Several US lawmakers have again introduced a bill to impose more restrictive duty and rest time requirements on pilots of cargo aircraft, a move both the Federal Aviation Administration and cargo carriers previously opposed. The measure continues a years-long effort by groups including pilot unions to make cargo pilots subject to fatigue rules in place for passenger aircraft pilots since 2014. Cargo carriers are already subject to pilot fatigue regulations but were exempted from the more restrictive 2014 rules, which came as a congressional response to a deadly 2009 crash of a Colgan Air turboprop. The "Safe Skies Act of 2019", introduced into the US House of Representatives by bipartisan lawmakers on 19 November, would apply the 2014 rules to cargo pilots. The measure, which has not been approved by either house of Congress, mirrors a half dozen similar bills introduced in recent years. None of those became law. "All-cargo airline operations are excluded from science-based pilot fatigue rules despite flying the same routes, in the same airspace and into the same airports as pilots of passenger airlines," says a media release issued by the Air Line Pilots Association, International and the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association, a group including the Independent Pilots Association and International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Those unions represent pilots who fly for FedEx, UPS and subsidiaries of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and Air Transport Services Group. The cargo airline industry and FAA have pushed back against such efforts. Cargo Airline Association president Stephen Alterman says the bill "doesn't recognise that the all-cargo industry, as a business model, is significantly different than the passenger industry". Cargo pilots typically fly one round trip during a work period – out and back from a major cargo sorting hub over 5h or so, he says. They often log less than 30h of flight time monthly. By comparison, passenger aircraft pilots might fly more than 10h during a work day and log 55-60h of flight time a month, Alterman says. “Safety is and always will be the airline industry’s top priority," says airline lobby group A4A. "The FAA’s current flight duty and rest rules take into account the very different operating environment that cargo airline pilots work in. Imposing one policy for two separate and distinct types of flight operations could harm – not help – aviation safety.”

Source: FlightGlobal

South African Airways is resuming flights to destinations within the region, while the carrier's domestic services are still affected by industrial action. The airline says that it is "on the road to operational recovery" as a "growing number of our employees… are coming back to work". South African cancelled nearly all its flights on 15 and 16 November, when the strike began by the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) to seek an improved pay offer. Intercontinental flights resumed on 17 November and are "now operating as usual and on an ongoing basis", the airline says. Flights to African destinations Accra, Harare, Lagos, Lusaka, Maputo and Windhoek will restart today, the carrier adds. But it confirms that "all" domestic customers continue to be rebooked on to flights operated by South African's budget subsidiary Mango and partner carriers Airlink and SA Express.
Noting South African's "no-work, no-pay" policy, acting chief executive Zuks Ramasia states that the carrier "would like to record its appreciation to those employees that have decided to return to work". The airline, for its part, has condemned "several incidents relating to intimidation against staff" by union members. "Describing some of our employees as 'traitors' and threatening that 'we know where you are' are flagrant methods of intimidation – and will not be tolerated by SAA," argues Ramasia. South African has sought advice from a labour court about "additional" union demands, which, the carrier says, "are not part of part of the conflict… [and] not procedural", and to address "non-compliance with picketing rules". Furthermore, the carrier has taken legal action against statements by SACCA and NUMSA, which, South African says, were "deeply regrettable, untruthful and without foundation". The airline insists: "SAA has never – and will never – compromise safety under any circumstances." While the cost of the strike for the company has "many elements", South African argues the reputational damage is "immeasurable". Ramasia describes the carrier's current situation as "difficult". Noting a "contribution by taxpayers to our sustainability", she argues that the state carrier "cannot afford salary increases at present". NUMSA and SACCA demand an 8% wage increase, South African says. The carrier has offered a 5.9% rise from March, if "funds are available at that time", it says. South African says that a mediation commission will "shortly" be reconvened to resolve the dispute.

Source: FlightGlobal

The first of Jin Air’s three Boeing 737NGs found with “pickle fork” cracks returned to service this week. The Korean Air-affiliated carrier says that repair and replacement work, conducted jointly with Boeing, was completed on Monday and the aircraft was returned to service on Tuesday. It tells Cirium that FAA and South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) had approved the outcome of the repair work after safety checks and test flights. “We have two more B737 NGs with same problem and expect the repair to finish within this year,” it says. The “pickle fork” is a piece of hardware which connects the wing to the aircraft fuselage. Cracking of the hardware could result in structural failure, which affects the structure integrity of the aircraft and results in loss of control. Global regulators have urged airlines operating 737NGs with more than 30,000 flight cycles to inspect their aircraft immediately for cracks. Aircraft that have logged 22,600-30,000 cycles should be inspected within the next 1,000 cycles.
Last week, MOLIT identified 13 737NGs that contain cracks, after inspecting 100 737NGs. Nine of these were identified in a first round of inspection in October and had clocked more than 30,000 flight cycles. MOLIT notified Boeing about the cracks, which then sent a team to South Korea on 31 October to commence repair work. It said it takes about two weeks to work on each aircraft and the affected aircraft will all be repaired by January 2020. The ministry did not specify which airlines operated the affected 737NG aircraft, but local media reports state that besides the three from Jin Air, five were operated by Korean Air, three by Jeju Air and two from Eastar Jet. The same reports indicate that Boeing’s team is working on the five 737NGs operated by Korean Air and two of three from Jin Air.

Source: FlightGlobal