MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Air Atlanta 747 back this week

AFTER a month-long break, the Air Atlanta Icelandic contract with the Ministry of Defence to fly to the Falklands resumed this week.

The 747 service, which flies to the Islands thrice a fortnight was been out of action due to both repair work being carried out and a strike by Boeing. Before the service was suspended, it suffered a number of delays due to engineering work.

Government Chief Executive, Chris Simpkins said that while there was no reason to doubt the airworthiness of the airframe, "in accordance with normal procedures in such circumstances" the recent spate of technical problems were reported to the UK authorities.

Penguin News contacted the UK's Department for Transport (DFT) to ask whether the British government had concerns over the standards of safety adopted by Air Atlanta Icelandic.

A spokesperson for the DFT, Andy Foulkes, commented, "...we have looked at the available evidence on the airline's safety standards. Air Atlanta is a large airline which operates numerous services to the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

"It has been inspected a number of times both in the UK and elsewhere in Europe under the European Safety Assessment of Foreign Airlines Programme. "There is no evidence which suggests that Air Atlanta is not currently meeting international safety standards."

He added that the situation will be kept under review.

International civil aviation is governed by the Chicago Convention. Under the Convention, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is responsible for establishing minimum safety standards which contracting states are required to implement.

States are required to recognise the certificates issued by other contracting states unless they have reason to believe that they have not been issued in accordance with ICAO standards. ICAO also audits contracting states' aviation authorities to help identify and address any deficiencies in the implementation of international standards.

Foreign airlines require a permit from the Secretary of State for Transport to pick up or put down passengers or cargo in the UK or an Overseas Territory. Mr Foulkes explained that it is a condition of the permit that the airline should be operated in accordance with international safety standards established by ICAO.

"The primary responsibility for ensuring that foreign airlines are operated in accordance with international standards rests with their national aviation authority," he said.

"However, if we were to find evidence of any significant non-compliance with international safety standards the Secretary of State will suspend or revoke the airline's permit until those issues are addressed." (PN)