By Exequiel Sanhueza * Our sun, the Sol Invictus for the Romans or the Ra for the Egyptians, is a yellow dwarf star within the immense universe of stars and fortunately it still has enough capacity to give us warmth and life; the necessary and vital heat for our subsistence. However, for commercial aviation that flies high-performance aircraft at high altitudes, for its passengers and for its crew, our Sun is a huge concern. This has led scientists to develop an area of ​​meteorology called Space Weather, which aims to study, in real time, the behavior of the solar wind or the detachment of part of the solar corona and its impact on the magnetosphere, this essential part of the [...]

By Marianela Cartagena It was 2008, in Viña del Mar, Chile. I had been asked to give an interview at the request by a local newspaper, which was launching its first edition. I walked very confident with the support of my company, MCM Silva consultores -created in June 2005- and my brand new psychologist degree, obtained from the Diego Portales University in September 2003. All this after having worked seven years as a Flight Attendant and another ten years on the ground -the first six years, as secretary of the Operations Management Unit, another as secretary of the Presidency- and three years as head of the Training Department at Lan Chile Airlines. My answer to one of the questions I [...]

By Exequiel Sanhueza* By definition, the disruptive passenger is one who adopts altered, violent or unruly behaviors on an aircraft on the ground or in flight that interfere with the normal duties and functions of the crew and that also disturbs the tranquility of the rest of the passengers. In this regard, ICAO points out: The expression "unruly or disruptive passenger" has always been used in reference to those "passengers who do not respect the rules of conduct on board aircraft or who do not follow the instructions of the crew members and that way they disturb order and discipline on board. " Whatever the name by which it is designated, whether it is disruptive, insubordinate or disturbing, it is [...]

By Myriam Gómez* and Jeff Peet, Managing Editor ALA News  2021 can undoubtedly be, thanks to the hope that mass vaccination provides to prevent further infections by Covid-19 and the management of this devastating pandemic, a year in which the industry really takes on pending issues and, among them, Gender Equality should be a priority. Aviation must seize the opportunity provided by this reset, to take on this important challenge and work with the urgency that, according to IATA figures, women only occupy less than 5% of airline CEO positions in the world. But why do it? Because as the world is, it is essential. To ignore this matter is not to ensure the social sustainability of humanity. In times [...]

By Nicole Noack.     Airline operators or owners have any number of business reasons for modifying their aircraft fleet. Whether it’s modernizing the flight deck or adding new passenger friendly amenities to the cabin, a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) is an often-used and effective method which also maintains the aircraft’s airworthiness. The process to complete an STC is complex, and to the uninformed may be perceived as a black box. It is important to keep in mind, however, that while the STC process is indeed complex, it is both well established and rigorous. While the interaction of airline owners or operators with aviation authorities like ANAC, TCCA, or CASA may be minimal, understanding key details about the process is [...]

By Jose Ricardo Botelho, Executive Director and CEO of ALTA. This year we embark on a new space that we call Overflying Latin America and the Caribbean to share with distinguished industry professionals perspectives on the future of aviation in the region and the work that industry and government must develop to accelerate recovery. For this first edition, I had the pleasure of talking with the elected Secretary General of ICAO, Juan Carlos Salazar, who will take office on August 1, 2021, being the first Spanish-speaker to assume this position in the organization that represents world civil aviation. . With more than 26 years of outstanding experience in the industry, Juan Carlos has recent achievements such as a 60% growth [...]

By Jose Ricardo Botelho, Executive Director and CEO of ALTA   We have reached one and a half months of the long-awaited 2021. A year full of hopes with the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccines global distribution and prospects of recovering step by step in-person activities after a 2020 with human and economic losses, as well as a heavily impacted aviation industry.   According to ICAO data, in 2020 there was a 50% overall reduction in seats offered by airlines around the world vs. 2019, and a 60% reduction in passenger traffic with 2.69 billion fewer passengers from 2019.   In our region, we estimate a 59.2% reduction in passenger traffic vs. 2019, totaling 177.3 million passengers carried in the [...]

ALTA sends a message of confidence to the industry   By José Ricardo Botelho   We are going through a situation that has significantly impacted the behavior of passengers. An X-ray of this thesis is shown in the surveys carried out by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 11 markets: In February 2020 almost 100% of passengers were willing to travel, in April 61%, in June the 45%.   However, at this time we know that with the protocols established by the ICAO Council for Aviation Recovery (CART), the probability of infection in flight is 1 in 4300. According to IATA studies, the air in an airplane cabin is eight times better than that of a supermarket.   All [...]

By Angelos Astrinidis, CEO, iteam S.A. – Technology for Business* The entire world is facing extreme and stressful circumstances and aviation is at the top of the list of the affected industries. According to IATA, the first recovery phase will require significant government relief measures, combined with cost cutting efforts by airlines, so that they can stand on their feet again and gradually start reforming their business in the post-COVID19 era. We all realize it is going to be really tough but on the other hand, as experts put it, the long-term outlook for aviation and travel will continue to be bright, since demand will always exist. After airlines recover from the initial COVID-19 shock, they will try to transform [...]

Recovery as a Goal   By José Ricardo Botelho   We live in extraordinary times, which inevitably require extraordinary efforts. The team at the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) is aware of this and therefore, since the beginning of the pandemic, our immediate priority has been to support our members to remain viable during this crisis and to collaborate with the authorities of the region, in the implementation of efficient and articulated mechanisms for the reactivation of air transport.   All the players in the aviation industry have worked day and night, to keep aviation alive, considering the great bridge between countries it represents. Maintaining this active link required the industry to adopt the ICAO CART document [...]