Just like elsewhere in the world, the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max has stymied airline industry growth in Latin America, a region long home to some of Seattle-based Boeing's top customers. Those airlines are now girding for a year of slower-than-expected growth while waiting for regulators in the USA and Latin America to green-light the jet's return to service. "We will [report] much lower air traffic growth in 2019," Pedro Heilbron, chief executive of Copa Airlines and president of Latin American airline trade group ALTA, said on 27 October. He spoke during a press conference marking the opening of ALTA's annual forum. "We all have grounded aircraft right now, and are all obviously affected," Heilbron says. "It has a lot of impact on this market," Brazil's secretary of aviation infrastructure Ronei Glanzmann says of the Max. "This is, of course, an economic imperative." Copa has not said how severely the grounding might impact its financial results, though other 737 Max operators have. Those include much-larger American Airlines, which recently disclosed it expects the grounding will take a $540 million bite from its 2019 financial results. The grounding has had a notable impact in Latin America partly because the region is home to several carriers that have made the 737 their primary narrowbody workhorse. When regulators grounded the 737 Max in March, Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Cayman Airways, Copa and Gol operated a combined 25 of the aircraft. That may be relatively few, but Latin American airlines hold outstanding orders for 270 737 Max jets, representing a significant chunk of the region's future fleet, according to Cirium schedules data.


Source: FlightGlobal

Investigators claim a mis-set altimeter combined with heavy fog led to the fatal crash of a Let L-410 turboprop during an attempt to land at Yirol in South Sudan. The Ukrainian-registered aircraft (UR-TWO) had been leased from Slav-Air to Juba-based South West Aviation. It was chartered by a company called Baby Air Tours and Travel to fly from Juba to Yirol on 9 September last year, and was transporting 21 passengers and two crew members. South Sudan's ministry of transport indicates the aircraft approached and passed Yirol airfield from the south-east before crossing Lake Yirol – lying some 1,600m beyond the airfield – before circling clockwise, and then crashing into the western side of the lake. Yirol airfield has a single runway, designated 03/21, which is 1,400m in length. But the inquiry says there are no navigation aids to support landings.While the flight-recorder data was unavailable, the inquiry states that examination of the wreckage showed most of the instrument had "frozen in the impact". The altimeter read 1,780ft, it says, and other instruments indicated the aircraft was descending. The elevation of Yirol airfield is approximately 1,430ft. Several other matters were highlighted during the inquiry including the absence of checks on the crew by flight-safety inspectors. The crew did not check the weather briefing before departure, it says, and the operator could not provide a loadsheet.

Source: FlightGlobal

Air Zimbabwe has been barred from operating from South African airports owing to failure to pay debts relating to aeronautical charges. Johannesburg features on the airline's advertised network but Airports Company South Africa says it has "suspended" the airline from its nine airports effective 22 October. It says the carrier is required to settle weekly the debts owed for landing charges, parking and passenger fees along with a partial payment of arrears. The airports operator says it informed Air Zimbabwe on 18 October that it was facing the restriction on its services and that this would remain in place until outstanding payments were received. It states that the airline has been told it "will not be allowed to depart" from the airports. The airports operator has not specified whether this means Air Zimbabwe aircraft are effectively stranded in South Africa. But it says the decision "became necessary", adding: "Suspension of an airline takes place only after considerable engagement with an airline’s management." It has not disclosed the size of the debts owed by the Zimbabwean carrier.

Source: FlightGlobal