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Weekly UpdatesMay 3, 2009
Asian airports, used to looking for H5N1 bird flu and SARS sufferers earlier in the decade, have dusted off their scanners for this latest crisis. But experts say these cannot help until the person has a fever, and an infected person can spread the virus around by coughing and sneezing a full day before the onset of symptoms. "Flu is infectious one day before the onset of symptoms, which means you may not have symptoms but you are already infectious while you are coming back to Hong Kong (on a plane)," said Yuen Kwok-yung, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong. "You are incubating and infecting others without knowing it." Being cooped up in a plane may spell trouble too. "A person with flu becomes infectious within 12 to 24 hours of infection. If he is traveling from Europe to Australia, a person can develop contagious capability while on the plane," Itzstein said. "It is an incubation spot, it is like a big incubator. People who are not infected can get infected in the plane." Yuen urged people to practice "self-quarantine." "For those coming back from risky areas, you should do some form of self-quarantine and wear a mask for seven days." Apr 30, 2009
Australia has imposed stricter measures on aircraft arriving from the Americas in an effort to contain the spread of swine flu. The Australian Department of Health and Ageing says in a statement that "before all planes are permitted to land in Australia from the Americas the captain will be required" to report to the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) on the health status of the passengers on the plane. Apr 27, 2009
Investors fled investments in air, land and sea on Monday as fears of a flu pandemic rekindled memories of the Asian SARS crisis that caused widespread industry turmoil six years ago. From Sydney to New York, selling hit the world's leading airline brands, hotels and cruise operators and the cost of insuring airline debt rose following the outbreak of swine flu. The United States declared a public health emergency and Americans and Europeans were urged to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico, where more than 100 people have died from the outbreak. US airlines most heavily exposed to Mexico racked up double-digit losses in trading. The AMEX airlines index was off about 10.9 percent in late afternoon. Continental Airlines, which offers more seats than any foreign airline into and out of Mexico, according to data provided airline schedules consultancy Innovata, saw its stock fall 16.5 percent. American Airlines parent AMR and US Airways, the second and third foreign airlines in terms of passenger capacity to Mexico, also suffered double-digit percentage falls. Apr 27, 2009
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand has grounded 18 crew and two staff who were on board an ANZ flight on 25 April that is suspected to have had passengers on board infected with swine flu. "As a precautionary measure, the 18 crew and two staff travelling for work purposes on NZ1 on Saturday [25 April] have all been told to stay home for up to seven days in accordance with Ministry of Health standard guidelines," ANZ general manager international airline, Ed Sims, says in a statement. Apr 27, 2009
Cessna
China has certified the Cessna Citation XLS for operations at elevations of up to 15,000ft (4,572m) after tests at TibetOs Qamdo Bangda Airport in February. The China Flight Inspection Center (CFIC), which is part of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), conducted the tests at Qamdo Bangda, which at an elevation of 14,219ft is the worldOs highest airport. These helped the Chinese authorities to validate navigation aids and gather information on high altitude operations. Apr 27, 2009
China
China has quarantined more than 70 Mexican travellers as a precautionary measure, despite no new swine flu outbreaks being detected in Asia. In Beijing, Mexicans are being asked to identify themselves on arriving flights and isolated from other travellers after landing. But none have presented symptoms or had any contact with infected people. May 3, 2009
Emirates Airlines, Airbus
Emirates Airlines Airbus A340-500 tail strike at Melbourne on March 20 was caused by an apparent computer input error, according to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators. The preliminary factual report on the incident, issued yesterday in Canberra, found that despite five levels of cross-checking (as recommended by Airbus), an incorrect takeoff weight for the A340 with 257 passengers and 14 crew aboard was entered into the computers that calculate the takeoff speed and thrust. According to ATSB, the crew entered 262 tons instead of 362, meaning that takeoff speed and thrust were set for 149 kt. instead of the required 172 kt. May 1, 2009
Emirates Airlines, Airbus
Emirates is still evaluating whether to repair the Airbus A340-500 badly damaged in a tail strike at Melbourne in March. Investigators are still examining the circumstances of the tail strike, which occurred as the five-year-old airliner (A6-ERG) was departing Runway 16 for Dubai on 20 March. The underside of the rear fuselage was badly scathed during the incident and the jet is also reported to have hit structures beyond the end of the runway - possibly navigation antennas - before climbing away. Apr 27, 2009
Korea
Hospitals will be allowed directly to seek foreign patients from May as part of South Korea's efforts to become Asia's new medical tourism hub, officials said Tuesday. "We expect about KRW300 billion (USD 221 million) in revenue this year in this sector, which will grow fast thanks to our aggressive overseas marketing to be legalized this week," said Lee Young-ho, a marketing director of the Global Healthcare Business Center. The center, which is controlled by the health ministry, is forming a network of hospitals and travel agencies which will be officially allowed to seek patients abroad under a law which takes effect Friday. Apr 28, 2009
Sri Lanka
The conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist group also known as the Tamil Tigers, which has affected the north of the country for over two decades, is rapidly nearing its end. When the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse assumed office in 2005, the LTTE had over 16,000 square kilometers under its control. Within two and a half years since the recommencement of the conflict in mid-2006, the government has managed to take control of the LTTE strongholds in the northeast of Sri Lanka, restricting them to a narrow 8-kilometer strip in the northeast of the country. Apr 27, 2009
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