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Flight News On Airports & Airlines New Development On Expansion Plans Ethiopia|South Africa In Africa
Air news for October 2010 on aviation matters in Africa, Europe, Middle East Africa, Asia and United States of America. This article is reporting on new development for the Expansion of Ethiopian Airlines and the prospects for the now closed Durban International Airport being re-opened as an aviation facility.
Ethiopian Airlines to Embark On Major Ground-Bases Projects.
Ethiopian Airlines is soon to embark on a four star hotel construction project near its head office in Addis Ababa, as well as a number of other ground-based undertakings.
The airline has already acquired a plot of land in close proximity to its hub, Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. It has hired a Chinese construction firm, CATIC, which will construct the airlines first hotel that would primarily serve the carriers passengers.
Ethiopian CEO, Girma Wake, told word air news that the management decided to build its own hotel due to the hassle the airline faces in finding adequate decent rooms for transit passengers.
“Addis Ababa is the political capital of Africa where international organizations like the AU and UNECA HQS are found. The city frequently hosts major international conferences, and sometimes it is difficult for us to find enough rooms in standard hotels for our guests,” Wake said.
The hotel will have 300 rooms, restaurants, bars, conference hails, swimming pool and all other required facilities. The estimated cost of the hotel is us$30-million and construction will begin at the end of this year. According to Wake construction may take three years to complete.
Also on Ethiopians development program me is finalizing preparations to construct a new maintenance hangar that will accommodate the Boeing Dream liner aircraft that the airline is expecting to take delivery of early in the New Year. Ethiopian has firm orders for ten B737-8 jetliners. Originally, delivery was slated for 2008-2010.
The Ethiopian MRO centre which has three hangars (the third one was inaugurated in 2006) is capable of providing maintenance and overhaul services on B767,757,737,707,727,DH6,ATR42,Fokker50 and L100 aircraft. Since the early 1960s, the MRO centre, licensed by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and FAA, has been providing technical services for other airlines.
Mesfin Tasew, maintenance and engineering department head of Ethiopia, told world Air news that the acquisition of the Dreamliner had prompted the airline to expand its MRO centre.”We also need to boost our third party MRO business,” Tasew said, adding that the design of the new and fourth hangar was being finalized.
In 2009 Ethiopian placed orders for 12 Airbus A350-900XWB,five Boeing 777-200LR,ten B737-800s and eight Bombardier Q400s .The airline has already received four of the Q400s aircraft and the remaining ones will be delivered by the end of this year.
Ethiopian currently operates a total of 40 aircraft-ten B767-300s, eight B757-200s,two B757-260Fs,two MD-11Fs,five B737-700NGs,two B737-800Ws,four Q400s and five Fokker 50s.
The airline is also planning to build a new cargo terminal at its hub to boost the capacity of the 1400 square metre freight terminal it opened in 2006.
Wake said the surge in the country’s flower and meat export had prompted Ethiopian to build a new cargo terminal.”Our cargo business is growing and we need a new facility that will accommodate the growing demand,” Wake added.
In the 2008 -2009 fiscal Ethiopian hauled 101000 tons of cargo, representing an increase of 13% compared to that of the previous year.”Ethiopian is an airline which is growing at a rate of 20% and we need to augment the growth”, said Wake.
The airline is also planning to build a new HQ building and catering facility at its hub in Addis Ababa.
Hopes Rise for Durban International Airport Being Retained For Aviation
The prospects for the now closed Durban International Airport being re-opened as an aviation facility have markedly improved over the past few months following the recent pronouncements made by some very senior Government office holders.
At the release of the Airports Company of South Africas (ACSA) financial year end results,the Minister of Transport announced the following with respect to the disposal of the DIA Site:
“We have formed a steering committee which is made up of the Department of Transport, the province of KwaZulu-Natal, ACSA, City of EThekwini among others to advise on the best use/options for the land and to determine the process to be followed in disposing of this land. We will ensure, however, that due process is followed to obtain the best proposal on the table.
“A Request for Expressions of Interest will ensure that all interested parties bar none, are given the opportunity to submit proposals on the land. It is our intention that this process is completed in the shortest time possible in the interest of all bidders and the country as a whole. We will make further announcements in the coming weeks”.
In addition, the Commissioner for Civil Aviation, Colin Jordaan, speaking at the recent Aviation Outlook conference in Cape Town, mentioned that there was a distinct possibility that DIA could be retained for aviation use.
Aviation observers feel that this more open-minded approach by Government to the disposal of DIA,can only benefit South Africa’s aviation industry if it- the industry- jumps into action and puts together a proposal to Government combining its brightest ideas and best resources.Also,as the DIA site is so large, it would be prudent for any industry proposal to identify a “mix” of stakeholders that will be able to utilize the facility in away that serves both the economic and strategic interests of the country.
At the moment, three stakeholders have a clearly identifiable interest in utilizing the DIA,namely the operators at Virginia Airport, the SA Air Force (SAAF) and Comair Limited.
The commercial general aviation operators at Virginia, represented by the Virginia Operators Committee, have identified DIA as a possible re-location site for Virginia Airport which is currently experiencing various operating challenges .Virginia Airport currently lacks a convenient general flying area (GFA); is too small to accommodate certain types of operations and any new business entrants, and it is regarded as a noise pollutant by many Durban North residents. There is also strong rum ours that the Durban Metro intends selling the airport for real estate development.
Durban City Airport
The current DIA infrastructure would serve as an ideal relocation site for Virginia.
It would also be quite feasible to use DIA to create a “Durban City Airport” along the lines of the London City Airport using the current runway, taxiways, ATC tower and a limited portion of the perimeter. This Durban City Airport would cater for all general aviation activities such as non-scheduled operations, corporate operations, flight training, crop spraying as well as serve as a centre for maintenance and technical support.
With ample space to the south for a new GFA that could accommodate fixed wing and helicopter flight training, these activities in Durban could be expanded.This, in turn, would attract further students from all over the continent and Middle East, thereby generating jobs and income for Kwazulu-Natal.
As DIA is located in an industrial area, there can be no environmental objections.
The South African Air Force, also a major stakeholder, would prefer to retain its base facilities at DIA as it lacks the funds to move the current base to King Shaka International .If the runways at DIA are preserved for aviation use, a move by the SAAF would be unnecessary, thereby saving the tax payers hundreds of millions of rand.
Also, with the additional facilities and space available at DIA, it might be feasible for the SAAF to relocate its school for logistical and technical training to Durban, rather than move it to the Hoedspruit area.
The other interested stakeholder, Comair, has on various occasions indicated its willingness to buy the airport with a view of using it as an alternative commercial airport for kulula.com flights, similar to its operations at Lanseria.Comairs plans are based on the model of overseas low-cost carriers, such as Easy Jet and Ryan Air in the UK, using secondary, cheaper airports to keep their costs down so that it can offer more affordable travel to the consumers.
Airport charges in South Africa constitute around 30% of the price of a low cost ticket and with the prospect of ever larger ACSA tariff increases in the future, the only way of maintaining and even reducing the cost of air travel on the Durban route would be to use an airport which has lower charges.Comairs strategy of the Department of Tourism to make South Africa tourism more affordable and therefore accessible to the majority of South Africans.
Other Possible Uses
In addition to the above, there are also a number of other possible uses and applications for the DIA site. One very strong possibility is to use a portion of the site to establish an Aerospace Village along the lines of the proposed Centurion Aerospace Village.
This would entail creating a centre where the domestic and foreign manufacturers of dirigibles, unmanned aerial systems (UAW) and non-type certificated aircraft (NTCA) would be encouraged to set up business. This type of concept could only be implemented with the direct support and assistance of Government.
Also, some of the excess land at DIA could be sold off and utilized for “new economy” industrial purposes, such as the manufacture of high value, low weight, time sensitive articles or components.
These industries could then utilize the air transport facilities at the “City Airport” for the rapid import of manufacturing components and the export of the completed manufactured goods.
This concept has proven to be very successful in areas such as the Philippines, Dubai, Hong Kong and some industrial zones in China.
It is clear that aviation industry could construct a very compelling proposal on how DIA could be used for a variety of aviation and other purposes.However, time is running out fast. If the industry does not act now it will not be able to put together a realistic proposal before the end of the year.
The country’s interested bodies and stakeholders, therefore, urgently need to start working on a consolidated proposal that will convince Government to preserve DIA. Observers feel very strongly that, unless the aviation industry does not grasp the nettle, this opportunity would be lost forever.
About the Author
Anthony Juma is the Editor and Senior Aviation Director at Wings Over Africa Aviation.
This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Flight News On Airports & Airlines New Development Plans For Expansion Ethiopia |South Africa & Africa . The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http:// / www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/flight-news.html
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