergo extensive restructuring – with Commission approval – to become sustainable. Tarom recently started modernising its turboprop fleet with the initial delivery from a batch of leased ATR 72-600s. The Commission’s clearance of the state aid will avoid disruption to passengers and help maintain services. “At the same time, the strict conditions attached to the loan and its duration limited to six months will reduce the distortion of competition potentially triggered by the state support to a minimum,” it adds. Romania’s Timisoara airport has also benefited from a positive Commission verdict on public funding which was granted to the facility over the period 2007-09. Regional carrier Carpatair had formally complained about the funding and other measures in favour of the airport and budget operator Wizz Air, prompting an in-depth probe by the Commission in 2011. But the Commission says certain public funds were used either to finance non-economic activities or did not grant any economic advantage to the airport, and consequently did not constitute state aid. Discounts and rebates applied to all airlines at the airport, it adds, and were not selective, while agreements with Wizz Air were profitable and would have been concluded by a “prudent” market-economy operator.

Source: Cirium

Alitalia’s new commissioner has detailed proposals for trimming part of the Italian carrier’s operations, during meetings with key unions. Commissioner Giuseppe Leogrande took over as a single commissioner for the carrier, which remains in extraordinary administration, after plans fell through for a consortium of investors to take over the airline. Union FIT-CISL says Leogrande informed members of proposals to close unprofitable routes and reduce the fleet by three aircraft, from 113 to 110. The aircraft would be withdrawn through the end of leases. Union FILT-CGIL says the network closures would be aimed at long-haul routes. FILT-CGIL chief Fabrizio Cuscito says: “There was also talk of the possible impact of route closures on the extent of lay-offs for pilots and cabin crew.” But no details have been finalised, he adds. Cuscito warns that the need for sacrifices regarding Alitalia’s reshaping “cannot fall again on workers”. FIT-CISL says the commissioner advised that the entire company is being examined for areas of improvement. But the union says the economic development minister needs to convene a meeting with the workers’ representatives and “tell us what he wants to do with Alitalia”. FIT-CISL points out that the collapse of Air Italy indicates that the entire supply chain, rather than individual airlines, is showing signs of problems.

Source: Cirium

Kenyan investigators have disclosed that the crew of a Fokker 50 continued a take-off roll, despite multiple alerts apparently warning of a serious engine problem, before the aircraft crashed some 50s after becoming airborne. The inquiry into the 2014 accident, involving a Skyward International Aviation turboprop departing Nairobi’s main international airport, found that 27 high-level ‘triple-chime’ alerts had sounded as the aircraft rolled along runway 06. Aural alerts had commenced as early as 8s after the take-off was initiated but, while the aircraft was well below the V1 decision speed, the crew did not act to abort the take-off roll. Flight-data recorder information indicates that the left-hand Pratt & Whitney Canada PW125 engine was exhibiting problems, with increasing torque but declining propeller speed compared with the right-hand engine. “On [its] ground roll for take-off, the aircraft seemed to take [more] runway than anticipated before attaining the take-off speed,” the Kenyan air accident investigation department states, indicating that the roll lasted over 90s. The aircraft lifted off from the high-elevation airport at about 100kt but “barely climbing”, the inquiry says, reaching no more than 50ft above ground after about 20s while continually deviating to the left of the extended centreline. It subsequently collided with a building 2,100m north-north-east of the runway end. None of the four occupants – two pilots, an engineer and a loadmaster – survived. The aircraft had been conducting a cargo service to Mogadishu, in darkness, on 2 July 2014. Investigators found discrepancies in the loadsheet for the aircraft and analysis of the cargo, including a shipment of the mild narcotic qat, indicated that the aircraft was 500-1,500kg above its maximum certified gross weight at take-off. The captain, who had been flying, had logged over 6,800h in command of Fokker 50s, although the inquiry says it was “unable to determine” whether either pilot had demonstrated an ability to fly the turboprop with one engine inoperable.
Analysis of recordings from the previous positioning flight by the aircraft (5Y-CET) showed a ‘three-chime’ alert had occurred, and that the crew spent time trying to diagnose the problem. Despite the evidence from the cockpit-voice recorder, the monitoring pilot for the flight “denied knowledge” of any anomalies, says the inquiry. Investigators could not obtain any evidence that any problem was recorded in the technical log, nor that any maintenance was conducted in relation to the apparent anomaly. At least one of the crew members – possibly the captain – from the positioning flight was among those fatally injured during the subsequent accident. While the ‘three-chime’ alert sounded repeatedly during the ill-fated flight’s take-off roll, the inquiry says “it is not clear” why the crew continued to proceed with the flight, particularly given that Fokker documentation requires an abort under such circumstances. Cirium fleets data shows the aircraft was originally delivered to Lufthansa CityLine in 1992 and served with Air Nostrum and Avianca Brazil before being transferred to Skyward from Dutch operator Denim in May 2014. It had been operated in Kenya for just 92h before the crash. Although the accident occurred in 2014, the inquiry was only signed off at the end of November last year and published by the transport ministry in January.

Source: Cirium