More carmakers caught in headlights of VW engine-rigging scandal

More carmakers caught in headlights of VW engine-rigging scandal
Volkswagen has admitted it installed illegal software into 11 million 2.0 liter and 3.0 liter diesel engines worldwide (AFP Photo/Josh Edelson)

Volkswagen emissions scandal

Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission

Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission
Analsyts say it is irresponsible to link the crash of a Ukraine International Airline Boeing 737-800 to the 737 MAX accidents (AFP Photo/INA FASSBENDER)

Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts

Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 commercial jet.

QZ8501 (AirAsia)

Leaders see horror of French Alps crash as probe gathers pace

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …

Monday, November 29, 2010

Mt. Bromo forces Malang flight cancellations

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 11/29/2010

The government ordered flights to and from Malang cancelled on Monday after smoke from nearby Mount Bromo covered the East Java city.

Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said the cancellation of flight service began at 10 a.m. Monday and would last for five days.

Passengers were advised to use Juanda International Airport in Surabaya in lieu of Abdurrahman Saleh airport in Malang, as reported by news portal kompas.com,

There have been several minor eruptions from Mt. Bromo recently.


Related Article:

Sunday, November 28, 2010

18 killed as cargo plane crashes in residential area in Karachi, Pakistan


English.news.cn   2010-11-28 


Pakistani volunteers struggle to extinguish the fire at the site of a plane crash in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Nov. 28, 2010. At least 18 people including 10 on the ground were killed as a Russian-made IL 76 cargo plane crashed in a residential area near the Karachi airport in southern Pakistan early Sunday morning. (Xinhua/Arshad)
  
ISLAMABAD, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 people were killed as a Russian-made IL76 cargo plane crashed in a residential area near the Karachi airport in southern Pakistan early Sunday morning, reported local TV channel Express.

According to the report, there were eight people on board when the plane crashed two minutes after it took off from the Karachi airport at 1:45 am (local time) Sunday morning. The plane was on its way to Sudan, said the report.

Though only eight people were said to be on board, the casualties could be larger than imagined as the plane crashed in a residential area named Gulshan-E-Jamal near the Karachi airport, the report said.

Four buildings have reportedly been destroyed as the plane crashed in the afore-said residential area.

Six people on board are said to be Pakistanis while the pilot and co-pilot are foreigners, whose nationality is yet to be determined.

A loud explosion was heard as the plane crashed, said a report, adding that huge fire and smoke are seen on the crash site.

The rescue team has been dispatched to the crash site shortly after the tragedy took place and so far at least one body has been recovered from the crash site.

Sunday's plane crash is the third of its kind over the last four months in Pakistan. On July 28, an Airbus passenger plane crashed in the Margalla Hills of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, killing all the 152 people on board. This is the largest aviation disaster ever reported in the country over the past 18 years.

In October, a small passenger plane carrying over 20 people crashed near the Karachi airport due to the engine failure. None of the people on board survived in the plane crash.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

RI urgently needs flight safety council


Antara News, Thursday, November 25, 2010 18:11 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia urgently needs an independent flight safety council in an effort to increase the flight safety in the country, an official said.

"The presence of an independent flight safety council will help reduce flight transportation accidents," Head of Research and Development (Litbang) of the Ministry of Transportation Denny L Siahaan said here on Thursday.

He said that the country`s urgent need for such a council was raised and become a conclusion of a round-table discussion organized the ministry`s Litbang this week.

Denny said the participants in the discussion agreed that the tasks of the council should included recommending, deciding and evaluating policies, regulations and national flight safety procedures that should be accepted as an indicator of performance achievements.

The discussion also raised the issue on the need for eliminating flight disturbances of kites, birds and wild animals around the airports in an effort to increase flight safety, Denny said.

"Competent operators, inspectors and technicians are also needed," he said.

The participants of the round-table discussion included officials from the ministry of transportation, state-owned firms, flight safety observers and experts, pilot organizations` representatives, operators and other stakeholders.

"In essence the discussion was held to collect the latest inputs for increasing the safety of flights," he added.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Govt to shake up railway firm`s management


Antara News, Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government will soon change the boards of directors and commissioners of state-owned railway company PT Kreta Api (PTKA) because some of them have already completed their terms of office, a deputy minister said.

"Replacement will be carried out soon but it will all depend on the final assessment team (TPA). We have prepared a fit-and-proper test the result of which will be left to the TPA," Deputy Minister for State-owned Firms (BUMN) on infrastructure and Logistics Sumaryanto said here on Tuesday.

He said that besides the completion of their terms of office, the other reason for the replacement was to improve the quality of PTKA services and its financial performance.

He said that selections would be made to fill in the posts of finance director and business development director.

But he was reluctant to explain whether or not the present president director, Ignasius Jonan, would also be replaced. "It will depend on the shareholders," he said.

5,000 hajj pilgrims stranded in Saudi due to Garuda cancellations

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 11/23/2010 10:26 AM

A technical glitch in national airline Garuda Indonesia's new IT system has stranded thousands of passengers in airports across the country, and more than 5,000 Indonesian hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Three travel agencies that specialize in hajj packages, Maktour, Safari Suci and Khalifah, reported cancellations of a total of 12 Garuda flights.

Hajj and Umrah Association head Syarqowie Ghozali said Garuda was not sufficiently compensating the stranded passengers.

Garuda gave each of its ticket holders at the Saudi Arabia airport 180 riyal (US$ 48),which was less than the 300 riyal (US$ 80) room rate charged by the cheapest airport hotel there.

Separately,Garuda Pilot Association chairman Stephanus Gerrardus dismissed rumors the cancellations were caused by a pilot strike.

Garuda Workers Union member Tomy Tampatty said there was tension between the workers and the board of directors.

“But there is no strike,” he said.

Garuda announced it would not take ticket orders until Wednesday while it resolved the computer problem.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Garuda says cancellation due to tech glitch

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 11/21/2010 10:05 PM

Flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia has denied rumors that the cancellation of numerous flights on Sunday was not caused by a strike of its workers but was due to a technological glitch.

“We have implemented a new IT system for the integration of the management of flights, crew and passengers. The new system has been up and running for three days, but now we’ve had a glitch,” Garuda vice president Pudjobroto told The Jakarta Post.

Pudjobroto apologized on behalf of Garuda and promised that passengers would be compensated for their grief, and those left stranded at airports had been given free accommodations until new flights were available.

“This new system monitors a huge operation. We are operating 81 jet airlines, 580 pilots and 2,000 cabin crew and 2,000 flights per week. The system is still working and we are fixing the bugs,” Pudjobroto said.

Pudjo said the main problem behind today’s cancellations -- at least six in Jakarta and one each in Aceh, Denpasar, Surabaya, Semarang and Pangkalpinang — was a mix up in the scheduling of cabin crew.

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Garuda Indonesia to join SkyTeam

Rangga D.Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 11/19/2010 8:58 PM

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia sets to officially join international airline alliance SkyTeam in a bid to reach its target to become one of the top ten best airlines in the world.

The carrier will meet delegates from SkyTeam partner airlines on Nov. 23 in Jakarta to sign an official agreement and discuss detailed practical matters.

The president director of Garuda Indonesia, Emirsyah Satar, said Thursday that after officially joining the alliance, his carrier could fly passengers from the alliance's partner airlines and vice versa, so the flight frequency of his carrier could be added.

“It means that our passengers can fly anywhere with one ticket only,” he said as quoted by Gatra magazine.

He continued that joining SkyTeam was one of Garuda Indonesia's efforts to provide traveling convenience and more choices for its passengers.

Currently,13 airlines – Aerosoft, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, ChinaSouthern, Czeh Airlines, Delta Airlines, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, TAROM,and Vietnam Airlines – have joined the alliance. SkyTeam member-airlines travel to 841 destination cities in 162 countries servicing 16,409 flights per day.

Cancer surviving flight attendant forced to remove prosthetic breast during pat-down

wbtv.com, By MollyGrantham – bio, Posted: Nov 19, 2010

CHARLOTTE,NC (WBTV) - A Charlotte-area flight attendant and cancer survivor contacted WBTV after she says she was forced toshow her prosthetic breast during a pat-down.

Cathy Bossi lives in south Charlotte and has been a flight attendant for the past 32 years, working the past 28 for U.S. Airways.

She reluctantly agreed. As a 3-year breast cancer survivor she says she didn't want the added radiation through her body. But, Bossi says she did agree.

"The T.S.A. Agent told me to put my I.D. on my back," she said. "When I got out of there she said because my I.D. was on my back, I had to go to a personal screening area."

She says two female Charlotte T.S.A. agents took her to a private room and began what she calls an aggressive pat down. Shesays they stopped when they got around to feeling her right breast… the one where she'd had surgery.


"She put her full hand on my breast and said, 'What is this?'. And I said, 'It's my prosthesis because I've had breast cancer.' And she said, 'Well, you'll need to show me that'."

Cathy was asked to show her prosthetic breast, removing it from her bra.

"I did not take the name of the person at the time because it was just so horrific of an experience, I couldn't believe someone had done that to me. I'm a flight attendant. I was just trying to get to work."

Since then, Cathy has contacted the Legislative Affairs Team, a group through the flight attendant union. She says she wants tosee a crackdown on these personal pat downs.

"There are blowers and there are dogs out there that can sniff out bombs," she says. "There's no reason to have somebody's hands touching your body parts."

A T.S.A. representative says agents aren't supposed to remove any prosthetics, but are allowed to ask to see and touch any passenger's prosthetic.

T.S.A. says it will review this matter.



Transportation Security Administration administrator John Pistole testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, before the Senate commerce committee hearing to examine the TSA. (Harry Hamburg/Associated Press)


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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Toyota lays out big green-car push with hybrids, EVs

Reuters, Tokyo, By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent, Thu Nov 18, 2010

A Toyota employee shows how to recharge a Prius-based plug-in hybrid during a photo opportunity at the company's showroom in Tokyo November 18, 2010. Toyota on Thursday laid out big plans for launching greener vehicles, including 11 new conventional hybrids over the next two years and a Prius-based plug-in hybrid that may cost as little as 3 million yen. (Credit: REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao)

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp on Thursday laid out big plans for launching greener vehicles, including 11 new conventional hybrids over the next two years and a Prius-based plug-in hybrid that may cost as little as 3 million yen ($36,050).

One of the hybrids will be a compact car with fuel efficiency exceeding 40 km per liter -- the highest for a gasoline-electric model measured under Japanese test cycles, it said.

The world's top automaker has led the industry in cleaner, next-generation vehicle technology, having dominated the hybrid field for more than a decade with the iconic Prius and 13 other models so far.

But with governments tightening environmental and fuel economy standards all over the world, rival automakers are aiming to catch up, particularly with new vehicle technologies such as battery-powered electric cars and part-electric-part-engine "range extenders" such as General Motors's Chevy Volt.

Not to be outdone, Toyota said it would begin selling a plug-in hybrid based on the Prius by early 2012 mainly in Japan, the United States and Europe, targeting sales of more than 50,000 units a year.

The car, which unlike a conventional hybrid can be plugged in to enable longer-distance driving using only electricity, is expected to cost as little as 3 million yen in Japan, Toyota said. GM has priced its Volt at $41,000, while Nissan Motor Co's all-electric Leaf will start at 3.76 million yen before subsidies.

With billions of dollars of cash at hand, Toyota is among the few car manufacturers able to spend on research and development across the range of technologies.

In the field of battery electric vehicles, which Nissan and its French partner, Renault SA, are aiming to lead, Toyota confirmed it would launch a model based on the tiny iQ in the United States, Japan and Europe in 2012, initially targeting urban commuters.

It was also considering a launch in China, the world's biggest car market, with road trials planned in 2011.

Toyota plans to begin selling fuel-cell vehicles, which are also all-electric but run on hydrogen fuel, in the three markets from around 2015. Their high cost are a hurdle, but Toyota said it expected to be able to offer the car for a price under 10 million yen -- about one-tenth of what the zero-emission vehicle cost at the beginning of the decade.

Toyota is also working on developing next-generation batteries in-house, an ambition that had been held by the group's founder Sakichi Toyoda.

Having established a separate battery division in January with about 100 researchers, Toyota said it had made some progress toward creating a full solid-state battery in a compact package, as well as determining the reaction mechanism of lithium-air batteries.

(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Related Article:

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Qantas fined $12m over cargo cartel

News.com.au, AFP November 10, 2010 7:15AM

QANTAS is among 11 air cargo carriers fined a total of 800 million euros ($1.1 billion) by the European Commission for running a cartel.

The fines, totalling €799.4 million ($1.09 billion), were slapped on airlines for co-ordinating a cartel that covered flights from, to and within the European Economic Area.

Qantas was given one of the smallest fines, €8.9 million ($12.27 million), for its part in the cartel.

The cartel initially began with contacts between airlines to ensure that worldwide airfreight carriers imposed a "flat rate surcharge per kilo for all shipments," the commission said.

The co-operation expanded with the introduction of a security surcharge. The companies refused to pay a commission on such surcharges to their clients, the regulator said.

"It is deplorable that so many major airlines coordinated their pricing to the detriment of European businesses and European consumers," said

The Air France-KLM group was hit with the biggest fine, €310 million ($427.26 million),of which €183 million ($252.22 million)was for Air France and €127 million ($175.04 million) for KLM.

British Airways was fined €104 million ($143.34 million).

The other companies fined were Qantas, Air Canada, Martinair, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, SAS and Singapore Airlines.

Lufthansa and its subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines escaped a fine under the commission's leniency program for being the first to provide information about the cartel.

The 11 cargo carriers co-ordinated their action on surcharges for fuel and security without discounts over a six-year period, between December 1999 and February 2006, the European Union's competition watchdog said.

Scandinavia's SAS group was fined €70.2 million and Luxembourg's Cargolux will have to pay€79.9 million.

In Asia, Singapore Airlines was fined €74.8 million, Cathay was hit with €57.1 million and Japan Airlines will pay €35.7 million. Air Canada must pay €21 million.

Five airlines applied for a reduction in the fine, claiming they were unable to pay it, but the commission said none of them met the conditions.

The commissions aid it dropped charges against another 11 carriers and one consultancy firm which it did not name.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Garuda resumes Jakarta-KL flight

Antara News, Sunday, November 7, 2010 23:57 WIB

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (ANTARA News) - Garuda Indonesia resumed its Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta flights now that Mt Merapi`s volcanic ash stopped coveringSoekarno-Hatta International Airport, Oemar said here Sunday.

"In the morning, we received 10 passengers who had been transferred to other airlines, but in the noon, all the people flying to Jakarta are Garuda Airline passengers," the spokesman for Garuda said here Sunday.

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport was reported in a normal condition without too many passengers but the number of Garuda passengers for Jakarta was big enough.

The spokesman said there were two flights from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta every day.
More than 50 percent of seats was occupied for Jakarta and 133 passengers were leaving for Jakarta at 12.55 pm.

Some said they were afraid to fly to Jakarta since the flight cancellations to Indonesia,especially Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali.

Pricilla(24), Garuda customer, said she was happy with the resumption of the flights to Jakarta, so she could do her activity as usual.

"I was afraid of not going to Jakarta, but finally the flight has been resumed because the Soekarno-Hatta Airport has become safe for landing," she said.

Beforehand, all flights from Malaysia to Jakarta were canceled on Saturday because of Mt Merapi`s volcanic ash had made it dangerous to land.

More over, Air Asia has also resumed its flights from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta considering that Soekarno-Hatta airport has been safe for flights.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Missing Turbine Part Key to Qantas A380 Emergency Probe

Jakarta Globe, RohanSullivan | November 07, 2010

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, standing in front of an Airbus A380, comments in Sydney on Saturday on an incident involving a Qantas flight from Singapore. On Thursday, one of a Qantas A380's four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines failed on a Qantas flight from Singapore to Sydney, shedding pieces of metal over Indonesia before it returned to make a safe emergency landing in Singapore. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)


Investigators of last week's engine explosion on a Qantas superjumbo focused their search on Sunday on a missing piece of turbine from the Rolls-Royce engine, and the airline said it hoped to have its grounded fleet of A380s back in service within days.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is leading an international investigation into the blowout on the world's newest and largest airliner,appealed for help from residents of Indonesia's Batam island to find the missing chunk of a turbine disc.

The island was scattered with debris last Thursday when one of the A380's four Trent 900 engines failed minutes into a flight to Sydney, with 466 people aboard.

The engine was quickly shut down and the plane returned to Singapore and safely made an emergency landing.

"There covery of that disk could be crucial to a full understanding of the nature ofthe engine failure, and may have implications for the prevention of future similar occurrences," the bureau said in a statement.

It released a photograph to media of a jagged and bent piece of turbine disc from the Trent900 engine and asked that anyone who might have found a similar piece should hand it to police.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has blamed the blowout on a mechanical or design fault in the engine, not maintenance. Experts said the shattered turbine could indicate the failure point.

Qantas, Australia's national carrier, grounded its six double-decker A380s and began rigorous safety checks.

Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, the other airlines that fly A380s fitted with Trent 900engines, also briefly grounded their planes last week but resumed service safter completing checks.

Joyce told reporters on Saturday that each engine on its A380s would undergo eight hours of tests, and no plane would fly until all checks — being undertaken in Sydney and Los Angeles — were complete.

"We are hopeful that within days the A380 fleet will start flying again," he said.

As the hunt for clues went on, the bureau said that one piece of the shattered engine that had been found on Batam was being sent to Britain for examination byRolls-Royce engineers, under the supervision of bureau investigators.

Extra experts were being sent from Australia to Singapore to examine other debris.

Rolls-Royce Group PLC, a London-based aerospace, power systems and defense company separate from the car manufacturer, has said the investigation is in its early stages and that it is too early to draw any conclusions.

John Goglia, a former National Transportation Safety Board member and an expert on aircraft maintenance, said the photo showing the broken turbine disc indicates it was the disc that may have failed.

The photo didn't show any signs of discoloration on the disc that would indicate overheating.

There are several reasons why a disc might fail, but they usually involve the metal used to make the disc or the manufacturing method, Goglia said.

Hecautioned that he was looking at one photo, which was not enough information tomake a definitive judgment.

Meanwhileon Sunday, passengers on a Qantas Boeing 747-400 that had engine trouble a dayafter the A380 began arriving in Australia on alternative flights.

The747-400's engine overheated six minutes after takeoff from Singapore and had tomake an emergency landing.

"I could see from my seat the fire," said Amon Franz, a tourist from Austriawho was one of several passengers who described seeing one of the plane's engines flame out.

"Most people were crying around me ... and those seconds was a really hard experiencefor me."

Joyce, the Qantas executive, said the 747-400 incident was unrelated to the A380 event and was not as worrying.

The crew and captain of the stricken A380 were among those aboard the 747-400 that had the engine trouble on Friday, the Sun Herald newspaper reported.

Associated Press

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Saturday, November 6, 2010

Jakarta declared no-fly zone after volcano blast

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 11/06/2010

Just days before President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia, all international airlines canceled flights into the country’s capital city Saturday after a volcano hundreds of miles to the west unleashed its most powerful eruption in a century.

The cancellation also means passengers leaving Jakarta for overseas had to call off their trips.

Corporate secretary of Soekarno-Hatta Airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II, Hari Cahyono, told kompas.com international carriers began stopping flights to Jakarta at 4 p.m. He said many of them were put on hold in Malaysia and Singapore.

“The volcanic ash presence in the airways surrounding Jakarta could cause severe damage to our aircraft and engines which could impair the safety of our operations including passengers and crew," said Azharuddin Osman, directorof operations for Malaysia Airlines, told AP.

Among the other carriers temporarily suspending flights were Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia. Domestic flights were unaffected.

The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano in April forced the closure ofmost European airports for a week and led to the cancellation of over 100,000 flights.


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Malaysian airliners suspend flights to Bandung

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 11/06/2010 4:54 PM

Malaysia’sinternational airline companies Malaysia Air and Air Asia have indefinitelysuspended flights to and from Bandung after ash showers from Mt. Merapi inYogyakarta spread to the West Java capital.

“All AirAsia flights to Hussein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung have been suspended dueto volcanic ash particles,” Air Asia’s Bandung area manager Bangkit toldkompas.com.

Thesuspension affected international flights between Bandung and Kuala Lumpur andbetween Bandung and Singapore and domestic flights from Bandung to Bali.

A staff atthe airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II said Malaysia Air sent a notificationon suspension of its flights to Bandung also due to the volcanic ash that couldendanger flights.

Due to theflight suspension, all passengers leaving for Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Balihad to depart from Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang. They were transportedto the country’s biggest airport by bus.

“Allflights have been moved to Soekarno-Hatta Airport,” an airport officer said.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Yogyakarta airport closure extended

Antara News, Friday, November 5, 2010 15:54 WIB | National

Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Managing authority of Adisutjipto airport in Yogyakarta has extended the time limit to close the runway for both domestic and foreign flights on Friday due to volcanic ashes still covering the airport.

Earlier in the morning, the airport`s management announced the runway was closed for three hours from 6 to 9 AM. And later the time limit has been extended to 12 AM since the airport`s management believed the volcanic ashes would endanger smooth flights.

"We will stop all activities at the airport for a whole day if the situation does not change," the airport`s General Manager Agus Andriyanto said here on Friday.

The airport`s authorities had sent four fire trucks and two runway sweepers to clean the runway from the volcanic ashes, he said.

The Mount Merapi, located on the border between two provinces, lies geographically close to Yogyakarta but is officially part of Central Java, and has continuously erupted since October 26, spewing hot clouds into the air and sending lava down its many slopes.

The disaster had not only killed 53 people but also displaced tens of thousands of others from their homes.

Besides causing loss of life, the latest hot clouds of Mount Merapi, which continued to spew lava, ash and hot clouds since Thursday, also caused burns to about 35 residents, including five toddlers. They were all rushed to Dr.Sardjito general hospital for medical treatment.

Due to the intensive big eruptions, the safety zone had been extended to 20 kilometers.

Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, whose eruptions have regularly been detected since 1548.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Qantas plane makes emergency landing after engine quits over Indonesia

The Globe and Mail, SINGAPORE—The Associated Press, Wednesday, Nov. 03, 2010 11:20PM EDT

A Qantasjetliner with 459 people aboard made an emergency landing Thursday in Singaporeafter one of its four engines shut down over western Indonesia and followingwitness reports of a blast that sent debris hurtling to the ground.

Theairliner denied there had been any explosion, and said the plane landed safelywith no injuries. Qantas had no immediate comment on whether the enginetroubles were related to eruptions of Indonesia's Mount Merapi over the past 10days.

Given thetiming of the malfunction, 15 minutes after takeoff from Singapore, and theairliner's flight path, there appeared to be no connection.

A Qantasstatement said the double-decker A380 plane experienced an “engine issue” soonafter taking off from Singapore for Sydney. It made a safe emergency landing inSingapore at 11:45 a.m. local time with 433 passengers and 26 crew on board,the statement said.

“Some mediareports suggested the aircraft had crashed. These reports are incorrect. NoQantas aircraft has crashed,” it said.

Qantasspokeswoman Emma Kearns in Sydney, Australia, said there were no reports ofinjuries or an explosion on board. When asked if the engine trouble was relatedto ash hurled from Merapi, Ms. Kearns said she had no further details.

A series ofpowerful eruptions from Indonesia's most volatile volcano, which was spewingmassive clouds of gray ash 1,400 kilometres west of Batam, earlier promptedofficials to close some air routes above the mountain.

“We have noway of knowing what at this point caused the problem,” said Tatang Kurniadi,the chief of The National Transportation Safety Committee, when asked if therewere fears volcanic ash clogged the Qantas airliner's engine.

Witnesseson the western Indonesian island of Batam, near Singapore, reported hearing alarge blast and seeing pieces of debris – including panels painted white andred – falling onto houses and a nearby shopping mall.

Pictures ofmetal, some the size of a door, were shown on Indonesia's MetroTV broadcaster,with people milling around.

“I heard abig explosion at around 9:15 a.m. and saw a commercial passenger plane flyinglow in the distance with smoke on one of its wings,” Rusdi, a local resident,told MetroTV.

“The debrisstarted falling on my house.”

A BritishAirways flight suffered engine failure in 1982 after it had flown into avolcanic cloud in western Sumatra and was forced to make an emergency landingat Jakarta.




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IATA boss complains about "control terrorism" at airports

RNW, 3November 2010 - 10:12pm

The boss of the international air travel organisation IATA Giovanni Bisignani has called for an end to "control terrorism" at airports. He thinks body scanners and metal detectors are not only irritating, they are not an effective means to catch terrorists.

Dutch airline KLM and its merger partner Air France are also affiliated to IATA.

In mass circulation Dutch daily De Telegraaf Mr Bisignani says: "The current controls are unacceptable. We have to stop treating millions of innocent airpassengers like criminals. Belts, shoes and shampoo are not the problem. We have to catch terrorists."

11 September

The ever increasing controls of passengers since the 1970s, after the first planes were hijacked, are a source of irritation to the Italian IATA boss. Since 11 September 2001, in particular, travelling by air has become torturous for passengers, at the same time airports and airlines spend millions every year on security measures.

Mr Bisignani says, innocent air passengers should not have to wait for hours inqueues and more use should be made of intelligence information.


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Garuda Reroutes Indonesia's Hajj Departures From Solo

Antara News,Jakarta Globe | November 03, 2010

Jakarta.Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia on Wednesday diverted its embarkation point forhajj pilgrims from Solo to Surabaya to keep flights from being delayed byvolcanic ash from the erupting Mount Merapi.

Garudaspokesman Pujobroto said on Wednesday that pilgrims in batches 64, 65, 66 and67 scheduled to leave from Solo would depart from Surabaya.

Thepilgrims will fly to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via Batam Island, just south ofSingapore.

“Garuda hasprepared buses to transport the departing pilgrims to Surabaya while check-inand other departure details have been processed earlier in Solo,” the airlinesaid in a statement.

Pujobrotosaid the departure point had to be changed because the volcano could delayflights, resulting in missing the Nov. 10 deadline for getting into SaudiArabia through King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah.

Solo hadbeen scheduled to see 33,492 pilgrims, split into 88 groups, leave fromAdisumarmo International Airport.

Garuda saidit had so far flown 119,622 pilgrims in 306 groups for this year’s hajj. Thefirst batch of pilgrims left from Polonia Airport in Medan on Oct. 11.

A total of491 groups of pilgrims will leave this year, comprising 197,500 regular-packagepilgrims and 23,500 special-package pilgrims.

Thegovernment organizes all-inclusive hajj packages for some 200,000 pilgrimsevery year, causing logistical headaches for the authorities.

Merapi,which straddles four districts in Central Java and Yogyakarta, has seenmarathon eruptions since Oct. 26.

BambangErvan, spokesman for the Transportation Ministry, said on Tuesday that airlineshad been warned to avoid certain routes over Yogyakarta and Central Java asMount Merapi continued to belch dangerous hot ash high into the air, forcingsix international flights to be canceled due to poor visibility.

Bambangsaid an official warning had been issued to all airlines to “use alternativeroutes for safety reasons due to the volcanic ash.”

Malaysia-basedAirAsia had canceled four flights linking Kuala Lumpur with Yogyakarta andnearby Solo on Tuesday. SilkAir, the regional carrier of Singapore Airlines,confirmed on Tuesday that it had taken two flights between Singapore and Solooff the schedule.

Merapispewed hot ash high into the air at least six times on Tuesday.