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Weekly UpdatesJul 5, 2009
British Airways
One of British Airways' Boeing 777-200s has suffered wing damage after being struck while parked by a taxiing aircraft in Angola. While the extent of the damage is unclear, British Airways says it was forced to cancel its BA076 service from Luanda to London Heathrow as a result of the 27 June accident. The twin-jet had been parked empty when it was "hit on its wing" by an aircraft arriving from China. Jun 29, 2009
Yemenia, Airbus
US military personnel from the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa have been deployed to assist with search-and-rescue operations for the Yemenia Yemen Airways A310-300 that crashed Monday in the Indian Ocean with 153 aboard. CJTF-HOA, which is headquartered in Djibouti, and a Guardian Angels search-and-rescue team from the 82nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron will work with French Forces Comoros, the Comoros Coast Guard and Comoros National Police to aid in rescue efforts and continue the search for survivors. Only one survivor has been found so far. CJTF-HOA also has sent one HC-130 aircraft. A US Navy team of engineers will assist. Meanwhile, Yemen Transport Minister Khaled Al Wazir blasted EU and French officials for questioning the carrier's safety standards, particularly regarding maintenance practices. "It is unfair to give these explanations because one cannot pre-judge Yemenia's technical performance in safety matters or those of any other airline before publication of the results of the [official accident] inquiry," he said at a news conference, adding that the Yemen government "reserves the right to take legal action against the parties deliberately seeking to damage the image of the Yemeni national airline." Jul 3, 2009
Yemenia, Airbus
"These are rubbish planes. There are no seat belts, the toilets are blocked, the lockers come undone and the bags fall on the passengers," -- Farid Soilihi, president of SOS-Voyages to the Comoros. Expatriate Comorans, mourning Tuesday's crash of an Airbus plane off their Indian Ocean archipelago, said they had complained to French authorities last week about the Yemeni operator's "rubbish" aircraft and poor security. Members of an association created in France several years ago to complain about traveling conditions to the Comoros accused the Yemenia airline of low standards. "The accident was predictable, these are planes that do not meet international standards. Yemenia was the cheapest of all the 'rubbish companies' with a near-monopoly on this destination," said Farid Soilihi, president of the association "SOS-Voyages to the Comoros". No immediate response was available from the airline to Soilihi's remarks, but Yemen's transport minister said the plane that crashed had been thoroughly checked in May under Airbus supervision. "It was a comprehensive inspection carried out in Yemen... with experts from Airbus," Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer said. "It was in line with international standards." The Airbus A310-300 plane crashed with 153 people on board, including 66 French. Many of them were families from France's large Comoran community who were traveling home for the holidays. Soilihi said he had sent a letter last week to the French foreign, interior and transport ministers warning them of the association's concerns about the airline. He had also organized a protest for August 11 at the Paris airport where many boarded the doomed plane. "These are rubbish planes. There are no seat belts, the toilets are blocked, the lockers come undone and the bags fall on the passengers," he said. "There is absolutely no security on board." French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said faults had been detected during inspections in France in 2007 on the Yemenia A310 aircraft that crashed, and it had been banned from French soil. The airline had used a different plane, an A330, to pick the passengers up in Paris and Marseille before transferring them to the A310-300 in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Families arriving at the airport in Marseille, where there is a large Comoran community, were met by Comoros consul Stephane Salord. He said he had long heard complaints about journeys that were "too long, too expensive, too risky", and it was very regrettable that direct flights had been been stopped for reasons of profitability. "The Comorans save up for several months in the year to go to Comoros with their families. In this plane there were entire families, parents, children, elders who were with them," he said. "There is a lot of anger and emotion today... It's not because we're a developing country that we have to be dependent on companies that do not respect international norms." Jul 1, 2009
Yemenia, Airbus
Yemenia Yemen Airways A310-300 with more than 150 people onboard crashed late last night in the Indian Ocean. Flight IY626 was on its way from Sanaa and was due to land at Moroni, the Comoros capital. Reports early Tuesday indicated that one five-year-old child was found alive, but that no other survivors had been located. Yemenia operates four -300s, as well as two A330-200s and four 737-800s. Airbus said the aircraft involved in the accident was built in 1990 and had been operated by Yemenia since October 1999. Jun 30, 2009
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