Security is being stepped up at Islamabad Airport in the aftermath of last week’s devastating bomb attack on the luxury Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital. Officials conducted a security sweep of Islamabad’s recently renamed Benazir Bhutto International Airport yesterday after receiving a warning about a possible suicide attack. “It was a specific threat,” said senior security official Colonel Ashraf Faiz. “The airport is on red alert.” In February … [Read more...] about Security threat against Islamabad Airport
air cargo
London mayor proposes Heathrow shift
London mayor Boris Johnson has proposed closing down Heathrow Airport and replacing it with a 24- hour airport in the Thames estuary, the Sunday Times reported recently. The airport, most likely to be located on an artificial island off Sheppey in Kent, would have four runways, but capacity for two more if required and would be connected to the Channel tunnel rail link. Johnson’s aides believe the scheme, loosely modelled on Hong Kong International Airport, could take just six … [Read more...] about London mayor proposes Heathrow shift
Pemco moves into B767 conversion
“The timing is right for us to proceed with the 767 cargo conversion programme, and the indications are that the marketplace is receptive to our design solution and value equation,” Wake Smith, President and CEO, Pemco World Air Services, Inc., says. “Key to Pemco’s 767 strategy is the acquisition of Wagner Aeronautical, which has been developing its 767 design for a year and has filed its programme application with the FAA last summer.” Pemco will now proceed … [Read more...] about Pemco moves into B767 conversion
Good opportunities in long term: HAECO
Soaring aviation fuel prices are already adversely and significantly affecting the entire aviation industry, including the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) portion of the industry and the cargo conversion specialty business within that segment, causing volatility and challenges, an executive says. “In the short term there has to be a degree of uncertainty, but depending on the aircraft conversion type, we think there are still promising opportunities available in the long … [Read more...] about Good opportunities in long term: HAECO
EFW flying high with A300/310 conversions
“There is a lot of market demand for mid-sized regional cargo aircraft with 30 to 60 tons of payload in the mid and long-term,” confirms Andreas Sperl, managing director of the Dresden-based EADS subsidiary. This year his firm converts 14 Airbus models A300 or A310 into freight planes. It could have been some more, Sperl admits, however, two slots were blocked by two A330 passenger aircraft that were supposed to be transformed into tanker craft for the US Air Force. The two … [Read more...] about EFW flying high with A300/310 conversions
Aeronautical Engineers focuses on B737s
Two years ago when lease rates on passenger aircraft were high, the market for Boeing 737 conversions was slow. But as rates softened, Aeronautical Engineers Inc. (AEI) in Miami, Florida saw the business for conversions for this type of aircraft pick up significantly. Today the market is strong and is predicted to stay so, through the end of the second quarter 2008. “Fuel prices clearly rocked the air cargo industry,” comments David M. McDonald, AEI vice president, Operations. … [Read more...] about Aeronautical Engineers focuses on B737s
