Newsletters

19
Mar

Update on MH17 and Global Tracking ICAO Conference Considers Prevention of MH370 and MH17 Type Disasters The ICAO Second High Level Safety Conference (HLSC) which took place from February, 2 until February, 5 February 2015 revolved around three related themes: reviewing the current situation, future approach to manage aviation safety, and facilitating increased regional cooperation. Broadly, the subjects are linked to the major 2014 air disasters and the particular technical and regulatory challenges they reflect. The goal remains keeping aviation safe in future. A frank analysis is required of what has been done right, and what could have been done better with respect to incidents like MH370 which involve protracted search and recovery operations, and MH17, which involves complex geopolitical issues, to find a way forward for airliners which encounter enroute conflict zones. Concept of operations to enhance global flight tracking Since the MH370 disappearance on March 8, 2014, ICAO has worked with industry and technical aviation stakeholders to position itself to adopt at this conference a concept of operations to enhance global flight tracking. The establishment and consideration of issues such as how to monitor flights, which fail to respond to normal air traffic ...

19

Aviation Disputes Require Special Management Aviation is synonym to travel, business, aircraft and finance. In other words, the means after litigation which is often at the heart of aviation deals. It is in the industry’s nature for bad situations to crop up from time to time, so it is worth thinking of litigation not as something scary that should be avoided at all costs, but as a tool for doing business. It should be the last resort, but that doesn’t mean it should be the last thought. Because of the complexities of law, it’s impossible to offer generic legal advice. A deal usually implies the applicability of several legal systems. However, there are some practical issues that every company should be aware of. Pick your fights Disputes in the aviation sector often end up being handled separately from general transactions, and if formal proceedings are involved, they take place in a different environment, under rules that are completely different from the day-to-day standard. However, they do not exist in a vacuum; they have implications for the financial position, a company, ones broader relationship with the counterparty and sometimes (where precedents might be set) other ...

19

 Was MH17 supposed to be flying over Eastern Ukraine? The downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in code-share with KLM (flight KL4103) has led to many questions about the propriety of aircraft flying over Eastern Ukraine. Other airlines had ceased operating flights in the airspace through which MH17 was flying when taken down. In general, the airspace over a particular country is controlled by that country. It is that country’s aviation regulatory body, and the air-traffic control organizations that determine where, when and how aircraft are allowed to fly. On top of the local regulations, pilots and airlines are required to follow the directives of the country in which they are registered. No consensus regarding airspace restrictions above Eastern Ukraine Airspace restrictions are generally set up to ensure the safety of aircraft and their occupants and to ensure the safety of people on the ground. Restrictions may also exist because the country is trying to protect an asset inside the restricted airspace. Other restrictions will arise from disruptions to normal aviation services. For instance, if the air-traffic control radar at an airport fails, certain types of flights may be prohibited. The specific details ...

11
Dec

  In the case Germanwings GmbH versus Ronny Henning, the Court of the European Union (CJEU) held that the ‘arrival time’, which is used to determine the length of the delay to which passengers on a flight have been subject, corresponds to the time at which at least one of the doors of the aircraft is opened. The Court pointed out that, during a flight, the possibilities of a passenger to communicate with the outside world are considerably restricted. The situation of passengers on a flight does not change substantially when the aircraft touches down on the runway or when the aircraft reaches its parking position. The passengers continue to be subject, in the enclosed space in which they are sitting, to various constraints. It is only when the passengers are permitted to leave the aircraft and the order is given to that effect to open the doors of the aircraft that the passengers cease to be subject to those constraints and may in principle resume their normal activities. The delay to a Germanwings flight from Salzburg to Cologne-Bonn has provided the Court of Justice with an opportunity to specify the point in time ...

17
Nov

  The Beijing Convention, replacing the Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Relating to International Civil Aviation 1971 (known as the “Montreal Convention”), and the Beijing Protocol, amending the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft 1970 (known as the “Hague Convention”) are new instruments which update the existing conventions in light of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and developments in counter-terrorism law over recent decades. The Beijing Convention provides for key new offenses of using an aircraft as a weapon (such as occurred on September 11), using weapons of mass destruction or dangerous substances against, on, or from an aircraft, and transporting dangerous materials. The instruments also provide for new ancillary offenses, expanded jurisdiction, and strengthened extradition and mutual assistance regimes. These developments aim to ensure that a wider range of perpetrators can be brought to justice in aviation-related terrorist or proliferation activities than is currently possible. The instruments are part of a series of UN conventions aimed at combating international terrorism. The proposals before the Diplomatic Conference were developed through a review of the Montreal and Hague Conventions in a series of ICAO meetings commencing in ...