crew1990 wrote:By the way why do the EU put all the airlines of the RDC on black list while one operate with European safety standart, why is Korongo not out of this blacklist, I dont understand...
Because it's the organisation of civil aviation in RDC that is blacklisted: airports, air traffic control, operating licences, etc. As long as Korongo has to report to the Congolese Civil Aviation Authority, it will be blacklisted. That it unless there is a deep reform in the whole organisation of civil aviation in RDC.
I think that the RDC government has understood the problem: as tolipanebas explained earlier, the government is now revoking the licences of several airlines whose safety standards are not adequate. A first step in the right direction.
Kinshasa revokes operating licences of ten Congolese airlines
Cetraca Aviation Service (CER, Beni) along with Katanga Express (Lubumbashi), Air Baraka, Gisair, Goma Express (Goma), GTRA Airways (Kinshasa D'Dolo), Lubumbashi Air Service (Lubumbashi), Pegasus Aviation, Sion Airlines and Tracep Congo Aviation (Goma) have all had their operating licences revoked by the Congolese Ministry of Transport with immediate effect.
The move comes after each of the airlines failed to satisfy Phases 3 & 4 (Document Evaluation & Demonstration and Inspection) of an IATA-endorsed recertification exercise aimed at improving the Central African nation's chequered safety record.
Commenting on the development, Justin Kalunga, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Minster of Transport, said that though the revocation of licences would drastically affect the availability of seats and flights, the resulting improvement in safety and reliability would be invaluable in saving human lives.
sn26567 wrote:Good news and less competition for Korongo?
I don't know how active these 10 airlines were at Korongo's routes, but it will be good news anyway even if it's in a more indirect way. DRC is finaly making some steps in improving its safety, if that eventually results in the DRC being removed from the EU blacklist (which is their goal and I believe Belgium was suposed to help with that after the new bilateral agreement signed last year?) that's good news for Korongo as it will make things much easier for SN and the LH Group to have effective codeshare agreements with Korongo.
But of course there are also other (larger) DRC airlines which will also benefit from this and they are not standing stil either based on capacity, safety and even service.
After completing its annual maintenance program in Europe, our own Boeing 737-300 is back.
We take this opportunity to renew our on-board meal offer with refined meals, developed by our partner LSG Skychef.
Both in Business Class and Economy Class, new flavours are waiting to spice up your taste ... Bon appétit!
Committed to strengthen our Congolese identity and in line with our commitment for the transfer of expertise, Korongo Airlines is pleased to announce that three of our cabin crew members have been appointed the function of purser, after having passed their certification with the European Civil Aviation Authorities brilliantly. No doubt they will bring all their knowledge and commercial skills at your service.
Enjoy the taste of travelling with Korongo Airlines and let this new experience be a source of comfort and pleasure!
sn26567 wrote:Good news and less competition for Korongo?
I don't know how active these 10 airlines were at Korongo's routes, but it will be good news anyway even if it's in a more indirect way. DRC is finaly making some steps in improving its safety, if that eventually results in the DRC being removed from the EU blacklist (which is their goal and I believe Belgium was suposed to help with that after the new bilateral agreement signed last year?) that's good news for Korongo as it will make things much easier for SN and the LH Group to have effective codeshare agreements with Korongo.
But of course there are also other (larger) DRC airlines which will also benefit from this and they are not standing stil either based on capacity, safety and even service.
None of the companies listed are in direct competition with Korongo thru the Kin/Lubum/Mbuji Mayi route. They mostly serve some remote locations. I also understand that some of these compagnies were already defunct.
Congo moves ahead with shakeup of local aviation scene
Korongo Airlines has entered into talks with the Congolese government after Kinshasa unilaterally revoked all local airline's international traffic rights. The DR Congo Airline news blog says Korongo has denied its Johannesburg O.R. Tambo route has been affected by the move, which should also impact CAA - Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation and its Johannesburg flights. At this point both CAA and Korongo are still selling tickets on their flights linking Lumbumbashi and Johannesburg. According to CAA CEO David Blattner, the carrier has no plans to suspend its services to South Africa.
On the back of recommendations by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Congo's Transport Minister, Justin Kalumba, has now revoked three more airlines' operating licences - Bengard Airways, Okapi Airlines and Congo Express - on grounds they did pass Stage 2 of the ICAO-endorsed operational audit. In March, Kalumba revoked the licences of ten other airlines on similar grounds.
Four other airlines - Doren Air Cargo, Mango Airlines (Beni), Trans Air Cargo Service (Kinshasa N'Djili) and Will Airlift - have now been placed on month-long probation to correct minor violations of the country's air code.
No reason to rejoyce, but I said it before : why is b.air spending (wasting) so much energy, time and money on an airline in a country with no security and absolutely no certainty ? (Because Stevie D and G Wood are friends and the latter needs safe planes to fly his employees ?).
A ground handling vehicle caused a dent on our aircraft fuselage, the repair is now in a final stage.
As consequence we are pleased to hereby inform you that Korongo Airlines flights will resume as of Tuesday April 29th 2014. All pax affected by flight cancellations between April 26th and 29th have been either refunded or rebooked automatically on flights planned on Tuesday April 29th (out of Johannesburg) and on Wednesday April 30th 2014.
Korongo Airlines, dans un communique signe par son CEO Mr Christophe Allard, tient à démentir toute rumeur faisant étant de la perte de sa licence d’exploitation pour les vols vers et en provenance de l’Afrique du Sud. Elle rappelle que ses avions affrétés et immatriculés en Belgique sont sous le contrôle de la compagnie mère Brussel Airlines et sont conformes a toutes les normes de réglementation internationales en matière.
Google translation :
Korongo Airlines, in a statement signed by its CEO Mr Christophe Allard, wishes to deny any rumor related to the loss of its license to operate flights to and from South Africa. It recalls that its aircraft are chartered and registered in Belgium under the control of the parent company Brussels Airlines and conform to all international standards of regulation.
Korongo Airlines send a press release about an hour ago:
Important Communication - suspension of our domestic flights due to DRC's navigation systems unserviceable
Dear Partners ,
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has decreed all aid to navigation equipment on all Congolese domestic airports as non-compliant. In 2003 ICAO had given a moratorium on the DRC to recalibrate their equipments. 10 years later nothing has been done. RVA has been forced to notify that all navigation aids on Congolese territory (VOR, ILS) are out of service. Therefore we can no longer operate under IFR (flight instrument).
In accordance with national and international regulations prescribed we are forced to suspend all our flights as from 17h00 this evening.
Johannesburg is not affected because the RVA has not suspended the ILS system in place to track Lubumbashi. We therefore maintain our flights to/ from Johannesburg.
RVA is in contact with ICAO to request a final delay period that would allow them to bring over a laboratory aircraft to recalibrate all instruments. Given the stakes at hand, it is without a doubt that Korongo Airlines and its shareholder Brussels Airlines will make every effort to assist the DRC in search for a favourable solution.
Awaiting the response of ICAO, we have cancelled this evening’s and tomorrow’s flights ZC 105/106 ZC 103/104. As a precautionary measure we have also closed the sale of flight ZC103/104 of Wednesday.
We’ll make sure that our partners and passengers are kept informed of any new development.
We are aware that we may be the only company to take up our responsibilities, but we remain convinced that Korongo Airlines’ commitment to operate in full compliance with the Congolese and international rules and regulation is the only way forward and the only way to make things happen in the interests of our passengers.
We are aware that our passengers are the first affected by this situation. So we hope that the Congolese authorities will take all the necessary measures in order to allow us to resume all our flights in perfect safety and in compliance with all regulations.
No formal mandate has been made by the Democratic Republic of Congo CAA and Korongo Airlines is currently the only carrier that has suspended its domestic flights.
Korongo Airlines has taken the courageous decision to voluntarily close its domestic flight operations within the Democratic Republic of Congo after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) declared all navigational aids for domestic airports as in default and non-compliant. It is understood, according to a recently published NOTAM, that all VOR and ILS equipment serving Congo’s domestic airports, are now out of service, forcing airlines to fly their approach under visual flight rules (VFR) conditions only.
The strong stance was taken by ICAO after it had become clear through a series of audits that aviation regulators in the African country were making little or no progress in updating and installing additional safety equipment. After addressing a moratorium to the Democratic Republic of Congo Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in 2003 to recalibrate its equipment, nothing has been done to address ICAO’s request over the subsequent eleven years.
“This means we can no longer operate under IFR [instrument flight rules] conditions,” Christophe Allard, chief executive officer, Korongo Airlines told The HUB during an interview this week. “In accordance with the prescribed regulatory national and international guidelines we suspended all of our domestic flights from 17:00 on June 2, 2014.”
“All other operators keep flying without any constraint in full contradiction to the ICAO regulation,” said Allard.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the worst air accident record and ICAO alongside the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have been working hand in hand to improve operational safety through audits and by strengthening the regulatory oversight regime in order to improve the safety of operations in the country.
As a joint venture between Belgian national carrier Brussels Airlines, the Forrest Group and local Congolese investors, Korongo Airlines has been working to enhance safety standards in the country and by operating under an ACMI contract with Brussels Airlines, it flies under approved EASA and IOSA standards. The carrier launched scheduled flights linking its headquarters in the south eastern city Lubumbashi with the capital Kinshasa and Johannesburg in South Africa in April 2012. The Johannesburg link continues to operate and has not been affected by the ruling as the ILS remains in place for flights into Lubumbashi.
“We are aware that we may be the only ones to take our responsibilities seriously but we remain convinced that the commitment of Korongo Airlines to operate in full compliance with the relevant Congolese and international aviation safety standards is the only way, the only one to make a difference in the interests of our passengers,” explained Allard.
“We are aware that our passengers are the first affected by this situation, we hope that the Congolese authorities will take all necessary steps to allow us a resumption of flights in complete safety and in accordance with the regulations in force,” he added.
Korongo Airlines is even offering to pre-finance a remedy to enable the navigational equipment to be calibrated and permit it to resume its domestic flying. The carrier hopes to source a specialised aircraft capable of calibrating the VOR/DME on behalf of CAA and is requesting a transition period of three months to organise these flights and the temporary lifting of the NOTAM to enable it to complete this and resume its domestic services. “Contact relating to this option has been made with ICAO through our shareholder Brussels Airlines,” added Allard.
Ward Bonduel, chief commercial officer, Korongo Airlines, had explained at last year’s Routes Africa in Kampala, Uganda that the carrier was flying in achallenging marketplace. “The Democratic Republic of Congo is not the easiest place to operate an airline. It is an ever changing environment,” he said. Although the carrier operates to approved IOSA standards it is still included in European Commission’s blacklist due to the blanket ban on airlines from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We try to push the fact that we exceed international quality compliance levels and that is important in an environment like the Democratic Republic of Congo where you have a really bad history with regards to air safety,” said Bonduel. “We want to be a reliable partner and reach out to corporate, organisations and Non-Government Organisations to fly with us but we are automatically included on the EU blacklist due to having a local licence.”
The carrier has been working to try and find a way it can be exempted from this blanket ban and is being supported by the Belgian Government to try and see if it can be removed. “It is not really up to us to do this and should be the task of Democratic Republic of Congo Government,” said Bonduel.
An uncalibrated ILS/VOR or a non-compliant one, it's just as unsafe if not more unsafe to use an uncalibrated one under the assumption that it is accurate.
It's easy to say that they are doing this in the interest of safety, it's probably that the insurance doesn't cover them if something happens.
The tough questions:
If the problem is at FIH, then how can they still fly there with their A333's to/from BRU?
If the problem is at FBM, then why do they continue flying to and from JNB?
If the problem is en-route between FIH and FBM then 1. what is all the ILS talk about?, and 2.why don't they take a small detour into Zambia and Angola? Is a 15% detour worth all the lost revenue on the route or is this route just performing so poorly that even a small detour can't be taken?
"... African carrier Korongo Airlines has taken the courageous decision to voluntarily close its domestic flight operations within the Democratic Republic of Congo after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) declared all navigational aids for domestic airports as in default and non-compliant..."
"... It is understood, according to a recently published NOTAM, that all VOR and ILS equipment serving Congo’s domestic airports, are now out of service, forcing airlines to fly their approach under visual flight rules (VFR) conditions only...."
"...All other operators keep flying without any constraint in full contradiction to the ICAO regulation” said Allard.
We are delighted to announce the resumption of our domestic flights to Kinshasa, Mbuji-Mayi and Lubumbashi this Saturday, June 7, 2014 according to the published flight schedule. This decision follows the given guarantee of the RVA and a reinforcement of our operational procedures in adherence and accordance with our partner Brussels Airlines allowing us to operate in optimal safety conditions.
Connecting flights with Brussels Airlines for this Saturday, June 7, 2014 are confirmed.
As our flights to Johannesburg were not affected, we also uphold and maintain our three weekly frequencies.
We thank you for your understanding and words of encouragement during this particularly difficult week. We are pleased to welcome you back on board our flights always with the same desire to allow you to travel in complete security and comfort.
We take this opportunity to wish you a great holiday.
Another Wikipedia bullshit (in the English version): Korongo will acquire 10 Antonov An-158 and 5 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft!
I have immediately undone this modification that did not cite any source.
Incidentally, the English version of Wikipedia gives CONGO STAR as call sign for the airlines, whereas the other versions give KORONGO. Which one is correct?
sn26567 wrote:
Incidentally, the English version of Wikipedia gives CONGO STAR as call sign for the airlines, whereas the other versions give KORONGO. Which one is correct?
Congo star seems to be correct... Though if I remember correctly they did start with Korongo, wonder when and why they changed that?
sn26567 wrote:Congo moves ahead with shakeup of local aviation scene
Korongo Airlines has entered into talks with the Congolese government after Kinshasa unilaterally revoked all local airline's international traffic rights. The DR Congo Airline news blog says Korongo has denied its Johannesburg O.R. Tambo route has been affected by the move, which should also impact CAA - Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation and its Johannesburg flights. At this point both CAA and Korongo are still selling tickets on their flights linking Lumbumbashi and Johannesburg. According to CAA CEO David Blattner, the carrier has no plans to suspend its services to South Africa.
On the back of recommendations by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Congo's Transport Minister, Justin Kalumba, has now revoked three more airlines' operating licences - Bengard Airways, Okapi Airlines and Congo Express - on grounds they did pass Stage 2 of the ICAO-endorsed operational audit. In March, Kalumba revoked the licences of ten other airlines on similar grounds.
Four other airlines - Doren Air Cargo, Mango Airlines (Beni), Trans Air Cargo Service (Kinshasa N'Djili) and Will Airlift - have now been placed on month-long probation to correct minor violations of the country's air code.
Source: ch-aviation
The Aviation Herald reports that a Doren Air Cargo is missing since last Saturday (23th August 2014):
A Doren Air Congo Let L-410 from Bukavu to Pangi with 2 passengers, 2 crew and 1500kg of cargo, had normally departed from Kavumu at 13:42L (and left the frequency of Kavumu about 10 minutes after departure). There was no further radio transmission and the aircraft did not arrive in Pangi, estimated to land about one hour after departure, nor on any airport reachable. A search for the aircraft is underway.
Doren Air Congo operates three L-410s, actively flying are 9Q-CZA and 9Q-CQZ (both 29 years in service), in storage is 9L-LBL (built 1981).
