36% of survey respondents have already moved their focus to distance / e-learning.85% of survey respondents said that online learning including virtual classrooms will play an important role in the recovery.As aviation rebuilds, topics such as sustainability and digitalization will gain in importance. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released research on the training requirements for the aviation workforce as the industry starts to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. The Aviation Workforce Training essential for post covid operation is seen as essential According to a global survey of some 800 human resources (HR) leaders in the aviation industry responsible for learning and development, right-skilling existing workers and ensuring that new hires from outside aviation can quickly acquire the necessary skills will be key to successfully building the post-pandemic workforce. To achieve this, training programs will need to be adapted, with around half the HR respondents stating that their top priority is to assess available workforce skills and map these against their organization’s competency requirements. This will form the basis for the required training curriculums. The pandemic had already forced many airlines and other companies in the value chain, like ground service providers, to assess what overall skills their employees possessed to adapt to new operational requirements. A case in point was the need to load cargo in cabins of passenger aircraft repurposed to carry cargo only.  As demand for air travel recovers, companies will be bringing back employees but will also be hiring from outside the industry. Results from the survey show that the topics of safety, operations, security, and economic disciplines have been identified as the main areas where training will be required to master the current situation. Safety was highlighted as particularly critical for airlines, ground service providers and airports. “IATA has been providing training for aviation professionals for nearly 50 years. The technical nature of our industry, coupled with stringent requirements defined by the regulators, drive the necessity for standardized training across the sector. Given the fact that the COVID-19 crisis forced many companies to either completely halt or drastically scale down training, we will continue to adapt our portfolio to ensure that we can contribute to the industry’s restart,” said Frédéric Leger, Interim Senior Vice President, Commercial Products and Services at IATA & Cargo Network Services (CNS) President.  IATA started a number of initiatives to assist in aviation workforce training.

China’s aviation industry reported 245 million passenger trips in the January-June period.The air-cargo volume rose 24.6 percent year on year to 3.743 million tons during the period.The aviation sector’s investment in fixed assets reached 43.5 billion yuan (about $6.72 billion) in the first half of the year. According to the latest data released today by Civil Aviation Administration of China, Chinese civil aviation sector gradually recovered from the impact of COVID-19 in the first half of 2021. The country’s aviation regulator’s data shows that China’s aviation industry reported 245 million passenger trips in the January-June period, up 66.4 percent year on year, equivalent to 76.2 percent of the volume during the same period of 2019. The transportation volume recovered quarter by quarter, and in the second quarter, passenger trips on domestic flights returned to the pre-epidemic level. The air-cargo volume rose 24.6 percent year on year to 3.743 million tons during the period, up 6.4 percent compared with the same period of 2019. The aviation sector’s investment in fixed assets reached 43.5 billion yuan (about $6.72 billion) in the first half of the year, up 8.5 percent year on year, said the administration. More on China’s airline industry click here

Finnair opens nonstop flight route from Arlanda, Stockholm to Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand.Finnair opens nonstop flight route from Arlanda, Stockholm to Miami in the United States.All three routes will be operated with an Airbus A350 aircraft. Finnair opens non-stop flight routes from Arlanda, Stockholm in Sweden to Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand and Miami in the United States for the winter season 2021/2022. All three routes will be operated with an Airbus A350 aircraft offering a smooth and modern travel experience. “We are excited to meet the travel needs of our Swedish customers with a nonstop service from Arlanda to Thailand and Miami, which are among the top winter holiday destinations for Swedes”, says Ole Orvér,  Chief Commercial Officer, Finnair. “The new flights will strengthen our offering in the Swedish market.” As of October 22, Finnair flies from Arlanda to Bangkok five times a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. From November 28, the weekly frequencies will be increased to seven and flights are operated from Monday through Sunday until April 22, 2022. Flights from Arlanda to Phuket will be operated on Sundays as of October 24. An additional frequency will be added Thursday as of November 4th and for Tuesdays as of November 30. Flights to Phuket will be operated until April 21, 2022. Flights from Arlanda to Miami will start with two weekly frequencies, on Wednesdays and Saturdays as of October 23. From November 29, flights will be operated also on Monday and Friday until April 22, 2022.  Finnair flies to Bangkok, Phuket and Miami also from its home base Helsinki Airport.

China’s aviation industry reported 245 million passenger trips in the January-June period.The air-cargo volume rose 24.6 percent year on year to 3.743 million tons during the period.The aviation sector’s investment in fixed assets reached 43.5 billion yuan (about $6.72 billion) in the first half of the year. According to the latest data released today by Civil Aviation Administration of China, Chinese civil aviation sector gradually recovered from the impact of COVID-19 in the first half of 2021. The country’s aviation regulator’s data shows that China’s aviation industry reported 245 million passenger trips in the January-June period, up 66.4 percent year on year, equivalent to 76.2 percent of the volume during the same period of 2019. The transportation volume recovered quarter by quarter, and in the second quarter, passenger trips on domestic flights returned to the pre-epidemic level. The air-cargo volume rose 24.6 percent year on year to 3.743 million tons during the period, up 6.4 percent compared with the same period of 2019. The aviation sector’s investment in fixed assets reached 43.5 billion yuan (about $6.72 billion) in the first half of the year, up 8.5 percent year on year, said the administration.

36% of survey respondents have already moved their focus to distance / e-learning.85% of survey respondents said that online learning including virtual classrooms will play an important role in the recovery.As aviation rebuilds, topics such as sustainability and digitalization will gain in importance. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released research on the training requirements for the aviation workforce as the industry starts to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. According to a global survey of some 800 human resources (HR) leaders in the aviation industry responsible for learning and development, right-skilling existing workers and ensuring that new hires from outside aviation can quickly acquire the necessary skills will be key to successfully building the post-pandemic workforce. To achieve this, training programs will need to be adapted, with around half the HR respondents stating that their top priority is to assess available workforce skills and map these against their organization’s competency requirements. This will form the basis for the required training curriculums. The pandemic had already forced many airlines and other companies in the value chain, like ground service providers, to assess what overall skills their employees possessed to adapt to new operational requirements. A case in point was the need to load cargo in cabins of passenger aircraft repurposed to carry cargo only.  As demand for air travel recovers, companies will be bringing back employees but will also be hiring from outside the industry. Results from the survey show that the topics of safety, operations, security, and economic disciplines have been identified as the main areas where training will be required to master the current situation. Safety was highlighted as particularly critical for airlines, ground service providers and airports. “IATA has been providing training for aviation professionals for nearly 50 years. The technical nature of our industry, coupled with stringent requirements defined by the regulators, drive the necessity for standardized training across the sector. Given the fact that the COVID-19 crisis forced many companies to either completely halt or drastically scale down training, we will continue to adapt our portfolio to ensure that we can contribute to the industry’s restart,” said Frédéric Leger, Interim Senior Vice President, Commercial Products and Services at IATA & Cargo Network Services (CNS) President. 

Safety and environmental sustainability as its top priority.It is the first and largest turbulence data contributor in the Middle East.Sharing data on turbulence could help the airline industry cut carbon emissions. Qatar Airways and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Qatar Airways will become the first airline in the Middle East to join the IATA Turbulence Aware platform.  IATA’s Turbulence Aware helps airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence, a leading cause of passenger and crew injuries and higher fuel costs each year, by pooling and sharing anonymized turbulence data from multiple participating airlines and thousands of daily flights. The real-time, accurate information enables pilots and dispatchers to choose optimal flight paths, avoiding turbulence and flying at optimum levels to maximize fuel efficiency and thereby reduce CO2 emissions. Qatar Airways was the first Middle Eastern airline to participate in the Turbulence Aware initiative when it was launched as a pilot project in December 2018. Turbulence Aware has since expanded into a fully operational platform with over 1,500 reporting aircraft sharing real-time turbulence data. With today’s announcement Qatar Airways has equipped 120 aircraft with the Turbulence Aware platform, with plans to expand to the rest of its fleet.  Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “With safety and environmental sustainability as our top priority, we show our commitment towards responsible flying. We continue to innovate as one of the world’s leading airlines by adopting this new solution that combines technology and big data for more efficient flight planning not only to ensure a smooth journey, but also to reduce fuel burn, in turn lowering our carbon emissions. To make flying safer and more sustainable, the airline industry must leverage such digital innovations, and work together to share turbulence data for more precise forecasting.” 

Ministers responsible for civil aviation and senior aviation officials from 14 Pacific Islands States convened virtually this week to endorse the Port Moresby Declaration formalising their shared commitments to progressing important Pacific regional aviation matters through a new enhanced collaboration framework.The Regional Aviation Ministers Meeting (RAMM), hosted by the Papua New Guinea government on Wednesday, 30 June, resulted in Pacific Forum Member States endorsed the Port Moresby Declaration on Aviation Safety and Security.The Port Moresby Declaration provides a range of strategic priorities and actions to respond to the critical challenges regarding aviation safety and security performance facing Forum Members, who have been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministerial Meeting was the first such high-level regional aviation meeting since the initiation of the Pacific Civil Aviation Safety and Security Treaty (PICASST) in 2004. Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu attended the RAMM. Forum Member Countries welcomed the participation of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) Secretary General, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Secretary General, and senior officials from CROP agencies including the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP), and South Pacific Community (SPC). The meeting was also attended by government officials form the United States of america and Singapore, as well as officials from the World Bank, and the Airlines of the South Pacific Association. RAMM Chair and Papua New Guinea Minister for Civil Aviation, the Honourable Sekie Agisa said:“The Port Moresby Declaration is a considerable achievement which formally builds on previous commitments and gives renewed focus to implementing a holistic and collaborative regional approach to achieving sustainable aviation safety and security.” “Although faced with many challenges, the message is clear, through collaboration and commitments, our region can achieve strengthened aviation safety and security compliance,” he said. The Declaration demonstrates Pacific governments commitments to creating a way forward for strengthened aviation safety and security. Safe and secure aviation is recognised as an essential requirement to enabling connectivity and sustainable development in the Pacific. Secretary General of the PIFS, Mr. Henry Puna said:“We need to shift our thinking and our approach from ‘business as usual’ and start to explore new and innovative approaches to create a more safe, secure and sustainable aviation sector for our region; and one which promotes the spirit of the Blue Pacific while respecting national jurisdictions and development aspirations.” “The prioritization of aviation in Pacific States is critical to assure the local levels of ICAO compliance which will ultimately restore this region’s significant aviation’s benefits,” commented ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu, “and it’s my hope that the Port Moresby Declaration will suitably emphasize the importance of air transport to national and regional recoveries to Pacific States.” Another significant milestone was achieved with the endorsement of the Framework for Aviation in the Pacific which will enhance regional collaboration through the development of a 10-year Pacific Regional Aviation Strategy. The Strategy will create a pathway to the long term safe and sustainable development of the aviation system to deliver the vision for a harmonised, collaborative and connected Pacific aviation system that supports safe, secure, and sustainable aviation in all Pacific States. The Pacific Regional Aviation Strategy will focus on COVID-19 recovery and long-term sustainable development of the Pacific aviation system including strengthening Member States’ regulatory oversight capability, capacity, and effectiveness. It was also agreed that the PICASST will be amended to better address the current needs of the region to enable a wider scope of collaborative activities, and leverage opportunities including a stronger Pacific voice in the international aviation system. Ministers also agreed to strengthening the multi-functional regional aviation organisation to address aviation issues and opportunities as a key regional priority. In that regard, Ministers recognised the improved performance of the regional aviation organisation, the Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO). They agreed to strengthen PASO with appropriate and sustainable resourcing to ensure it continues to deliver enhanced aviation safety and security services to all Member States as an important part of the response to the ICAO Pacific Small Island Developing States Study. Ministers agreed to the Cooks Islands hosting the next RAMM in 2022, before the next ICAO Assembly, to monitor progress and consider the amended PICASST, Regional Pacific Aviation Strategy, and sustainable funding arrangements to support enhanced regional collaboration and a strengthened multi-functional regional aviation organisation.