The US city of Mesa is holding a public meeting concerning safety and noise issues at Falcon Field airport. At the centre of the issue is Belgium-based, Canadian-owned flying school, Sabena Flight Academy, which operates over 40 aircraft from dawn to beyond dusk. Homeowners want training (and other) aircraft operations curtailed citing noise and safety issues, while business operators who garner millions in related revenue, argue they and the airport have been around much longer than the homeowners. They want an equitable solution that won’t cut profits. Source: Examiner.com

Between September 28^th and October 2nd 2009 NATEVAL UAV 2009 (the evaluation of N° 80 UAV Squadron) will be organised at Koksijde Airbase. A lot of extra activities will be visible in and around the base. The aim of this exercise is to evaluate the Air Component’s UAV capability in accordance to NATO standards. Success of this evaluation will guarantee 80th UAV Squadron its Final Operational Capability (FOC). The airfield of Koksijde will act as a forward operating base from which a detachment of four B-HUNTER UAV’s (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and 140 personnel of N° 80 UAV Squadron from Elsenborn and other units will operate. Source: Mil.be

Belgium will be re-entering the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program at Sheppard’s 80th Flying Training Wing next year, and the business of training NATO air warriors will continue as usual, according to ENJJPT steering committee chairman Brig. Gen. Franco Marsiglia, commander of the Italian Air Force Academy. Source: TimesRecordNews

Airbus says it has come to an agreement in principle with A400M launch customers to restructure the contract for the airlifter, and is keeping to its objective of performing a first flight this year. “We have agreed to a new program baseline, and have an agreement in principle on a revised technical schedule,” Rafael Tentor, the A400M program head at Airbus Military, said. “We are now working on the details,” he said, with the aim of signing an addendum to the existing contract by the end of the year. Source: Aviation Week

Cambrai (F.) based Escadron de Chasse 01.012 (Mirage 2000c) of the French Armée de l'air is the winner of the NATO Tiger Meet 2009 Silver Tiger Trophy. It was a very close race with AG 51, who ended 2nd with an equal amount off points, but the French scored better in the flying discipline and were thus awarded the prestigious trophy. Source: Natotigers

With a 20% decrease of its turnover, Brussels Airlines is considering to adopt a system of temporarily layoffs according to the unions. Still according to the same source the airline has already received the approval by Minister Joelle Milquet. The measure would principally affect personnel of non-operational services but could also hit a number of pilots. Brussels Airlines has stressed that this is still an evaluation and that no decisions have yet been taken. Source: express.be

As a conclusion of a full competitive Request For Proposal, the US Government, Ogden Air Logistics Center (OO-ALC, 538 ACSG), has awarded S.A.B.C.A (Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques) a new five-years Requirement-type contract for In-Theater Depot Support of the USAFE A-10 fleet, covering Fiscal Years 2010 to 2014. A long-time partner of the USAF, S.A.B.C.A. started its common history with the A-10 almost ten years ago, as a sub-contractor of Lockheed Martin Integration Systems (LMSI, Owego USA), with the Embedded GPS Integration (EGI) that S.A.B.C.A. performed on the European-based A-10 fleet. In 2001, as a conclusion of another competitive Request For Proposals, the US Government awarded S.A.B.C.A a first five-years ID-IQ contract for depot support of the USAFE A-10 fleet. In April 2007 a new ID-IQ contract extended this favourable co-operation with the USAF for another three years. The new contract awarded last week in conclusion of a one-year long re-competition procedure will allow S.A.B.C.A. to go one step further into its involvement and commitment to the A-10. This workload will come in addition to the other programs currently performed by S.A.B.C.A. for Belgian Defence, USAF and several other foreign customers. Since Feb 2000, under the first two contracts, a large number of A-10 have already rolled out of the Charleroi flightline after having been inspected, repaired, re-painted or upgraded. S.A.B.C.A. Charleroi is one of a few places worldwide where Depot maintenance and upgrade on A-10 aircraft is performed. Source: Defence-Aerospace

TNT Airways has launched a trice weekly service from its base at Liège-Bierset to Hong Kong. The route which is to be flown be a Boeing 747-400 freighter comes in complement of TNT's existing service from Liège to Shanghai via Singapore. The express courier company said that because of Hong Kong’s geographical and economic proximity to the Pearl River Delta and its central location in Asia, this destination is a natural choice as a hub for serving customers in the south of China as well as Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan. Source: Flightglobal

The monthly statistics on air traffic and airport movements in Belgium over August 2009 published by Belgocontrol show almost a status-quo - a decrease of 152 movements or -0.15%. (99.431 movements down from 99.583 compared to the same month one year earlier). This is mainly the result of some very good results on three of the four regional airports. Airport statistics give the following figures: Brussels Airport: 19.574 movements (-5.40%), Charleroi-Brussels South: 10.318 movements (+19.59%), Oostende: 10.162 movements (+15.70%), Antwerpen-Deurne: 7.804 movements (+18.80%), and Liège-Bierset: 4.034 movements (-20.64%). Canac controlled air traffic between flight levels 135 and 245: 47.539 movements (-4.60%). Source: Belgocontrol

Unaccounted for up to now, four second-hand gliders have recently joined the Royal Belgian Air Cadets fleet:
- PL-72 - Grob G 102 Astir CS Jeans - purchased in Germany on 07/11/2008 - c/n 2122 - ex: D-2532. This glider has taken over the registration of PL-72 n°1 a Grob G 102 Standard Astir III - c/n 5564 - wfu and sold in 2005
- PL-73 - Grob G 102 Astir CS Jeans - purchased in Germany on 19/09/2008 - c/n 2050 - ex: D-3889. This glider has taken over the registration of PL-73 n°1 a Centrair C 101A Pégase - c/n 10100344 - withdrawn from use and sold in 2005
These two gliders replaced the two G 102 Astir CS Jeans PL-76 & PL-77 written off in 2008.  PL-76 was damaged beyond economical repair during a field-landing near Bertrix Airbase on August 15th, 2008. Crudely repaired the wreck of PL-76 will be used by the RBAC as a mobile recruiting display object. PL-77 crash landed at Weelde Airbase on April 3rd, 2008.
- PL-96 - Grob G 103 Twin Astir II - purchased in the Netherlands on 19/11/2008 - c/n 3526 - ex: PH-1195
- PL-97 - Grob G103A Twin Astir II Acro - purchased in the UK on 01/07/2009 - c/n 33961-K-194 - ex: RAF ZE612/R71 BGA3064 G-DEYS
These two gliders were purchased as replacement aircraft in the framework of the eminent withdrawal from use of the four remaining first generation G 103 Twin Astir I gliders (PL-81/-84/-85 & -86). Click here for the updated inventory of the Royal Belgian Air Cadets fleet.

In view of its upcoming entrance into Star Alliance, Brussels Airlines extends its codeshare agreement with bmi: as from 25 October onwards London Heathrow will be offered in codeshare with the British airline.  The Brussels Airlines customers will then be able to choose from seven daily flights to London Heathrow and two to London Gatwick. The flight schedule is ideal for business travellers, city trippers and passengers with connections beyond Brussels. Source: Brussels Airlines

Oneworld alliance carrier American Airlines is to start daily services from Brussels to Boston via London Heathrow from 19 November 2009. The Boston service, which adds to American's daily flights from Brussels to Chicago and New York JFK, will be operated using Boeing 767-300 aircraft configured with two classes. "The introduction of a third daily flight for the 2009-10 winter schedule demonstrates the importance American places on the russels market," says American Airlines senior vice-president Craig Kreeger. "It will also enable late afternoon connections to both Chicago and New York JFK as well as an additional Brussels-London option for local passengers." Source: Flightglobal

As from September 14th, 2006 Brussels Airlines offers a perfect flight schedule to South Africa, Ghana and Sudan thanks to an extended partnership with Lufthansa. All flights are operated by Lufthansa and commercialized by Brussels Airlines through a codeshare agreement. Alternatively, Lufthansa sells seats on the Brussels Airlines flights to Banjul, Nairobi, Douala, Yaounde, Bujumbura, Abidjan and Monrovia. Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa substantially expand their cooperation on the African market. This agreement allows Brussels Airlines to offer its customers an excellent flight schedule to South Africa, Ghana and Sudan, countries that up until now were not part of the vast African network offered by Brussels Airlines. Thanks to a codeshare agreement with Lufthansa these destinations are included in the Brussels Airlines network portfolio. Brussels Airlines passengers travel from Brussels Airport to Frankfurt, from where they connect on partner Lufthansa to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Accra or Khartoum. Since the beginning of July a similar solution is in place for the Brussels Airlines customers who travel between Brussels and Libreville (Gabon). Flight schedules have been adjusted to allow for smooth connections in Frankfurt. Passengers can choose between First, Business and Economy Class on their intercontinental flight. All flights are eligible for earning and redeeming Miles & More miles. Apart from being a major commercial and cultural partner of Belgium, South Africa is also a popular holiday destination. Up until now Brussels Airlines did not offer a travel solution for customers wanting to travel to Johannesburg or Cape Town. Thanks to the convenient daily evening/night flight Brussels-Frankfurt-Johannesburg and the seasonal flight Brussels-Frankfurt-Cape Town, this is now possible. Also for those who want to travel to Ghana in East-Africa, there is good news from Brussels Airlines. The prominent Ghanaian community in Belgium and the many businessmen interested in this economically attractive country can from now on travel five times a week to the capital Accra thanks to Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa. Accra enhances the strong presence of Brussels Airlines on the African West Coast. The codeshare agreement between Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa allows for four weekly connections between Brussels and the Sudanese capital Khartoum. Source: Brussels Airlines

Belgian Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem (CD&V) has declared that Bierset airbase near Liège is to be closed down in a new round of cost cutting measures which also includes the centralisation of the Medical Component at Neder-Over-Heembeek. Bierset still houses some 28 Agusta A109BA combat helicopters of the Wing Heli after the retirement of the last three Alouette II helicopters (see BAHA Special Feature "Retirement at Fifty") earlier this week and some 750 men and woman military personnel. The Wing Heli will be relocated at the military base of Beauvechain near Brussels according to Minister De Crem who also stated the no lay off's are planned. Source: Gazet van Antwerpen

The Council of Ministers has approved a proposal by Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem (CD&V) to launch a tender for a maintenance contract for the B-Hunter Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's) operated by the 80° Squadron UAV of the Air Component. The tender also includes technical support and tools as well as the provision of spare parts. Source: Presscenter.org

The Board of Directors of The Brussels Airport Company has decided to postpone the opening of the low cost terminal until the start of the summer season in 2011. The opening has been postponed to allow for further consultation regarding regulated charges and conditions of use which will continue ahead of the planned opening. The seven low cost carriers that currently serve Brussels Airport will continue to operate at the main terminal; Source: Brussels Airport

Avionics display provider Barco has entered into a partnership with Zhukovsky-based aerospace company Monitor Soft to jointly provide cockpit mission systems on the Russian market. "The Russian market has always been an important focus for us and over the past ten years we have achieved a dominant market share on civil aircraft," said a Barco spokesman. "Regardless of the economic climate there is a great potential for these versatile mission display applications." He said the system introduces several innovations to the market, including a compact footprint and low power consumption appropriate to either an aircraft or helicopter cockpit environment. Barco's MDU-268 mission display unit is an avionics-grade six- by 8-inch display derived from the company's cockpit head-down display family. It includes a sunlight-readable active matrix liquid crystal display with an 80-degree viewing angle in all directions in either portrait or landscape mode. It is also compatible with forward-looking infrared, daylight video cameras, moving maps, computers and radar.

Belgian Armed Force boss, General Charles-Henri Delcourt is preparing a new restructuring plan for the armed forces which, depending on the sources, could lead to the loss of 7.000 jobs by 2015. In 1998 the Belgian Armed forces counted 44.000 military personnel which dropped to 37.000 actually and could be further reduced to 28.000 and some 2.000 civil personnel by 2015. A large number of bases are to be shut down as well and it is rumoured that for the Air Component this could mean closure of Bierset (Wing Heli to be moved to Beauvechain) and Koksijde airbases (40 Squadron SAR helicopters would move to Oostende airport upon the arrival of the Sea King replacement the NH90 helicopter). This restructuring plan is to be tabled by Mr. De Crem (CD&V-) at the end of the month of September. Sources: De Morgen -  RTBF - Het Nieuwsblad - La Libre

Lockheed F-104G Starfighter FX-52 (see Baha's Special Feature), the original and first "Tiger" aircraft painted for the Tiger Meet of 1978 has been transported to Kleine Brogel airbase to be one of the highlights of the 2009 edition of the "Tiger Meet". This exercise which will be held as of next week at Kleine Brogel airbase will bring together a large number of squadrons which have a Tiger (or assimilated feline animal) in their Squadron crest. A large public event will take place at the base on Friday 18 September 2009. Source: TVL

Having been suspended during the months June, July and August, Kleine Brogel and Florennes are to resume their night training flights. Until the end of October these flights will be flown on Mondays and Tuesdays until 24:00 hrs.  As from November, the last landing will be at 21:30 hrs. Night training flights are extremely important in today's air operations. The airbases will make every effort to keep the impact to the environment as low as possible. Source: Mil.be

The Walloon aviation group Sonaca has announced it would cut 440 jobs: 300 blue collar workers and 120 white collar workers and 20 executive level positions. The 440 people in question all work at the headquarters of Sonaca in Gosselies. The management wants to discuss the dismissal terms with the trade unions. Sonaca is involved in the research and development of aviation technology. The group constructs parts and material and also works in assemblage. Sonaca also has branches in North and South America. The aviation sector has been hard hit by the crisis. Many companies have cut way back on investments for the time being and some have to lay off workers. Souce: De redactie

Since the beginning of their second deployment to Afghanistan on September 1st 2008, Belgian Air Component F-16AM fighters have flown over 780 missions clocking up some 2,500 flight hours from Kandahar airbase. In addition, every day 2 aircraft are placed under alert, ready to take off within 30 minutes to intervene on behalf of allied ground forces. During the flights, ground troops were supported by observation, escort and protection in case they took enemy fire. These missions were always flown by two aircraft and during 116 of these patrols an intervention was requested by ground forces under fire. Most of these interventions could avert the threat without the use of force, but in about 30 cases the use of weapons was necessary to stop the life threatening situation for the allied soldiers. Until now, all these interventions are performed without collateral damage, which demonstrates the extraordinary professionalism and skill of the pilots. The F-16 detachment in Kandahar now consists of 116 staff assuring the availability of 6 F-16. Source: La Libre  and Mil.be

Slovak budget airline SkyEurope which is also active at Brussels Airport has filed for bankruptcy. SkyEurope says in the statement that it suspended its sales and operations immediately. The troubled airline was struggling since earlier this year with a lack of sufficient interim funding to finance ongoing operations. Source: Express.be

The monthly statistics on air traffic and airport movements in Belgium over July 2009 published by Belgocontrol show a 2.70% overall decrease (102.261 movements down from 105.103 compared to the same month one year earlier). This is the first indication that the negative effects of the worldwide crisis are slowing down. Airport statistics give the following figures: Brussels Airport: 20.871 movements (-9.93%), Charleroi-Brussels South: 9.508 movements (+17.31%), Oostende: 9.044 movements (+5.19%), Antwerpen-Deurne: 8.204 movements (+23.89%), and Liège-Bierset: 3825 movements (-17.39%). Canac controlled air traffic between flight levels 135 and 245: 50.809 movements (-5.87%). Source: Belgocontrol

Some very persistent rumours indicate that Belgian aircraft company Sonaca is to lay off some 450 of its employees, including 300 workers and 150 members of the administrative personnel. Sonaca now counts some 1600 employees and want to adjust the volume of its personnel to the actual production level which has dropped some 35% since the start of the worldwide crisis. Source: La Libre.

As of October 25th Brussels Airlines will offer twelve weekly flights between Brussels and the Milan city airport Linate. These complementary connections add up to the thirty scheduled flights weekly to the city's Malpensa Airport resulting in a total of some 42 flights weekly offered between Brussels and Milan. The new service offers a choice of no less than seven daily departures to the economical and tourist key Milanese region. Source: Brussels Airlines

On Saturday 22/08 Diamond DA40 Star D-EQCO (Info) suffered engine problems some 20 km off Koksijde/De Panne near the Oostdijkbanck and had to make put his plane down on the water. Fortunately the weather was particular nice and calm with a perfect visibility and the pilot did not suffer any injuries in the watery landing. Some sport divers were nearby to rescue the unfortunate pilot. Source: Het Nieuwsblad

On Sunday 23/08 at 13h30 Fly Synthesis Storch OO-F56 (picture) also had to make an emergency landing this time at Brakel. The pilot tried to reach the airfield of Overboelare in vain. Both occupants suffered minor injuries. The cause of this accident is not yet known. Source: Het Nieuwblad.

A mere ten kilometres away, at about the same time, a hot air balloon has to make an emergency landing on the parking lot of the Algemeen Ziekenhuis of Geraardsbergen. Due to a total lack of wind the balloon could not reach altitude and after hitting some rooftops was landed near the hospital. Fortunately no-one of the occupants was injured.  Source: De Morgen.

One hour later at Goetsenhoven airfield a glider being towed in the air got prematurely detached from the towing aircraft and crashed in a field. The pilot suffered minor injuries. Source: Het Nieuwsblad.

As no appeal was introduced on time and in accordance with the public procurement rules the Belgian Armed forces are going to dry lease an Airbus A330 of the Portugese airline Hi Fly ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi_Fly_(airline) and http://www.hifly.aero/ ). This aircraft will replace the two Airbus A310-222's that the armed forces bought from Singapore airlines in 1997. Six companies submitted proposals and three were shortlisted: two Belgian companies and the French group Avico in conjunction with Hi Fly. According to the Armed Forces spokeman the Hi Fly offer was the cheapest and best solution. Previously seen as favorite in the competition the Belgian contenders offered secondhand Boeing 767's. The Airbus A330 must be ready for Belgian official flights in two months. This will give the Belgian crew time to prepare themselves for flights with the new company and aircraft type.  Source: BAHA forum.
The two favourite candidates for the "CA-03" are therefore:

Model - Variant A330-243
Msn 1008
Registration CS-TFZ
E.I.S. (E.I.S. HFY) 2009 (2009)
http://www.airfleets.net/fr/ficheapp/pl ... 0-1008.htm

Model - Variant A330-322
Msn 096
Registration CS-TMT
E.I.S. (E.I.S. HFY) 1996 (2002)
This last one was once upon a time the Sabena OO-SFX.
http://www.airfleets.net/fr/ficheapp/plane-a330-96.htm

Low-cost airline Ryanair has announced its fiftieth destination from Brussels-South Charleroi airport. The new route will go to Edinburgh as of the end of October 2009.  At the same period Ryanair also is to open a link between Charleroi and Agadir - this becoming the company’s fourth destination in Morocco from the Walloon airport. Source: Express.be

As of June 12th, 2010 Air Canada intends to link Montreal (YUL) nonstop with Brussels on a daily basis. Air Cananda will fly a Boeing 767-300ER on the route, a widebody twinjet fitted with both Economy Class and Executive First seats. These flights are to be year-round, not seasonal and are to continues on to Toronto (YYZ), giving that city more connection options to Brussels as well. Source: Examiner.com

The "I Fly For Charity" initiative started by some 10th Wing crew-chiefs in April 2007 and which grew into a world wide and much acclaimed fund raising tool for the Kinderkankerfonds VZW (Children’s Cancer Foundation) will have to miss one of its most famous puppets, "Tijgetje". The tiger puppet which of course was the mascot of N° 31 'Tiger' Squadron was the first of the IFFC-puppet pilots flying in an F-16 for the first time on 27 April 2007. Since then "Tijgetje" logbook shows an astonishing 650 flying hours all over the world and in an incredible number of different aircraft types. "Tijgetje" also flew with the Patrouille de France, the Red Arrows, the USAF Thunderbirds, and went to such places as Iraq, Afghanistan and even the North Pole. After two years “Tijgetje” will now retire from military service and N° 31 CO Maj. Vl J-Poesen will promote this famous squadron pilot to the grade of Commander Aviator.  Between September 3^rd and 21^st “Tijgetje” will be up for sale in an auction organised by Bernaerts of Antwerp (www.bernaerts.be) with all revenues going to the Kinderkankerfonds. Today IFFC godmother, actrice and TV personality Andrea Croonenberghs handed over a cheque of 3.000€ raised by the sale of gadgets created for this initiative. Pictures: - 01 & 02 - . More on “I Fly For Charity” on the dedicated website: http://www.iflyforcharity.be/  and on BAHA’s own IFFC pages.

At the end of September 2009, Irish low-cost airline Ryanair abandons the link between Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA) and Manchester Airport in the U.K. This cut is the result of Ryanair's decision to stop using Manchester Airport as one of its hubs due to the fact that airport taxes are charged. In all some 44 routes from Manchester are affected and 650 jobs are being lost. Source: www.express.be

Jodel DR.1050A OO-MOU (c/n 399) in which pilot Guy Gillet returned from the Schaffen International Fly In suffered engine problems near Kiewit airfield where he wanted to land. Problems started when the pilot had to avoid another aircraft in the landing circuit. The very experienced pilot attempted an emergency landing but this failed and he crashed in a corn field some 100 meters short of the runway. Unfortunately the pilot was seriously injured in the accident. Source; Het Belang van Limburg.  -  Picture of the aircraft at airport-data.com

A very rare Ryan PT-22 Recruit, registered N56028 (c/n 2014) and painted as 295/52ED came in too low and too slow (according to some unconfirmed sources as the result of engine problems) for its landing at Schaffen/Diest during the 26th International Old Timer Fly-In. As a result the aircraft caught some wires and overturned rather brutally in a ditch in front of the runway. Fortunately the two Dutch occupants survived the crash although both were injured one of them seriously. Pictures at Airliners.net: Before and after the crash.  

Since July 1st and up to November 29th 2009 a very interesting temporarily exhibition on the aeronautical history of the city of Spa can be visited at the: Musées de le Ville d'eaux - Villa Royale, avenue Reine Astrid, 77b at Spa.  The city o Spa was not only involved in the early days of the automobile and up to now with the Spa- Francorshaps cirquit, it also has a very rich aeronautical history which started of in 1909 with the organisation of the "Grande Quizaine de l'Aviation" organised at Malchamps

13/08 - Leasing of Portuguese Airbus A330 to replace Defence’s A310 opens fierce discussion.

The selection by Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem (CD&V) of "non-reliable" Portuguese company Hi Fly as the winner of a tender to provide a replacement for the ageing Airbus A310 aircraft has opened some intense discussions in the Belgian media. According to the Flemish Aerospace Group (FLAG) the Minister has decided to award a contract for the dry-leasing of a new governmental aircraft to Avico, a French company which offers an Airbus A330 in collaboration with the Portuguese company Hi Fly.  This cheaper offer was preferred against two offers by Belgian candidates Sabena Technics and Abelag who both proposed a Boeing 767. To be continues... Source: 7Sur7

Following a request by NATO, Belgium is sending two extra F-16 fighters to Kandahar Airbase in Afghanistan. The Alliance expanded its ground forces and therefore needs extra air support for these troops. On August 11th, 2009, at 11:00hrs local time, 3 F-16 took off from Istres airbase in Southern France along with an Armée de l'Air air refuelling tanker. After the first air refuelling and all conditions perfect, one of the spare aircraft returned to Belgium. The two others continued their flight to KAF. Three air refuelling operations were needed and arrival time at Kandahar was 17:30 local time. Besides the two F-16; technicians, mission planners and two extra pilots are mandatory. The extra F-16 support is planned until the end of 2009 while the other four aircraft will remain in KAF until end 2010. Source: Mil.be

A diver suffering from the bends after an incident off the coast of Dover was flown to a London hospital's decompression unit for treatment. The woman was brought ashore by boat to Dover harbour and a Belgian air force helicopter was summoned because local coastguard and RAF machines were busy. It arrived in just over 20 minutes, a Dover coastguard spokesman said. Police closed London's Regents Park on Sunday to allow it to land and the woman was taken to St John hospital. The Dover coastguard spokesman said helicopter movements were co-ordinated from RAF Kinloss in Scotland and the Belgian Sea King was the nearest to the scene of the incident. The condition of the diver, said to be in her late 30s, was not known, he added. Source:  BBC News

A helicopter operating on behalf of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) remained blocked in a field at Faulx-les-Tombes (near Gesves, Namur) due to an undisclosed mechanical problem. As technicians had to be brought in from Germany the helicopter remained in the open and guarded by American troops for 24 hours. Once repaired it could fly out and regain its base. Source: 7Sur7.

Low passenger numbers have forced the airline CityJet to end its service from Antwerp to Frankfurt after just three months. The first flight bound for the German financial centre left Antwerp’s Deurne Airport bound for Frankfurt on 4 May. According to City Jet’s CEO Johan Vanneste low passenger numbers mean that the airline has been forced to scrape the route. Any passengers that have booked a ticket for a flight to Frankfurt will receive a full refund and no jobs will be lost as a result of the scrapping of the service. Source: VRTNieuws

31/07 - Belgian Air Force F-16's twice in action over Afghanistan in two separate incidents.

Last week, Belgian Air Component F-16's (four -and soon six- of which are deployed to Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan) have been engaged in Close Air Support (CAS) actions on behalf of the ISAF troops. In one occasions on Sunday GBU-12 250Kg laser guided bombs were dropped while on Friday the F-16('s had to use their on-board 20mm Vulcan gun to strafe targets to assist troops on the ground. In both cases no collateral damage was caused. Source: Belga  

Ethiopian Airlines Cargo has confirmed that as of August 1st 2009 they will be operating the Liège-Bierset  -  Johannesburg (SA) cargo link which was operated initially by now defunct Cargo B Airlines. The flight will be flown every Sunday with a Boeing 747-400F cargo aircraft.

Budget airline Ryanair is to add four new destinations from Brussels South- Charleroi airport to its winter schedule. Three new routes to the Canary Islands (Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife) and a new connection with Sweden's Stockholm. Source: Het Laatste Nieuws.

Directorate General Material Resources of the Belgian Defence is organising a public sale of eight Agusta A109BA helicopters. The sale has been split up in eight equivalent packages, identified as Lot A through Lot H. Each package consists of one helicopter which can be awarded individually. The deadline for the tender’s submission is September 30th, 2009. The following aircraft are involved: H-09 (Lot A), H-34 (Lot B), H-13 (Lot C), H-18 (Lot D), H-10 (Lot E), H-15 (Lot F), H-11 (Lot G) and H-12 (Lot H). Source: e-Notification

Six young people were rescued by the crew of a Belgian helicopter after becoming trapped near Dover Harbour. The alarm was raised at 3.45pm yesterday when the five boys and one girl discovered they had been cut off by the rising tide. The youngsters, aged 15 to 19 from Dover and Elvington, had parked at Langdon Cliffs and walked down Langdon Steps to the foreshore. They decided to walk along to look at some caves, but when they wanted to return, the path was covered by water. They climbed up onto rocks to keep clear of the water and used a mobile phone to call the Coastguard for help. Dover lifeboat was launched and the Deal, Langdon and Folkestone Coastguard teams were sent to the scene. Plans to rescue them by boat had to be abandoned because the land they needed to cross was unstable, and the boat was moving around. The lifeboat Coxswain and Coastguards decided a helicopter was needed, and the only one available was from Belgium. It flew across and winched the youngsters to safety, landing them at the Coastguard station. “They were given safety advice and they were all sorry for the trouble they had caused,” said a Coastguard spokesman.  Source: Kent Online

The German military is looking for a practice bomb dropped over Germany by a Belgian F-16 fighter jet during a training flight at the start of the week, Berlin has announced. "The search is still on," for the 50-centimetre-long training bomb weighing four kilograms, a German Defence Ministry spokesman said. The dud bomb is thought to be in the vicinity of the town of Cloppenburg, in the state of Lower Saxony. The German air force has requested a clarification of the incident from its Belgian counterpart. Source: M & C Europe

Defence ministers from the seven European nations that launched the troubled A400M military transport plane agreed Friday to renegotiate the contract for the delayed project. French Defence Minister Herve Morin, who hosted a meeting in the French village of Le Castellet in the Provence region, said governments could sign the new contract as early as December, around the time of the expected first flight. The project is one of Europe’s most ambitious joint military-industrial undertakings, and has suffered several costly hang-ups. Source: Breaking News

As in previous years the 15th Transport Wing of the Belgian Air Force is participating in the USAF Air Mobility Command sponsored “Air Mobility Command Rodeo 2009”, which runs from July 19th trough July 24th. The Rodeo is a week-long mobility readiness competition that brings teams from Air Mobility Command bases and allied nations such as of Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Malaysia, Israel, the Republic of Korea and Turkey together to compete in a variety of judged events. In all, there are more than 50 competitions, each of which is designed to showcase the abilities of mobility airmen around the Air Forces. But the Rodeo isn't just about competition. The event is also a way for airmen to share ideas and learn from each other. This year, more then 100 teams are to compete and hopefully the Belgian representation will be able to return with some prices as the often did in the past. Source:   U.S. AIR FORCE  -  updated news on the Belgian participants here.

Zaventem's Brussels Airport has received some 1.5 million passengers over the month of June 2009, a 9.1% decrease if compared with the same month in 2008. First cause is of course the international economic crisis which has a direct influence on the short range business travel. Long haul flight however remained unchanged if considering the first six months of this year. In total 7.7 million passengers were handled over the first six months of 2009 which is 11.7% lower that one year earlier  Source: Express.be

In June 2010 the Iceland airline company Icelandair will start a twice weekly direct link between Brussels Airport and the Iceland capital Reykjavik. This will be the first direct link between the capitals of both countries. Icelandair points out that the connection is important as Brussels is a business centre and a political important stopover. Icelandair flies to 25 destinations in Europe and North America from their base at Reykjavik airport. Source: Icelandair.

From 3 to 28 of August 2009 works will be carried out at Brussels airport which will necessitate the temporarily closure of the runways at different intervals. From August 3rd until 10th the available length of runways 07R/25L and 02/20 will be reduced. - from August 10th till 18th runway 02/20 will be entirely closed for traffic - from August 19th until 28th runway 07R/25L will be entirely closed. More detailed information on these runway renovations works can be found at: the Brusels Airport website.

Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines are now offering codeshare flights on selected long-haul routes as part of their agreement to expand their cooperation and open up their networks to each other's passengers. The first jointly operated long-haul services are Brussels Airlines flights from Brussels to Entebbe, Uganda and the new Lufthansa connection from Frankfurt to Libreville, Gabon. Flights on both theses routes can be booked with immediate effect under the partner's flight number. Lufthansa passengers can thus fly to Entebbe via Brussels under a Lufthansa flight number. Lufthansa does not operate its own flights to this destination in Uganda. Likewise, Brussels Airlines passengers can fly to Libreville, the capital of Gabon, from Brussels via Frankfurt.. Source: Brussels Airlines

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association, a Washington trade group, has opened a European branch office in Brussels, Belgium. GAMA hired Ireland native Brian Davey to represent the general aviation manufacturing industry before European institutions in Brussels and the European Aviation Safety Agency in Cologne. Davey also will work with others to promote the continued development of the industry. Source: The Witchita Eagle

The monthly statistics on air traffic and airport movements in Belgium over June 2009 published by Belgocontrol show a 4.68% overall decrease (99.782 movements down from 104.680 compared to the same month one year earlier). Airport statistics give the following figures: Brussels Airport: 21.101 movements (-9.64%), Charleroi-Brussels South: 9.613 movements (+4.48%), Oostende: 8.751 movements (+26.51%), Antwerpen-Deurne: 8.357 movements (+18.99%), and Liège-Bierset: 3.577 movements (-15.72%). Canac controlled air traffic between flight levels 135 and 245: 48.383 movements (-10.31%). Source: Belgocontrol

Budget airline EasyJet is to open a new link between Brussels and Lyon (F.) as of December 17th 2009. The route is to be flown six times a week and becomes EasyJet's fifth destination from Brussels Airport. Other destinations are Milan, Geneva, Berlin and Nice. The company also announced that it will increase its frequency on the Brussels - Berlin link to two flights daily. Source: Luchtvaartnieuws.

Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem (CD&V) and Chief of Defence General Charles-Henri Delcour have announced a number of nominations of which the following are Air Component related: Lt. Gen Gerard Van Caelenberge becomes Assistant Chief of Staff responsible  for Operations and Training of the Belgian Defence (in short: ACOS Ops & Trg). Up to now Gen Van Caelenberge is Commander of the Air Component, he will be replaced in his actual function by Colonel Aviator Claude Van de Voorde who becomes Major-General as of his change of command. Colonel Van de Voorde is actually Base Commander of Kleine Brogel Airbase. Col Jan Hennes becomes Chief of the division Coordination and Evaluation of the Human Resources Directory. Source and more info at Mil.be.

On Sunday June 28th 2009 at 16h00 local time Koksijde based N° 40 Squadron was contacted by the UK Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at Kinloss (U.K.) with the request to participate in a Search and Rescue mission for a crashed private aircraft off the English coast. Fortunately the unlucky pilot was rescued by a ship passing by, but as Kolonel Vlieger SBH Bruno HAVERMANS, baseco of Koksijde, puts it: "this was a textbook example of the international cooperation during an aerial accident in a maritime environment something in which N° 40 Squadron is specialised and renowned for".  In order to brief the press for the International Airshow at Koksijde on July 4th and 5th 2009 as well as the Zeebrugge Naval base Open Doors on July 11th and 12th, Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem (CD&V) was winched down from Seaking RS-03 onto the deck of the Belgian Navy vessel A963 Stern.  More information on the Koksijde airshow  -  Picture of the MOD in action.  01  -  02

Belgian airfreight company Cargo B Airlines is waiting on tenterhooks for a last-minute investor to rescue the business. A board meeting was scheduled for 13:00 today to look at any last-ditch avenues to source rescue capital. This meeting was scheduled originally for yesterday morning, but was postponed at the last minute. Personnel in Africa and South America are being recalled in apparent anticipation of the imminent dissolution of the company. When asked if the company would fold if it failed to attract new investors, chairman and company founder Rob Kuijpers, who was visibly affected, replied simply: “I don’t know.” Cargo B Airlines recently acquired two new Boeing B747-400. It employs about 50 people in total, including pilots. The new aircraft are currently in Amsterdam for maintenance, according to operations director Dirk Vrebos. Today’s scheduled flights have been cancelled, but the planes would be in the sky again over the weekend, according to Vrebos. In terms of outstanding debts, the company has paid the invoices of Aviapartner up to and including Monday. However, the latest fuel invoice had been settled by major Japanese shareholder the NYK Group. Cargo B Airlines was established in 2007 on the back of a viable business plan. However, the natural growth of the company was impeded by such factors as late acquisition of aircraft, delay in obtaining an air cargo licence, and the subsequent collapse of the global air-cargo sector due to the economic downturn. Source: Arabiansupply chain.com