http://www.smh.com.au/
Search resumes for missing plane in Indonesia Jakarta: Indonesian authorities have resumed searching for an Aviastar airline Twin Otter turboprop aircraft with 10 people on board that went missing on Friday during a flight on Sulawesi island. The aircraft lost contact with airport authorities on a flight from the town of Masamba about 30 minutes before it was scheduled to land in Makassar city. The incident is in yet another blow to the beleaguered aviation industry in the archipelago. Ferdinand Lumintaintang, Aviastar's flight operations officer, said that rescuers were using signals from the pilot's and passengers' mobile phones on Friday night to try to locate the aircraft in a mountainous area. The plane, a Twin Otter owned by Aviastar, an Indonesian domestic passenger airline based in East Jakarta, was carrying 10 people including three children. Transportation Ministry spokesman Julius Barata said the plane was expected to land in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, at about 3.40pm Friday afternoon. However he said it lost contact eleven minutes after it took off from Masamba, also in South Sulawesi, at 2.30pm local time. "We are still confirming the area where the flight went missing," Mr Julius said. The flight time from Masamba to Makassar should take 70 minutes. Deputy chief of operations of the national search and rescue agency, Heronimus Guru, said all passengers and crew were Indonesian. The agency,Basarnas, was combing the area. Chief operations spokesman Deden Ridwansyah said Basarnas had sent a team from Bone and Palu to set up a tactical centre in Masamba. "Since the lost contact happened not too long after take off, we believe the plane is still in the Masamba area. We are coordinating with local authorities to gather information such as if any locals saw the plane." He said the weather was quite clear at the time but there was strong wind in the area. Indonesia has a patchy aviation safety record and has had three major air crashes over the past year, including an AirAsia flight that went down in the sea on a flight from Surabaya to Singapore in late December, killing all 162 people aboard. According to Aviation-safety.net, Aviastar has had four fatal incidents, including the crash of a British Aerospace 146-300 aircraft in the eastern province of Papua in 2009, killing all six crew on board. In August, a passenger airliner crashed in Papua killing all 54 people aboard. More than 100 people were killed in June in the crash of a military transport plane in the northern city of Medan, prompting the government to promise a review of the ageing air force fleet. Struggling to cope with the expansion of air travel, Indonesia scored poorly on a 2014 safety audit by the UN aviation agency.
http://ejpress.org/
US Department of Transportation notifies Kuwait Airways that it broke the anti-discrimination law by refusing to sell a ticket to Israeli NEW YORK (EJP)---Kuwait Airways broke the law when it refused to sell plane tickets to Israelis, the US Transportation Department (DOT) said in a letter, a message welcomed by the Anti-Defamation League(ADL). The Department said in the letter that the airliner violated U.S. anti-discrimination law when it refused to sell a ticket from New York to London to an Israeli passport holder. “It is our duty to ensure that the transportation system is free of discrimination. Period,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in announcing the letter.EW ADL called the notification “a clear warning” to other airlines flying into the United States who still comply with an Arab boycott of Israel. The DOT launched an investigation of the incident following a complaint by the Israeli citizen, Eldad Gatt, who tried to buy the ticket in 2013. In a letter to the airline, the DOT said that Kuwait Airways “availed itself of the facilities and benefits of the U.S and must comply with its laws.” More recently, Gatt found airfares much cheaper if he could fly through Arab countries that boycott Israel. An August 2015 search for flights from JFK to Mumbai cost $433 on Kuwait Airways, $625 on Gulf Air and $779 on Air India, he told the department in a filing. “With this decision, the U.S. government is sending a clear and appropriate warning that those who wish to uphold the Arab boycott of Israel and discriminate against Israelis are acting in violation of American law and risk losing access to U.S. facilities unless they comply,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL National Director. “We commend Secretary Foxx and the Department for this just and correct action, and express our appreciation to Senator Schumer and others who have raised this issue.” U.S. law states airlines "may not subject a person, place, port or type of traffic in foreign air transportation to unreasonable discrimination." Kuwait Airways said it declined to sell Gatt a ticket to avoid running afoul of Kuwaiti law which prohibits its citizens from entering "into an agreement, personally or indirectly, with entities or persons residing in Israel, or with Israeli citizenship.” The airline has 15 days to respond to the department’s aviation enforcement office about how it will comply with U.S. law.
http://pulse.ng/
Indonesia's Aviastar airline loses contact with small passenger aircraft
Indonesia's Aviastar airline said on Friday contact had been lost with a Twin Otter small passenger aircraft travelling between Masamba and Makassar on the island of Sulawesi. Ten people were on board the aircraft, Wisnu Darjono, an official at Indonesia's flight safety agency told Reuters. He confirmed authorities had lost contact with the aircraft. Aviastar flies domestic routes.
http://www.marketwatch.com/
United Airlines Fails To Reach Agreement With Teamster Aviation Maintenance Technicians
Technicians Call on Company to Stop Dragging its Feet on a Contract CHICAGO, Oct. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- United Airlines' [NYSE: UAL] labor woes continue as talks with International Brotherhood of Teamsters-represented aviation maintenance technicians and related workers stalled today. "Delta and American are setting the pace and United is dragging its feet," said Clacy Griswold, lead negotiator for the Teamsters. "Our hardworking aviation professionals deserve industry- leading pay and benefits and will settle for nothing less." The union has been in negotiations with the company since November 2012 and under the guidance of a federal mediator since November 2013. The company continues to trail the industry standard in compensation after having the most profitable quarters in its history. "We hoped to see a change in the airline's attitude toward its workers under the new leadership of CEO Oscar Munoz, but that has yet to be seen," Griswold said. The Teamsters Airline Division represents 9,000 aircraft maintenance technicians and related workers at United Airlines, and over 80,000 workers in the aviation industry. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
http://www.businesstravelnews.com/
Lufthansa has named Larry Ryan director of sales for the United States with responsibilities that include overseeing corporate and group sales. Ryan has worked for Lufthansa for about 30 years, most recently serving as director of marketing, distribution and sales programs in the Americas. He replaces Don Bunkenburg, whom Lufthansa has named general manager for Japan.
ادارة العالقات العامة -الشركة القابضة لمصر للطيران