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Malaysia Airlines plane in emergency landing

after fire alert A Malaysia Airlines passenger jet with 300 people on board was

forced to dump its fuel and make an emergency landing in Australia

today after cockpit lights indicated an engine fire. Flight MH148 had just taken off, bound for Kuala Lumpur, when the

starboard engine on the Airbus A330 appeared to develop a

problem and it was forced to return to Melbourne. Malaysia Airlines was involved in two disasters last year. MH370

disappeared over the southern Indian Ocean in March and MH17

was shot down over Ukraine in July. Airservices Australia, which operates air traffic control, said MH148

reported an engine fire alert from the cockpit but the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said there was no indication of fire after it

landed. Plane tracking websites had shown MH148 circling over Port Phillip bay before returning to Melbournes Tullamarine airport.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/malaysia-

airlines-plane-in-emergency-landing-after-fire-alert-

10316035.html

A passenger on board told Australias Channel 10: There was not much panic, because there was nothing scary and the pilot

kept saying it was under control. Fire crews, paramedics and police were called to be on standby on the runway at about

2.20pm and the plane landed shortly before 3pm without incident

or injury, the company said. All arrivals into Melbourne were delayed or diverted to make way

for the plane. Malaysia Airlines later tweeted: Preliminary inspection on the aircraft reveals no physical evidence of fire

externally. Safety is our utmost priority. A spokesman for Airservices Australia said: Something occurred when the engine went full-throttle, and as is standard

in such situations the pilot has taken the plane out over the bay

to dump fuel, and it will land shortly. Malaysia Airlines spokeswoman Anna Gillett said: The pilot called an emergency landing and as standard procedure when a

pilot calls any sort of emergency landing, emergency personnel

are currently on site. The latest incident could further dent confidence in the

technically bankrupt state-owned Malaysian carrier, whose decline began long before the tragic events of last year

Japan Airlines pilot suspended for cockpit

selfie A Japan Airlines pilot has been suspended

from his job after taking a selfie with a

flight attendant while his co-pilot was in the

bathroom. The unidentified employee violated flight

regulations requiring pilots to remain

vigilant in the cockpit, the airline said. The photo was taken on Sunday during a

flight from northern Japan to Osaka. The

pilot invited a stewardess into the cockpit

and took a photo of them with his

smartphone while his colleague was in the

lavatory. Cockpit security has become a top aviation

issue since a Germanwings co-pilot locked

his captain out of the cockpit during a

bathroom break and crashed the jetliner

into a mountain, killing all 150 people on

the flight.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/japan-airlines-

pilot-suspended-cockpit-selfie-article-1.2256575

IATA Clarifies Cabin OK Initiative The International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued

comments clarifying key elements of its Cabin OK initiative

which have been misunderstood in some reporting. The IATA

Cabin OK initiative for carry-on bags aims to provide passengers

with a greater assurance that their carry-on bags will travel with

them in the aircraft cabin, even when the flight is full. The Cabin OK size guideline, developed by working with airlines

and manufacturers, is 55 x 35 x 20 cm (or 21.5 x 13.5 x 7.5" inches). This size was calculated to make the best use of storage

space in the cabin. If fully embraced by passengers, everyone

would have a chance to travel with their carry-on bags on board

aircraft of 120 seats or larger even when the flight is full. A number of major international airlines have signaled their

interest to join the initiative. They will soon be introducing

operational guidelines to give Cabin OK bags priority to stay on

board the aircraft when all carry-on bags cannot be

accommodated in the cabin. The Cabin OK guideline is not a maximum size limit. The

maximum size of cabin baggage is set individually by each

airline. This is not affected by the Cabin OK initiative. The Cabin OK guideline is smaller than the size set by most

airlines as their maximum acceptable for carry-on baggage.

Thus, passengers with Cabin OK carry-on baggage can travel

with a greater assurance that it will be acceptable across the

different airline requirements. And, when travelling on a

participating airline there is a further benefit: those bags with a

Cabin OK logo will have a priority (determined individually by

each airline) for staying in the cabin should its cabin capacity be

exceeded and some baggage need to be moved to the hold.

http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pag

es/2015-06-12-01.aspx

Further detailed clarifications follow: Cabin OK is a guideline, not a standard. Airlines have no plans

to restrict carry-on baggage to the Cabin OK dimensions of 55 x

35 x 20 cm (or 21.5 x 13.5 x 7.5" inches). Most airlines have maximum size limits that are larger than this and that is not

impacted by the Cabin OK initiative. Passengers will be able to

continue to use carry-on baggage that is larger than the Cabin

OK size provided it is within airline maximum size limits. Cabin OK does not replace airline maximum size limitations.

These are determined individually by each airline. There are no

plans to set an industry standard. Cabin OK is an optimum size, not a maximum size. We use the

word optimum because the Cabin OK dimensions have been calculated to allow all passengers on board a typical jet aircraft

of 120 seats or more to be able to carry-on one piece of

baggage in the normally available storage space (storage bins

and below seats). Cabin OK will give passengers greater certainty that their carry-

on bag will be accepted in the cabin. A typical fully booked

narrow-body jet aircraft is not able to accommodate a bag for

every passenger on board at maximum size limits. On-time

departures suffer as airline staff search for passengers willing

to put their bag in the hold. On participating airlines, the Cabin

OK logo will indicate to crew and ground staff that these bags

should have a high priority to remain the cabin. Consequently,

the Cabin OK initiative will speed-up the boarding process and

provide passengers using Cabin OK sized carry-on baggage

greater assurance that their bag will travel with them in the

cabin.

The Cabin OK initiative does not require passengers to buy new

baggage. The Cabin OK size is smaller in dimensions than the

published size maximums of most airlines. Passengers with carry-on

bags larger than Cabin OK sized bags will not be obliged to buy new

bags. However they will continue to face the same uncertainty that

their bags may not be able to be accommodated in the cabin. Cabin OK is not a revenue generating scheme for the airlines. For the

vast majority of airlines, the current practice when all baggage

complying with maximum size limits cannot fit into the cabin storage

is to check this baggage in the aircraft hold free of charge. The Cabin

OK initiative will not change this practice. Cabin OK is an identifier to crew and ground staff. Only bags

manufactured with Cabin OK logo are part of the program. There is no

retro-certification planned for existing bags that comply with the

Cabin OK dimension. Cabin OK is all about providing the customer with greater assurances. If you have a Cabin OK bag, you can be pretty sure that

you are within the maximum carry-on limits of airlines around the

world. If you are traveling on an airline participating in the program,

you will have the best chance that your bag will be with you in the

cabin even on a full flight, said Thomas Windmuller, IATAs Senior Vice President for Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security. For passengers traveling with bags that dont have the Cabin OK logo, theres no need to worry. If it was accepted for travel before, it will be acceptable for travel now, but with the same uncertainty that if

the flight is full it may eventually have to travel in the hold, said Windmuller.

Airlines' body IATA talks to consumer forums on

transparent laws MIAMI: Airlines' body IATA has begun a dialogue with governments,

air travellers and consumer rights bodies across the world to evolve

transparent regulations to enable passengers to understand their

rights and prevent ignoring of basic commercial principles by the

governments. "The growing patchwork of consumer rights regimes is leaving

travellers confused when they are subject to multiple different

passenger rights regimes at the same time. We need an air transport

system that balanc the need to protect consumers while allowing the

airline industry to compete and innovate," Paul Steele, IATA's Senior

Vice President for Member and External Relations, told reporters

here. He said there were now over 60 countries with some form of

passenger rights regulations, with more governments considering

new rules. "Consumer protection is not about winners and losers. Everybody

wants the passenger to get to his or her destination safely and on

schedule. And in an intensely competitive business such as aviation,

when things go wrong, airlines have a natural incentive to keep their

customers happy -- as is the case in any service industry," Steele

said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transporta

tion/airlines-/-aviation/airlines-body-iata-talks-to-

consumer-forums-on-transparent-

laws/articleshow/47626493.cms

"Looking at the nature of some of the regulations being produced, it

seems that some governments are ignoring basic commercial

principles. They are producing regulations that do not address the

root causes of many travel disruptions. In light of this, IATA and the

airlines need to contribute a new perspective to the conversation on

consumer protection," he said. Maintaining that IATA was actively engaging consumer protection

bodies around the world in a dialog aimed at finding a balanced

solution, Steele said, "the industry has produced materials to help

governments and travellers better appreciate the issues arising from

consumer protection regulations", apart from seeking to understand

more clearly what governments are hearing from their customers. These materials are focussed on issues of airline punctuality,

mishandled baggage and "confusing consumer protection

regulations", he said. These would call for regulations to be clear so that passengers can

understand their rights, call upon airlines to ensure that their

passengers are always kept informed and establish efficient complaint

handling procedures, recommending that passenger entitlements are

proportional in a situation of service breakdown and asking the

governments to be. consistent while preparing regulations which

should not be contradictory to passengers' rights, he added.

Tony Tyler: Govt must do more to get

foreign carriers to invest in India Recently in Miami: Welcoming some of the Modi Governments initiatives in the aviation sector, Tony Tyler, Director-General, International Air

Transport Association (IATA), feels that the Government has to do

much more to get more foreign players to invest in India. Edited

excerpts from an exclusive interview. The Indian Government has allowed foreign airlines to invest in

India. But there have been few takers. Why is it that, say, a

British Airways or Lufthansa has not invested in India? You will have to check with the airlines for their reasons of not

investing. But if you ask me it is probably poor infrastructure, difficult

to do business and high costs. Why would British Airways want to

spend a lot of money investing in India where there are high taxes

and all that when (they can) go and buy Air Lingus in a country

which favours aviation even when Air Lingus is competing against

one of the most competitive airline in the world, Ryan Air, just

across the road. And yet that is where they are investing because

they see better returns can be made from buying a 79-year-old Irish

airline than investing in a new airline. A 79-year-old Irish airline in a

mature market is still a better proposition than going into one the

worlds biggest countries with a fast growing market. There is something wrong.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-

economy/logistics/tony-tyler-govt-must-do-more-for-

foreign-carriers-to-invest-in-india/article7315008.ece

In the new Government have you seen any thrust or push in the

aviation sector? Yes, but not in the infrastructure sector. The most significant one has

been the emphasis on safety. I had in mind particularly the

categorisation of the FAA from Cat II to Cat I. That has been very

positive and good to see that India is now back where it should be. Nothing much on the policy front? I think there are one or two things that they are doing and they are not

altogether positive. I think in the new system for (replacing) 5/20 rule

they have got this system of domestic flying credits. This is well

intention but misguided because it is so complicated. Monitoring and

verifying is very complicated. Airlines should fly routes because it makes economic sense. If you

are going to put in place a system where you need to fly to get credits

then you are introducing a completely strenuous element into

decision making, route development and operations. It should not be there. It is just adding regulatory cost and burden to

an industry that is already over regulated. It is pulling in the wrong

direction. How do you look at the fact that ACI has ranked Delhi the world

number one airport in the region? What are the criteria? They did not ask the airlines. Should the voice of the passengers who have voted for Delhi not

count? We are happy for them. There were not enough (passengers); there

could have been a lot more. China is not a rich country it is getting richer partly because it is

adopting a pro-aviation structure and aviation is helping make China

rich. They have a big successful hub in Beijing and they are building

others. India should be doing more.

Flying greener: Etihad Airways embarks on The

Biojet Fuel project The idea was presented on Thursday at the Biojet Fuel project,

where experts from Etihad, Boeing, Masdar and Abu Dhabi

National Oil Company (Adnoc) presented a road map towards zero-carbon fuel. Biofuel, an industry term used to define fuel made from living

things instead of fossilised remains, significantly reduces

carbon dioxide emissions. Although the fuel has properties similar to other

petrochemicals, with biofuels the carbon dioxide generated

during combustion is offset by what was removed from the

atmosphere by the plants. Its a water-scarce region, said Dr Alejandro Rios, the director of the sustainable bioenergy research consortium at

Masdar Institute. This is why many people, when you mention the word biofuels in this region, they say, What are you talking about, are you crazy? Yes, were crazy. This is exactly what we are. Were producing biofuels where no one thinks it can be produced. The plan is simple, he said. Salt water and waste nutrients from a fish-farming pool are

used to irrigate salt-tolerant plants, halophytes, which can

then be harvested for their seeds to produce oil. That oil is taken to a refinery and the carbon by-products from

the plants are redirected to another pool with mangroves that

can use those by-products as nutrients for growth. The pilot project is a way to identify the boundaries of the system, Dr Rios said. Meaning, how far, how deep and wide can we push the different interactions between the different

subsystems?

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/flying-greener-etihad-

airways-embarks-on-the-biojet-fuel-project

The carbon offset is integrated into the process because

producing food, in the form of fish from the pool, and helping

mangrove growth are both by-products, not the product. The No 1 problem for aquaculture is waste, said Darrin Morgan, the director of sustainable aviation fuels and

environmental strategy at Boeing. When its untreated, it creates significant problems for watersheds. This system treats the waste in a profitable way,

so really its an aquaculture project with a self-funding

profitable system that also happens to make jet fuel. The driving force behind the system, he said, is the growth of

aquaculture around the world, making it a profitable industry. Mr Morgan said that the tests conducted at Masdar will

indicate the projects viability in other areas with similar environments. The applicability of this is global, he said. As were moving forward with this were making partnerships around the world, but the idea is to make the UAE the epicentre of

knowledge and expertise to roll it out worldwide. Biofuel accounts for 1 per cent of the worlds commercial jet fuel usage. By blending it with conventional jet fuel, aircraft

engines built in the past three decades can use it without any

adjustments. Mr Morgan said, however, that a future where biofuel

comprises 100 per cent of the fuel used, will require planes

with different engineering. nalwasmi@thenational.ae

What lizard? Air India refutes flyer's claims of baby reptile

in food, says 'mischievous propaganda' by media New Delhi: A picture of a lizard in the meal tray of a flyer

purportedly on one of Air India's flights was doing the rounds

on social media and also left the Civil Aviation Minister fuming

but the airline termed it "baseless" and a "mischievous

propaganda" against it. At the same time, the airline "reassured" all its customers that

it takes utmost care in terms of maintaining quality of its

onboard food services. The incident reportedly took place last

Thursday in the Air India flight from Delhi to London. "This has reference to a report in the media, including on the

social media, that a passenger had found a lizard in the meal

tray on board AI-111 (Delhi-London) of 11 June, with

photograph attached," the airline said. Air India has

investigated the "incident" and has found it to be false and

baseless," the airline said in a statement.

http://www.firstpost.com/india/what-lizard-air-india-

refutes-flyers-claims-of-baby-reptile-in-food-says-

mischievous-propaganda-by-media-2294588.html

No such complaint by any passenger has been received on board the

flight or at the Air India office in London, it said. "Taking a serious

view of the attempt to tarnish its reputation, Air India is investigating

the source of the mischievous propaganda on the lizard in meal tray

subject," the airline said in another statement late evening. In the meanwhile, Air India would like to reassure its passengers and

the media that it takes the utmost care in the choice, quality, hygiene

and safety in its service of meals on board all its flights, the statement

said. Air India said that it uplifts meals for flights from reputed 5-star

caterers who also provide catering services to several other

international airlines, including some members of Star Alliance, of

which the airline is a member. The caterers are selected after a stringent technical evaluation in

terms of their infrastructure, capabilities, hygiene and safety

certifications and other regulatory clearances etc, it said. "These

caterers are HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points )

certified and comply with all hygiene, safety and security measures

while preparing meals. "Air India caterers follow international hygiene norms under the IFSA

(International Flight Service Association) food safety guidelines," it

said. However, before Air India issued a denial, Civil Aviation Minister

Ashok Gajapathi Raju said the "issue" is serious and Air India was not

expected to serve lizard to its passengers. "That's also a serious thing. Air India is not expected to serve lizard

neither the cooks are expected to cook lizards," Raju told a TV

channel.

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