Pakistan Civil Aviation | Information & News.

[Jango]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with that area. I couldn't find waypoint OLPER but I did find ALPOR between karachi and muscat. See here:

http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/3118/42529157.jpg

Jeppesen charts are a subscription service. The better organised civil aviation authorities sometime have the their own charts available on-line. Most countries in Europe publish their charts free online, example see the UK here:

NATS | AIS - Home

I only bought the Jeppesen charts as I prefer their layout.

I do have the approach plates for muscat and dubai. Which runway approach would you prefer for Dubai?

Yup...that's the one...ALPOR...I heard it over a frequency and thought of it as OLPER!

And approach for 30L...it would be much appreciated.

 

[imiakhtar]

Yup...that's the one...ALPOR...I heard it over a frequency and thought of it as OLPER!

And approach for 30L...it would be much appreciated.

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/1430/ils30l.jpg

 

[Jango]

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/1430/ils30l.jpg

It also has the glideslope and all...thanks a bunch!

 

[Jango]

http://www.piac.com.pk/cms/tenders/1930_RFP1301 A320 Simulator.pdf

PIA inviting tenders for leasing simulators for A320.

 

[Edevelop]

b.s. PIA is dying in debt.

 

[Jango]

b.s. PIA is dying in debt.

COrrection, PIA is not buying the simulators, if you read the link I posted, it says that companies are invited to finance the project and lease the simulators to PIA.

 

[Jango]

Flightradar coverage for Karachi also in place now. Covers almost the whole coastline of Pakistan and parts of Sindh, Punjab/parts of KPK also covered because of Islamabad radar.

 

[khanboy007]

Rs 70b loss: PIA cancels contract with spares firm

LAHORE - PIA management in a belated but welcome move cancelled contract with Transworld Aviation Fze - a Dubai-based spare distribution company with no credentials - after more than half of its fleet was grounded for lack of spares, leading to an estimated loss of over Rs70 billion, sources in the airlines said on Thursday.
As per sources, contract which effectively has contributed to above said losses was approved by former PIA MD Nadeem Yousafzai, when a letter dated September 24, 2011 was issued by Director Procurement & Logistics, Khalid Iftikhar addressed to Transworld Aviation, Chairman Abdullah Khamas Al Sulaimany, stating “This is to acknowledge and confirm that PIAC have appointed Transworld Aviation exclusively with first right of approval for a period of 5 years for all services pertaining to normal supply of aviation spares and repair of consumer material, chemicals and life limited parts with aggregated values of not less than $40 million annually, whereas Transworld Aviation has provided credit facility of up to $700 million if required to support PIA’s operation”. This suicidal decision was given post dated approval by politically nominated Board of Directors, who during Ahmed Saeed’s tenure had rubber stamped another such deal, which was also revoked subsequently.
During this contract costs escalated because of this self-created monopoly with most parts being bought on Aircraft On Ground (AOG) basis at escalated prices. It is worth mentioning here that when a plane is grounded due to technical reasons and its vendor is not at nearby destination to provide required spare, the same is purchased on far-high price on AOG basis. If airline wait for the arrival of spare from any distant destination, delay in supply of spare cost high to airline in the sense of parking fee of plane at any foreign airport, hotel providing to passengers and staff overtime etc.
Cash-starved PIA instead of embarking on aggressive cost cutting and revenue generation, in violation of PPRA rules had placed an advertisement on its website in 2011, instead of newspapers, and cancelled procurement of parts from a variety of over 150 manufacturer recommended vendors located on its international network, who offered it quick delivery on competitive rates with credit facility and instead appointed a single unknown vendor located in Dubai. PIA Board has twice grounded B747 fleet and then revived it each time wasting over $20 million on making them operational. Under controversial agreement with Transworld, PIA’s own spare parts inventory valued at over $1 billion was handed over to them for sale which raised concerns of transparency. While the deal stands cancelled and PIA has reverted to original vendors.
The Third Quarter 2012 Financial report acknowledged a net loss of Rs22.42 billion during July to Sept 2012, while accumulated losses have hiked from Rs 42 billion in March 2008 to Rs 141.303 billion as of 30 Sept 2012 i.e net rise in losses of 336.4pc. Aviation analysts estimated that total accumulated losses as on December 31, 2012 are above Rs 158 billion. Scores of PIA flights were stranded at international airports for lack of spares involving stay of thousands of passengers in hotels.
Revenue passenger kilometers decreased by 11.8pc due to drop in seat factor, flight cancellations etc. PIA current liabilities exceed its current assets by Rs 123.475 billion as on 30 Sept 2012, as compared to Rs 88.22 billion on 31 Dec 2011, qualifying it as technically insolvent this belated move by current management will only yield positive results if pilferages are cut down and more revenue generated once the grounded fleet becomes operational, along with bringing employee to aircraft ratio within saner limits.
A former senior PIA marketing executive demanded that those responsible should be handed over to NAB, instead of being on payrolls, doing active duty. The major culprits involved all have dual nationalities and kickbacks most likely deposited in foreign bank accounts. When contacted spokesman of PIA Tajwar said that airline has formed an accountability committee within department to look into such scams and Transparency International was also there. He said that if any irregularity was found in the contract both of the authorities could take-up the matter automatically.

 

[Jango]

What do you folks think about the A380 coming into Pakistan?

I personally think that the new Isl airport and Karachi will see a A380 in the near future and it will be Emirates which brings it. Now the reasons.

First of all Emirates envisions a fleet of only 380's and 777's, with the A350 coming in later. EK routes to Karachi are full all the time, with 5 flights a day (the highest number anywhere in the world, EK has 5 flights a day to Heathrow and a place in India, so 3 cities) coming into Karachi and the passenger load increasing, Emirates will be compelled to switch a slot to A380 when there 330's retire...

 

[Argus Panoptes]

What do you folks think about the A380 coming into Pakistan?

I personally think that the new Isl airport and Karachi will see a A380 in the near future and it will be Emirates which brings it. Now the reasons.

First of all Emirates envisions a fleet of only 380's and 777's, with the A350 coming in later. EK routes to Karachi are full all the time, with 5 flights a day (the highest number anywhere in the world, EK has 5 flights a day to Heathrow and a place in India, so 3 cities) coming into Karachi and the passenger load increasing, Emirates will be compelled to switch a slot to A380 when there 330's retire...

It is possible, as long as the airports undergo upgrading of their facilities to meet the requirements for A380 traffic.

2. Infrastructure requirements

The airside infrastructure requirements for aircraft with a wingspan up to 80 meters (Code F) are given by ICAO in Annex 14, Volume 1. These requirements are a sound basis for new airport design or future airport expansion but in most cases impractical for determining changes to existing infrastructure.
While ICAO member states are encouraged to fully implement the new code F requirements for the development of their airports, it has also become clear that many states will have difficulties in complying with these specifications for the upgrade of their currently existing facilities. For this reason ICAO developed a circular for New Larger Aeroplane Operations at Existing Aerodromes. This circular identifies all issues which are of relevance to the operations of NLAs and proposes possible mitigation measures for accommodation of NLAs at those airports that are unable to comply with annex 14, code F provisions. The circular does not specify what is acceptable and what is not: the responsibility remains with the local authority. The State should decide on the suitability of lower requirements than those given by Annex 14, based on aeronautical studies. The principle is that safety requirements must be met, however efficiency of operations should also be considered, especially for airports which have a very low number of A380 movements and therefore whose infrastructure is unlikely to be code F (or AACG)-compliant.

The ICAO circular for New Larger Aeroplane Operations at Existing Aerodromes also gives guidance on how to conduct aeronautical studies . Several European Aviation authorities have, in close co-operation with their airport organizations and industry, initiated a working group (A380 Airport Compatibility Group, AACG) which performed several studies resulting in a number of recommendations for handling the A380 at existing airports. The Common Agreement Document (version 2.1, December 2002) of this working group contains all these recommendations.
Together with ICAO Annex 14 the AACG recommendations form a basis for the infrastructure requirements at existing airports.

For many airports, especially those airports that in the near future will only see the A380 in case of diversion, even the AACG requirements may be hard to comply with. Deviations from these requirements are only sanctioned when aeronautical studies are performed. Even conducting aeronautical studies at these airports can be an excessive burden in the context of the low number of A380 movements. A better solution in most cases is to implement operational procedures to overcome the non compliances. In chapter 3 of this document, such possible operational procedures are given. The basic assumption for these procedures is that the airport complies with the ICAO code E requirements.

Reference documents:
• ICAO, Annex 14,
Volume I, Aerodrome design and operations, fourth edition, July 2004.
• ICAO, Circular on New Larger Aeroplane Operations at Existing Aerodromes,
Cir 305 – AN/177, June 2004
• Common Agreement Document of the A380 Airport Compatibility Group,
Version 2.1, December 2002
3.1 Runways

Runway width
Annex 14 prescribes a runway width of 60m for Code F aircraft. Many long-range traffic airports however, and certainly those that will be filed as an alternate, have runways which are expected to comply with ICAO Code E requirements, i.e. a width of 45m.
Subject to the A380 being certified on 45m wide runways, the AACG recommendations state that a 45 meter wide runway can be used for Airbus A380 operations.

No specific alternative measures, operational procedures and operating restrictions are proposed for operations of an A380 on a 45 meters wide runway.

Runway strength
The runway need only support the reduced operating weight at an alternate (airlines have quoted maximum MLW and two hours fuel) and the infrequent use would allow pavement concession action for the appropriate bearing strength.

Runway shoulders
For destination airports, AACG recommendations state that a 45 meter wide runway with 7.5 meter shoulders on both sides can be used for Airbus A380 operations if the runway is also provided with additional “outer” shoulders. These outer shoulders should be prepared for jet blast protection, engine ingestion protection, and for supporting ground vehicles and their width should be at least 2x7.5m.
The use of 2* 7.5 meter shoulders in Code E alternate airports instead of 2*15 meter wide shoulders (including the AACG “outer” shoulders) could therefore be an issue.

For an alternate airport, upgrading the total runway + shoulder width to 75m is mostly not viable. To find whether, and under what conditions, the A380 can be operated on code E runways and shoulders, the focus should be put on the intended use of the “outer” shoulder.

1. Jet blast and engine ingestion protection.
The outboard engine of the A380 is located inside the shoulder of a code E runway (see picture below), so there is still some protection (4.3m margin) against any blast, erosion and A380 outer engine ingestion that could be generated by its thrust.

On landing, blast, erosion and A380 engine ingestion protection is not critical for the A380 on such a runway, as the outboard engines are not fitted with thrust reversers.

Take-offs however may require the blast and erosion protection capabilities of the outer shoulders, beyond the 4.3m margin offered by the inner shoulder. Absence of the “outer” shoulder could result in an ingestion risk for the A380 on takeoff, or FOD on the runway or inner shoulders which could be hazardous for the following movement.


Use of a runway at a landing alternate is likely to happen on short notice. Specific preparation of the runway and runway shoulders is not necessarily possible within the available time frame. However the landing does not present a specific risk and therefore special procedures are not necessary (although runway inspection is advisable).
In the take-off case more time is available and the departure of an A380 can be coordinated with other traffic and the need to inspect the runway,(if a 75m wide runway area is not already inspected on a regular basis). Runway inspection must be carried out immediately after take off to check that no loose objects have been blown onto the runway. In addition, a de-rated thrust may be used for takeoff at alternate airports, further reducing the engine hazard. It should be noted that the ingestion risk occurs in the very early part of the takeoff roll, below about 35 knots. A special procedure would be required for A380 operations on 45m runway without inner shoulders.

 

[Jango]

It is possible, as long as the airports undergo upgrading of their facilities to meet the requirements for A380 traffic.

The new Islamabad airport is built keeping in mind the A380...the runways, taxiways, aprons etc.

I am not sure about the air bridges though, as EK has the upper deck reserved for first and business class. So a remote stand might be used along with stairway.

But the Islamabad airport does not have enough demand at the moment to warrant a A380, while Karachi does have enough passenger traffic so increase the aircraft size.

 

[Argus Panoptes]

The new Islamabad airport is built keeping in mind the A380...the runways, taxiways, aprons etc.

I am not sure about the air bridges though, as EK has the upper deck reserved for first and business class. So a remote stand might be used along with stairway.

But the Islamabad airport does not have enough demand at the moment to warrant a A380, while Karachi does have enough passenger traffic so increase the aircraft size.

Here are the requirements for the A380:


A380 by ArgusPanoptes007, on Flickr

But I don't know the construction specifications for the new Islamabad airport.

 

[A.Rafay]

What do you folks think about the A380 coming into Pakistan?

I personally think that the new Isl airport and Karachi will see a A380 in the near future and it will be Emirates which brings it. Now the reasons.

First of all Emirates envisions a fleet of only 380's and 777's, with the A350 coming in later. EK routes to Karachi are full all the time, with 5 flights a day (the highest number anywhere in the world, EK has 5 flights a day to Heathrow and a place in India, so 3 cities) coming into Karachi and the passenger load increasing, Emirates will be compelled to switch a slot to A380 when there 330's retire...

The runway of karachi airport is short for A380! There is no place to make runway a little longer enough for the A380.

 

[Jango]

Here are the requirements for the A380:


A380 by ArgusPanoptes007, on Flickr

But I don't know the construction specifications for the new Islamabad airport.

Yup...the new airport has a runway width+shoulders of about 75m I think. A quick measurement on GE shows 80 m.

The only issue with the A380 coming from a logistical perspective would be the ground handling. But I am sure DNATA will get the necessary equipment in and also the stairs.

From wikipedia:

It would be equipped to handle all types of aircraft including the new generation aircraft such as the Airbus A-380

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Islamabad_International_Airport

After all, the world adjusted to the 747...slowly it will adjust to the 380.

I am pretty optimistic that a EK A380 will come to Pakistan in the next 3-5 years. They have got to send those 90 jets somewhere!!!

I checked and the Islamabad airport is going to have a category F surface.

 

[Argus Panoptes]

Yup...the new airport has a runway width+shoulders of about 75m I think. A quick measurement on GE shows 80 m.

The only issue with the A380 coming from a logistical perspective would be the ground handling. But I am sure DNATA will get the necessary equipment in and also the stairs.

From wikipedia:



After all, the world adjusted to the 747...slowly it will adjust to the 380.

I am pretty optimistic that a EK A380 will come to Pakistan in the next 3-5 years. They have got to send those 90 jets somewhere!!!

I checked and the Islamabad airport is going to have a category F surface.

Once the tarmac is laid out to the required specifications, adding ground handling equipment is relatively minor. I can agree with you that we will see A380 operation to the new airport in the next few years.