ICAO establishes minute-by-minute aircraft tracking

An international aviation summit gave strong backing on Wednesday (Feb 4) to a plan to have all commercial flights emit a distress signal every minute in emergencies, in response to last year's Malaysia Airlines disaster.

A large majority of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)'s 191 member states are in favour of implementing the plan as soon as possible, said officials, paving the way for its adoption next year.

The plan was prompted by last year's disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in what remains one of history's great aviation mysteries. The aircraft, with 239 people on board, has never been found, nearly a year on.

"Global tracking will not prevent accidents," said ICAO chairman Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. Radar can track a plane but coverage is spotty and fades when aircraft are out at sea or they are flying below a certain altitude.

Under the new rules, airlines will be required to track their aircraft using a system that gives their location at 15-minute intervals. "When an airplane is in distress, the system will repeat the signal every minute," Aliu told a press conference.

The ICAO Council is expected to ratify the proposal in November, making it obligatory for all airlines starting in 2016. According to officials, it's the quickest and easiest fix to a growing air safety concern - locating downed aircraft. "We can do it today and it's not expensive," said Nancy Graham, director of the ICAO's Air Navigation Bureau.

The head of the International Air Transport Association, which speaks for the airline industry, agreed. "A number of airlines are planning to improve now the ways of tracking their airplanes," IATA president Tony Tyler said.

At the Montreal meeting due to wrap up on Thursday, delegates also agreed in principal on a new way to disseminate warnings about the imminent risks of flying over war zones. A repository would be created containing all risk information, much of which is currently available to carriers but is often fragmented.

The creation of a central database administered by the ICAO is in response to the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 last July after being shot down over eastern Ukraine.

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IATA says aviation safety remains high

Safety in global aviation remains high, the International Air Transport Association said on Tuesday, as it seeks to improve in-flight tracking after the disappearance of a Malaysian passenger jet in March.

There were 0.34 accidents per million flights in the first four months of 2014 compared with 0.32 over the preceding five years, IATA said at its annual general meeting in Doha, Qatar.

"The preliminary rate for the industry as a whole (including non-IATA airlines) is performing strongly," with 0.29 accidents per million flights in January-April against 0.48 in the previous five years, it said.

IATA groups 242 airlines representing 84 per cent of global air traffic.

Its statement noted that the industry recorded three accidents between January and April, including the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

"Aviation stakeholders are united in their desire to ensure that we never face another situation where an aircraft simply disappears," said Kevin Hiatt, senior vice president at IATA's Safety and Flight Operations department.

MH370 disappeared on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard. An extensive search in the Indian Ocean has been unable to locate the plane.

An IATA taskforce on in-flight tracking, formed by the UN's aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), is to present its findings in September.

"While states work through ICAO to develop and implement performance-based global standards, the industry is committed to moving forward with recommendations that airlines can implement now," said Hiatt.

He acknowledged, however, that airlines alone can decide if they want to implement such standards.

Meanwhile, the company specialising in air transport communications and information technology SITA announced in Doha plans to introduce a new aircraft tracking device.

"The solution, which is currently being evaluated by several airlines for testing, will utilise technology that is already installed in the aircraft to provide advanced tracking capabilities," a statement said.

It said the system known as "SITA AIRCOM Server Flight Tracker solution" will alert airline flight dispatchers "to unexpected aircraft movements" it said.

According to its designers, "the solution does not call for extensive additional cost or investment by the airlines" as it relies on a system that is already installed in many aircraft.

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Teen survives five-hour flight in airplane wheel well

A 16-year-old boy was lucky to be alive on Monday after surviving a flight from California to Hawaii in the wheel well of an airplane, US media reported.

The young stowaway endured freezing temperatures and a lack of oxygen aboard the five-and-a-half hour Hawaiian Airlines flight, which reached an altitude of some 38,000 feet, an FBI official told the Los Angeles Times.

"How he survived, I don't know. It's a miracle," FBI spokesman Tom Simon told the daily following the teen's harrowing journey halfway across the Pacific Ocean.

Security video from the Mineta International Airport in San Jose showed the youth hopping a fence and making his way to Hawaiian Airlines Flight 45, where he climbed, undetected, into the wheel well of the aircraft.

With oxygen scarce and temperatures well below freezing, Simon said the boy appears to have been unconscious "for pretty much the entire" flight.

The aircraft landed on Sunday mid-morning at Maui's Kahului Airport, and the boy, who did not regain consciousness for another hour, woke up, and hopped down onto the tarmac.

Hawaiian Airlines personnel at that point noticed the youth on an airport ramp and notified security, the newspaper wrote.

Despite the security breach that allowed him to reach the plane, there was no indication that boy posed a threat to the airline, and he has not been charged with a crime, report said.

While it is not unheard of, it is extremely rare to survive a flight in the wheel well of an aircraft. Many who try end up freezing to death or succumbing from a lack of oxygen.

In one recent such case, the body of a 26-year-old stowaway was found crumpled on a suburban London street in 2012, after he apparently climbed aboard a British Airways plane in Angola and fell from the wheel well as the plane prepared to land at Heathrow Airport.

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Malaysia Airlines jet in emergency landing after tyre bursts

A Malaysia Airlines plane with 166 people aboard was forced to make an emergency landing in Kuala Lumpur early on Monday in another blow to its safety image after the loss of flight MH370.

Flight MH192, bound for Bangalore, India, turned back to Kuala Lumpur after it was discovered that a tyre had burst on take-off, the airline said.

"As safety is of utmost priority to Malaysia Airlines, the aircraft was required to turn back to KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport)," the airline said in a statement.

The plane landed safely at 1:56 am (1756 GMT), nearly four hours after it took off, the flag carrier said.

"All 159 passengers and 7 crew members on board have disembarked from the aircraft."

The airline said tyre debris discovered on the runway had led to the decision to bring the Boeing 737-800 aircraft back.

"They have landed safely -- thank God," tweeted Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is overseeing Malaysia's response to MH370.

The airline is still reeling from the loss and presumed crash of flight MH370, which disappeared March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

MH370 inexplicably diverted and is now believed to have crashed into the remote Indian Ocean with 239 people aboard.

Hishammuddin had tweeted that MH192 went into a holding pattern as other reports quoted officials saying it would only be allowed to land once all of its fuel had been burned off.

MH192's passengers would be accommodated in local hotels and the flight was re-timed to take off at 3:30 pm local time on Monday, the airline said.

Malaysia Airlines had previously enjoyed a good safety record, as did the Boeing 777 aircraft used for MH370.

An Australian-led multi-nation search effort is now scouring a remote area of the Indian Ocean for wreckage from flight MH370 in a bid to confirm its fate and hopefully recover the flight data recorders to determine what happened to it.

No surface debris has been found despite a month of searching, but search crews had earlier picked up signals believed to be from the beacons of the plane's data recorders.

A US Navy submersible sonar scanning device is now being deployed to look for wreckage on the seabed at depths of around 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) or more.

Nothing has yet been found and authorities have indicated they may reassess within days how to approach the extremely challenging search -- expected to be the costliest in aviation history with estimates of more than $100 million.

Malaysia's government and the airline have come under harsh criticism from Chinese relatives of MH370 passengers -- two thirds of its 227 passengers were from China -- who have alleged a bungling response and cover-up.

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IATA wants crackdown on unruly flight passengers

The International Air Transport Association urged governments on Thursday to take stronger action against unruly passengers on commercial flights.

The Montreal-based global airline alliance agreed at a diplomatic conference last week on changes to the Tokyo Convention of 1963, which provides the legal framework for dealing with passengers whose unruly or otherwise disruptive behavior leads to violence or threatens flight safety.

"This agreement is good news for everybody who flies -- passengers and crew alike," IATA Director General and CEO Tony Tyler said in a statement.

"The changes, along with the measures already being taken by airlines, will provide an effective deterrent for unacceptable behavior on board aircraft.

"But governments must now follow up on the success of the diplomatic conference and ratify the new protocol."

About 300 incidents of unruly behavior are reported each week.

"We urge governments to move quickly," Tyler added.

The changes, agreed at the conference attended by officials from about 100 governments, will come into force once 22 states ratify the protocol to the Tokyo Convention.

The protocol namely allows authorities not only in the country in which the aircraft was registered but also in the destination country to take legal action against unruly passengers.

The move closes a loophole the IATA said had allowed "many" serious offenses to go unpunished.

Among the agreed changes, the protocol more clearly defines unruly behavior -- to include both the threat of or actual physical assault, or the refusal to follow safety instructions -- and helps recover major costs associated with the misbehavior.

"Unruly passengers are a very small minority," Tyler said.

"But unacceptable behavior on board an aircraft can have serious consequences for the safety of all on board. The goal is to effectively deter such behavior and ensure safe flights for all by making the consequences of such behavior clear and enforceable."

The aviation body has 240 members that account for 84 per cent of total air traffic worldwide.

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Airlines demand crackdown on unruly passengers

Global aviation body IATA on Tuesday demanded that governments close legal loopholes that allow unruly passengers to escape law enforcement for serious offences committed on board planes.

"Airlines are doing all they can to prevent and manage unruly passenger incidents, but this needs to be backed up with effective law enforcement," said Tony Tyler, head of the International Air Transport Association.

"Reports of unruly behaviour are on the rise."

The airlines' call came on the eve of a meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montreal, which aims to update the 1963 Tokyo Convention on passenger safety.

Proposed revisions to the treaty would make it easier for authorities to prosecute the small minority of passengers who are violent, disruptive, abusive, or act in a manner that might endanger safety, the IATA said.

"The Tokyo Convention was not originally designed to address unruly behaviour and there is a great deal of uncertainty amongst carriers as to what actions crew can take to manage incidents in the air," Tyler said in a statement.

"Passengers expect to enjoy their journey incident-free. And air crews have the right to perform their duties without harassment."

Under the current rules, jurisdiction over offences committed on board an aircraft is left to the country where the plane is registered.

But modern leasing arrangements mean that is not always the aircraft's home base or destination, the IATA said.

The airline industry now wants jurisdiction to be extended to cover both where the plane has touched down and the operator's home country to make it easier to stop troublemakers.

"If the aircraft lands in a state other than where the aircraft was registered, local authorities are not always able to prosecute," Tyler added.

"At the moment there are too many examples of people getting away with serious breaches of social norms that jeopardise the safety of flights because local law enforcement authorities do not have the power to take action."

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Aeroflot sacks drunk long-haul pilot

Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot said Wednesday it had sacked a pilot after pre-flight checks showed he was drunk ahead of a long-haul internal flight.

"The pilot will be sacked from the company," Aeroflot wrote on Twitter, saying that the pilot's blood alcohol content was measured at 0.8 -- defined as a state of light intoxication.

The level of 0.8 would mean someone has trouble judging distances and focusing in different light conditions as well as having delayed reactions.

Passengers were forced to wait almost 10 hours for their flight from Blagoveshchensk on the Chinese border to Moscow on Tuesday.

The pilot will have to pay all the costs of the delay, Aeroflot said.

Aeroflot stressed that the pilot's condition was identified in pre-flight testing, preventing him from flying.

"We cannot control what a pilot does during his time off," it said.

A drunk navigator with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.81 was implicated when a RusAir plane crashed in 2011 in the northwestern region of Karelia.

Russia has a high number of air crashes involving small regional airlines, but Aeroflot is seen as having a good safety record.

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Overheating Dreamliner battery hit 660 Celsius

Japan said on Friday the battery in a Dreamliner jet that spewed white smoke last month could have reached temperatures as high as 660 Celsius (1,220 Fahrenheit).

The figure came in a report released by the transport ministry after Japan Airlines grounded one of its Dreamliner planes when the smoke was seen outside the cockpit window during maintenance at Tokyo's Narita airport.

It was the latest in a series of problems that have beset the aircraft, including a months-long global grounding over battery problems last year.

According to the report, one of the eight lithium-ion cells in the plane's battery system "swelled and electrolytic solution was sprayed" out of the battery, a ministry official said.

An image released by the ministry showed some blackened electrolyte solution coming from one of the safety valves.

"We estimate that temperatures inside the cell possibly reached 660 Celsius as the aluminium electrode melted," the official said.

It is still unknown what actually caused the overheating, the official said, adding that the ministry would continue investigating the case with the help of Boeing.

The US aviation giant admitted last April that despite months of testing, it did not know the root cause of the battery problems, but rolled out modifications it said would ensure the issue did not recur.

The measures comprised redesigning the battery and charger system, and adding a steel box to prevent burning.

Since then, Dreamliners have experienced a series of minor glitches, including a fault with an air pressure sensor and the brake system.

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46 flights out of Singapore cancelled after volcano erupted

A volcanic eruption in Java, Indonesia has caused 46 flights out of Singapore to five Indonesian cities to be cancelled, as of 7.40pm Friday.

The cities are Semarang, Solo, Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Bandung.

The eruption has killed at least two people and forced mass evacuations, disrupting long-haul flights and closing international airports.

In a Facebook post, Singapore's Changi Airport advised passengers travelling to these cities to check with their respective airlines on their flight's status before going to the airport.

About 215 Singapore Airlines passengers were affected.

Responding to a media query, a SIA spokesperson said that two of its flights have been cancelled -- SQ930 from Singapore to Surabaya and SQ931 from Surabaya to Singapore.

SIA said customers have been rebooked on flights for Saturday and hotel accommodation has been extended to those affected.

The airline will waive administrative fees and penalties for refunds, re-booking, re-routing for customers holding confirmed tickets issued before 14 February 2014 for travel to and from Surabaya, Solo, Yogyakarta and Semarang from now to 18 February 2014.

Passengers are to note that flights to Solo, Yogyakarta and Semarang are operated by SilkAir. They are advised to speak to SilkAir for updates.

Separately an update on SilkAir's website said four flights have been cancelled - SilkAir flights MI 226/225 to Surabaya, MI 102/101 to Semarang, MI 152/151 to Yogyakarta and MI 196/195 to Bandung.

Affected passengers requiring assistance are advised to call SilkAir at +65 62238888.

Meanwhile AirAsia Indonesia has cancelled 16 flights and TigerAir 24.

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Three dead, flights disrupted as Indonesia volcano erupts

A spectacular volcanic eruption in Indonesia has killed three people and forced mass evacuations, disrupting long-haul flights and closing international airports on Friday.

Mount Kelud, considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes on the main island of Java, spewed red-hot ash and rocks high into the air late Thursday night just hours after its alert status was raised.

Villagers in eastern Java described the terror of volcanic materials raining down on their homes, while AFP correspondents at the scene saw residents covered in grey dust fleeing in cars and on motorbikes towards evacuation centres.

Sunar, a 60-year-old from a village eight kilometres (five miles) in Blitar district, said his home also collapsed after being hit with "rocks the size of fists".

"The whole place was shaking -- it was like we were on a ship in high seas. We fled and could see lava in the distance flowing into a river," said Sunar, who goes by one name.

A man and a woman, both elderly, were crushed to death after volcanic material that had blanketed rooftops caused their homes in the sub-district of Malang to cave in, National Disaster Mitigation Agency Spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said, while another elderly man died from inhaling the ash.

Dian Julihadi, 32, from Blitar district, said: "It was like fireworks. There was a loud bang and bright red lights shot up into the air."

Nugroho confirmed the materials were still raining down on villages within a radius of 15 kilometres from the volcano on Friday, but said that some activities were resuming "as normal".

Some 200,000 people were ordered to evacuate, though some families ignored the orders and others have returned home, with just over 75,000 now in temporary shelters, Nugroho said.

Several men who had earlier tried to return home to gather clothing and valuables -were forced back by the continuous downpour of volcanic materials.

"Too dangerous to fly"

The ash has blanketed eastern Javanese cities forcing seven airports to close, including those in Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Solo, Semarang and Bandung, which serve international flights, officials said, while grounded planes were seen covered in the dust.

"All flights to those airports have been cancelled, and other flights, including some between Australia and Indonesia, have been rerouted," Transport Ministry director general of aviation Herry Bakti said, adding it was "too dangerous to fly" near the plume.

In Singapore, Changi Airport advises passengers travelling to Semarang, Solo, Surabaya and Yogyakarta to check with their respective airlines on their flight's status before going to the airport.

Virgin Australia said in a statement it had cancelled all its flights to and from Phuket, Bali, Christmas Island and Cocos Island on Friday, adding that "the safety of our customers is the highest priority" and that the airline would keep monitoring conditions.

Australian nurse Susanne Webster, 38, was on a late-morning Virgin flight from Sydney to Bali that was turned around.

"About two hours in, the pilot announced over in Indonesia there was a volcano that erupted and that we were turning the plane back," she told AFP, adding they were still in Australian airspace at the time.

Australian airline Qantas postponed Friday flights between Jakarta and Sydney to Saturday, while Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific cancelled and postponed flights to Surabaya, a popular destination for golfing tourists.

AirAsia said 21 flights were affected in total, including three between Indonesian and Malaysia, adding several flights over Java were cancelled.

"The ashes could... compromise the safety and performance of the aircraft, such as (cause) permanent damage to the engine," AirAsia said in a statement, adding visibility was also a concern.

On the outskirts of Yogyakarta, authorities closed Borobudur -- the world's largest Buddhist temple, which attracts hundreds of tourists daily -- after it was rained upon with dust from the volcano about 200 kilometres to the east.

Hundreds of people at a temporary shelter in the village of Bladak, roughly 10 kilometres from the volcano's crater, began returning home slowly after spending the night on the floor wearing safety masks.

The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said there was little chance of another eruption as powerful as Thursday night's, but tremors could still be felt Friday as communities began clearing piles of ash up to five centimetres high on roads.

The 1,731-metre (5,712-foot) Mount Kelud has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 1500, including around 10,000 deaths in a massive eruption in 1568.

It is one of 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of seismic activity running around the basin of the Pacific Ocean.

Earlier this month another volcano, Mount Sinabung on western Sumatra island unleashed an enormous eruption that left at least 16 dead and has been erupting almost daily since September.

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Bomb scare grounds Indian airliner in Malaysia

An Indian airliner made an emergency landing in Malaysia on Thursday over a bomb scare, but fear turned to puzzlement once authorities discovered the contents of a suspicious package: three gold bars.

The pilot of the IndiGo budget airline flight from Singapore to Chennai in India diverted to Malaysia early Thursday after a crew member found the package in the toilet.

A Malaysian fire and rescue team that inspected the package at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) found it contained three bars weighing less than 1 kilogramme (2.2 pounds) combined.

They were believed to be gold but authorities did not confirm that.

After evacuating the more than 100 passengers, a search found nothing dangerous.

"It was not chemicals. It was bars of gold-coloured metal wrapped up in cloth," said Sani Harul, a fire official.

The airliner later resumed its flight to India. The case is being investigated.

"We questioned the crew, but not passengers, as the yellow-coloured items were found in the toilet, not in anyone's possession," police official Zaldino Zaludin said.

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SIA grounds A380 after scratches found on fuselage

Singapore Airlines said Wednesday it had grounded an Airbus A380 superjumbo for further inspection after scratches were found on its fuselage.

The scratches were discovered after the double-decker plane, the world's biggest passenger aircraft, arrived in Frankfurt on Sunday from New York, SIA said in a statement.

There were 126 passengers and 26 crew onboard.

"The aircraft was subsequently grounded for checks and passengers were either transferred to other airlines or accommodated in hotels," the statement said.

"Following inspections by engineering teams in Frankfurt, it was determined that the scratches posed no safety issue and the aircraft was cleared for departure."

The plane arrived in Singapore on Tuesday after a 23-hour delay and has been grounded for further checks.

SIA said the cause of the scratches has yet to be established.

"Our engineers are currently performing further checks on the aircraft, and it will resume service once cleared," the airline said.

It was the second incident for SIA in less than a month involving an A380.

On January 6, an SIA A380 en route from London to Singapore lost cabin pressure, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku.

Oxygen masks were activated during the emergency procedure which some passengers described as "frightening".

The stranded 467 passengers and 27 crew on board were flown back to Singapore with a replacement aircraft.

The plane involved in the Baku incident was back in service, SIA said Wednesday, but added that the "root cause" of the incident remained under investigation.

SIA had previously said that focus of the probe was a door on the main deck that appeared to have suffered a leak, leading to the change in cabin pressure.

There are 119 Airbus A380s in operation globally, according to latest data from the company.

Singapore Airlines currently has a fleet of 19 A380s, with five others on order.

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India "disappointed" after US downgrades air safety ranking

US aviation authorities have downgraded India's safety ranking in a "disappointing" and "surprising" move that will hit air links between the countries, India's aviation minister said on Friday.

The US Federal Aviation Administration downgraded India after conducting an audit last year of the country's aviation regulator that found 31 issues of safety concern, a ministry statement said.

The issues include the need for more and better trained full-time inspectors employed by the regulator tasked with carrying out safety checks on all types of aircraft and helicopters in India, it said.

"They have downgraded us to category 2. It is very disappointing and also surprising," Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said at a press conference in New Delhi.

The FAA has "determined that India at this time is not in compliance with the international standards for aviation safety oversight," according to FAA notes given to Indian regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The rating downgrade brings India below Pakistan and on a par with countries like Bangladesh, Ghana and Indonesia, according to FAA.

The downgrading effectively bars Air India and Jet Airways from increasing flights to the US, and additional safety checks will now be imposed on existing flights to the United States, the FAA's website shows.

Currently, Air India has 21 flights to the US per week while Jet Airway flies seven.

Indian airlines will also have to snap ties with US airlines, according to the website, but DGCA chief Prabhat Kumar said the downgrade would not affect the code-share agreement.

Jet has a code-share agreement with United Airlines currently, while Air India is joining Star Alliance.

Singh said 95 per cent of issues raised by the FAA have been resolved, while the remainder were expected to be resolved by March, adding it was the first time India had suffered a downgrade.

"They (FAA) should have based their decision on the situation now," said Singh, adding that the FAA's downgrade was based on air safety in September.
Diplomatic spat

The downgrade is the latest controversy between the US and India, which are attempting to put diplomatic relations back on track after outrage in December over the arrest and strip search of an Indian envoy in New York.

The envoy, Devyani Khobragade, was arrested on charges of visa fraud involving her domestic servant and lying about how much she paid her. Khobragande denied any wrongdoing and eventually returned to India after a deal was struck between the two nations to mend their relations.

In a bid to head off the downgrade, the government announced two days ago that 75 new positions would be created in the DGCA to carry out safety inspections.

"This is an important step that will aid in India regaining its former Category 1 status in the future," the FAA said in its notes to the DCGA and released by the minister.

"The United States Government commends the Indian government for taking these important actions and looks forward to continued progress by Indian authorities," the FAA said.

India's aviation sector has grown enormously in the last decade, as the 1.2-billion population becomes more affluent, boosting the number of international and domestic passengers.

But the sector has been hit in the past by safety scandals, including over fake pilots flying with fake qualifications in 2001.

Police made several arrests over the scandal involving cases of pilots exaggerating their flying time while training and other irregularities.

In one such case, a captain who made several bad landings was found to have submitted faked paperwork to gain her licence.

Experts said they expected the downgrade as the aviation regulator had failed to address earlier FAA warnings in a given period of time.

"The decision of the FAA to downgrade is both embarrassing and disgraceful... but one could see it coming," former Air India executive director Jitendra Bhargava told AFP. "The DGCA should take this as a wake up call."

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Russian pilots raise alarm over safety at Aeroflot

A union of Russian pilots at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport on Tuesday accused the country's flagship carrier Aeroflot of endangering passengers' lives by overworking staff in search for profit.

The Sheremetyevo Cockpit Personnel Association said that Russia's main airline was employing "tired pilots who can fall asleep at any moment."

"Because of Aeroflot's greed, the safety of citizens is in grave doubt," the association said in a statement.

The company did not address the union's complaint directly when contacted by AFP. But its press service said by email that "our passengers' and flight safety are top priorities of Aeroflot".

Russia's small regional airlines are notorious for their poor flight safety record.

The airlineratings.com flight tracker said Russia witnessed the world's worst crash of 2013 when 50 died in a Tatarstan Airlines Boeing 737 that exploded on landing in November in the Volga River city of Kazan.

Yet state-controlled Aeroflot is believed to have the best record in the country.

The planecrashinfo.com site said Aeroflot has had only one deadly accident in more than a decade - a 2008 crash that killed 88 and was later blamed on a drunken pilot - and the carrier has recently taken huge steps to improve its often mocked image.

The company has in fact been flying high since adopting improved standards once it joined the SkyTeam alliance in 2006.

It has scooped up several awards for eastern European service in the process and SkyTeam now calls Aeroflot's fleet "one of the most modern, youngest and fastest-growing... in Europe."

The national flag carrier this year also burnished its image by becoming the official carrier of the Manchester United football club.

Yet its share of the Russian market has been eroded by cheaper local rivals and now stands at just 40 per cent - a far cry from the days in the Soviet era when it proclaimed itself the world's largest airline.

The airline's statement noted that "Aeroflot was the first Russian carrier to enter the (International Air Transport Association's) Operational Safety Audit Registry, and has confirmed the certificate for the fifth time in 2013."

But the pilots accuse it of failing to compensate them fairly for night flights and thousands of hours of overtime.

The dispute stretches back several years and has resulted in a July Moscow City Court ruling for Aeroflot to pay out debts owed to pilots over 17 months.

The airline has contested the ruling, and the union has since seen three of its leaders jailed on disputed and still unproven embezzlement charges.

The pilots blame the arrest on Aeroflot management's attempts to discredit their cause.

The dispute has even seen the pilots send a letter of complaint to Russian President Vladimir Putin that has thus far gone unanswered.

Their cause has also been picked up by the London-based International Transport Workers' Federation and the International Trade Union Confederation - the world's largest labour organisation.

"While aviation companies in Russia have posted record profits, flight crews have been reduced and aviation infrastructure continues to decay," the International Transport Workers' Federation said in a letter of support for the Russian pilots last month.

"That is why the safety standards and infrastructure are still in a very poor situation," the letter said.

Aeroflot reported a 15 per cent year-on-year jump in passenger numbers and an 84 per cent increase in profit to $545 million (400 million euros) for the first nine months of 2013.

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'Leaky' A380 door focus of probe in SIA emergency landing

A malfunctioning door is the focus of an investigation into why a Singapore Airlines Airbus 380 superjumbo was forced to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan, the carrier said on Wednesday.

Nearly 500 passengers arrived in Singapore on Tuesday in a A380 relief jet after their original flight from London to Singapore was forced to land in capital Baku due to a loss in cabin pressure.

"The root cause of the incident is being investigated and a team of specialists from Airbus will be assisting," an airline spokesman said in a statement.

"We are focusing on a door on the main deck that appears to have suffered a leak, leading to the change in cabin pressure," he said.

"A replacement door will be fitted to the aircraft in Baku before it returns to Singapore for a more thorough inspection."

Passengers had spoken of noise coming from one door as the aircraft came in to land in the central Asian republic.

The A380 is the world's largest commercial aircraft and Singapore Airlines was its debut customer in 2007.

Sean Lee, the Asia spokesman for Airbus, told AFP on Wednesday that the European manufacturer is "participating fully in the investigation to determine the cause of this incident".

"I confirm that we have a team of specialists travelling to Baku. At this time we cannot confirm the root cause of the incident," he said.

There are 119 Airbus A380s in operation globally, according to latest data from the company.

Singapore Airlines currently has a fleet of 19 A380s, with five others on order. It uses the planes for flights from Singapore to various destinations including Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London and Los Angeles.

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SIA passengers in S'pore after emergency flight landing in Azerbaijan

Singapore Airlines will offer a refund to passengers who were on board flight SQ317 from London to Singapore. The flight had to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan on Monday after it suffered a loss of cabin pressure.

The 467 passengers arrived in Singapore on Tuesday afternoon.

Mohinderjeet Kaur, whose daughter had texted on the flight when the emergency happened, said: "We first got to know about this around 2am, that there was going to be an emergency landing. We had not slept since then, worrying and traumatised by the whole thing that's happened."

Rajween Kaur, who was on the flight, said: "I'm glad to be home. I wasn't feeling well so they really took care of me on the way back. So I'm really grateful for that."

Melanie Carter, a passenger with two young children, said: "The air hostesses were very good and tried to help but it was very difficult to hear what they were saying.”

It was quite an ordeal for the passengers and crew, even after they landed safely in Baku.

All 467 passengers were eventually moved to a hotel, but this was only 15 hours after reaching the Baku airport.

Singapore Airlines said this was because it took a long time to get approval from local authorities to let passengers leave the transit area.

Steve Barnes, a visitor from London, said: "They couldn't get us into the hotels until we were four hours till we were due to leave, so we only spent 41 minutes in our room."

Those with relatives and friends on board said communication from the airline could have been better.

Annetta Mullen, whose friends were on SQ317, said: "When my husband rang them last night, and again this morning, the person on the other end said they didn't know what was going on and they needed to go find someone who did know. Eventually they came back this morning and said the flight was due to land early this afternoon."

Debra Lim, who was waiting for her parents, said: "We had to try and contact the airline and we couldn't contact Singapore Airlines because they don't have a person to talk to, it's just an automated voice. So I had to call the reservations hotline - the customer service officer there was very nice, she found out what was going on."

Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia, SIA said the hotline was for its 24-hour call centre, and it apologises if the centre was not able to provide immediate information to the relatives of those affected.

The airline also noted it was only able to provide information when details could be confirmed as it was a developing situation.

It also pointed out it had been providing updates on its Facebook page and Twitter.

SIA said in a letter to passengers that it will offer a refund for the London-Singapore flight.

It has also made arrangements for onward flights for those who missed their connecting flights.

Ground services teams also met passengers on arrival at Changi to make hotel arrangements where needed.

Investigations into the cause of the depressurisation are ongoing.

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SIA plane headed for Azerbaijan to pick up stranded passengers

A replacement Singapore Airlines (SIA) aircraft is on its way from Singapore to Baku, Azerbaijan, to pick up passengers and cabin crew who are stranded at the airport there.

They were all on board an SQ plane that had to make an emergency landing there due to depressurisation.

The aircraft lost pressure about six hours into the flight.

A passenger related on what actually happened during the incident.

Nathan Phelps, a passenger, said: "I think we were just going over the mountainous area of Pakistan... and then all of a sudden, the plane just literally dropped real, real fast. As I had it, I had the map on the screen and you could see the altitude dropping rapidly. I think we dropped about 20,000 feet in less than two minutes.

"Then the mask dropped and then "Emergency, Emergency" came on the tannoy and then we were told to put our masks on. There was a bit of panic, I wouldn't say they were overly panicked. To be honest if anything, it was quite quiet, it was eerily quiet, the plane was quite dark. The captain just basically said there was a pressurisation problem on the plane."

Flight SQ317, an Airbus A380 aircraft, was travelling from London to Singapore before it had to be diverted to Baku.

There were 467 passengers and 27 crew members on board the plane. No one was injured.

SIA said the aircraft landed "uneventfully" at Baku Airport at 1.03am local time.

The replacement aircraft is expected to reach Baku at 11pm local time there and arrive back in Singapore on Tuesday afternoon.

SIA said it doesn't operate regular flights to Baku.

Staff from both Istanbul and Moscow have been deployed to provide assistance on the ground.

An aviation expert explained the likely causes of depressurisation.

Assoc Prof Randy Chue, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, said: "Most common ones are such as, you have leak in the doors, there may be cracked windows.

"The more serious cases would be the systems maintaining the cabin pressure (that) are not working properly, but usually those are very rare. It is usually the seals of the door that are the culprits. Although it may be panicky for the passengers, usually it does not cause any injuries."

Earlier, SIA said it is seeking clearance from local authorities to transfer affected customers to a hotel while waiting for a replacement aircraft to arrive.

But passengers said they were not allowed to leave the airport as they did not have a visa.

And they said it took about two-and-a-half hours before food was brought out from the plane.

Singapore Airlines has apologised to affected customers for the inconvenience and said it is investigating the cause of the depressurisation.

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SIA flight makes emergency landing in Azerbaijan

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from London to Singapore made an emergency landing in Azerbaijan on Monday after the cabin depressurised on board the Airbus A380.

Oxygen masks were deployed and no injuries were reported, according to SIA's Facebook page.

SQ317, with 467 passengers and 27 crew members on board, landed in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku "uneventfully" at about 1.03am local time (5.03am, Singapore time), SIA said.

The airline is currently seeking clearance from local authorities to transfer the affected customers to a hotel until a replacement aircraft arrives from Singapore.

Customers can contact the reservation and ticketing office in Singapore at +65 6223 8888 for assistance.

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Volcanic eruption shuts Italy airport

The eruption of the Mount Etna volcano in Sicily on Sunday forced the closure of nearby Catania airport because of the plumes of ash billowing into the sky, airport officials said.

Twenty-one scheduled departures from Catania had to be scrapped and 26 arrivals re-routed to alternative destinations. The smaller airport of Comiso in the area was also closed down.

Sac, the company that manages Catania airport, said in a statement that "the wind direction and intensity" meant the ash was a risk to flights and it had to close off its air space.

Sac said it will review the situation on Monday.

Etna is an active volcano and eruptions are frequent but the latest activity, which began on Saturday, is the most intense in months.

The lava flow down one side of the mountain is visible from Catania and Taormina, a popular seaside resort. Three small earthquakes were also registered around the volcano on Sunday.

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US moves ahead on plan to allow phone use in planes

US regulators Thursday opened the door to allowing mobile phone use on airplanes -- an issue that has stirred howls of protest over the potential for disruption in the skies.

The Federal Communication Commission's 3-2 vote came after chairman Tom Wheeler said the action would merely publish rules for public comment, and determine the technical feasibility of in-flight phone use.

"This is a rule about technology, this is not a rule about usage," Wheeler said ahead of the vote.

"I don't want to listen to the business conversations of the person sitting next to me .. but if technology eliminates interference and therefore eliminates the need for the interference protection rule, then we ought to eliminate the rule."

Some 60 members of Congress signed a letter urging the regulatory agency to allow only text and Internet services in flight, without voice calls.

Wheeler said however that potential problems should be addressed in the rule-making process, and that other agencies as well as airlines would be charged with determining whether to permit voice calls during flight.

"Without this proposal, you would not be able to email or to text or surf the Web," Wheeler said.

Separately, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx made a similar point, saying the FCC's only role "is to examine the technical feasibility of the use of mobile devices in flight."

Foxx said his agency's responsibility "is to determine if allowing these calls is fair to consumers" and "will now begin a process that will look at the possibility of banning these in-flight calls."

FCC member Jessica Rosenworcel voted to move forward on the proposal but voiced concerns over the prospect on in-flight calls.

Rosenworcel said that even though the FCC members were considering the matter as "technicians," that "does not absolve ourselves of the consequences of our decision."

She added that she feared an end to the prevailing quiet atmosphere in airplane cabins and expressed concern "that our safety would be compromised" by allowing such calls.

Commissioner Ajit Pai voted against the proposal, saying it "sets an unfortunate precedent when it comes to licensing" of spectrum for in-flight communications.

Pai said the proposal would grant the spectrum to airlines at a time without when mobile operators were spending "tens of billions" of dollars in spectrum auctions.

Additionally, Pai said safety and national security concerns had not been addressed and that he was disappointed there had been no comment from law enforcement agencies.

Wheeler argued however that the action "is intended to solicit input" and is not a final decision.

The FCC pointed out that foreign airlines have used onboard mobile access technology for years and that the agency "believes that these systems can be successfully deployed in the United States, and that the time has come to examine reforms to the agency's outdated rules with respect to mobile wireless service onboard aircraft."

"We are in support of new options for airline passengers to safely use wireless data for non-voice services such as text messaging, email, and Internet browsing; but we are adamantly opposed to the use of cellular voice services during flights," said the letter released by Representative Peter DeFazio.

The Swiss-based mobile communications firm OnAir said it supported the FCC's proposal, saying it "paves the way for US passengers to have the same inflight connectivity choices as passengers everywhere else in the world."

"Over four and a half million passengers use OnAir inflight connectivity each year and what is very striking is that there has not been one single complaint about disruption caused by phone calls," said Ian Dawkins, chief executive of OnAir. "Mobile OnAir is available on every continent apart from North America. People from all over the world, including Americans, use it every day."

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