22 June 2021 - Following the 1974 invasion of Cyprus by Turkey, the administration in the occupied part of Cyprus (unrecognized by the United Nations) established, in 1977, the “Ercan Advisory Area” monitored by “Ercan” station. Its purpose was to seek to exercise air traffic control in the northern part of the Nicosia FIR/UIR and parts of the south- western section of the Ankara FIR/UIR. (...)

8 juin 2021 - The IFALPA Future Air Traffic Operations (IFATO) document - Second Edition - is guidance material for representatives Member Associations to help bridge the current work program of the committees with projected future topics that will affect our technical work. It should reside between the current work in ICAO working groups and panels and the very high level 18POS03 - IFALPA Vision for the Future of Air Navigation and Weather Information document.

2 June 2021 - The attached IATA Operational Notice alerts airlines of the ongoing risk to aircraft operations at BKK airport due to soft ground conditions affecting the taxiways, taxi lanes, and aircraft stands. Soft ground conditions or “soft spots” have been encountered and reported by flight crews and ground service providers at BKK since at least 2008.

5 May 2021 - On April 28, 2021, China launched the core of its “Tianhe” space station. While the launch was successful, the booster stage of the launching Long March 5B rocket was designed for an “uncontrolled” re-entry, and therefore the exact time and location of its return is unknown. As of Wednesday, May 5, the Aerospace Corporation (a defense think-tank) predicted the Long March 5B re-entry time to be 0407z on May 9, 2021, but with a ±24-hour window.

27 April 2021 - Vaccines against SARS-Cov-2 virus are beginning to be more widely available in many parts of the world and aircrews are being vaccinated. This Safety Bulletin focuses on Background information on vaccines and addresses common questions pilots may have about vaccines and their use.

22 April 2021 - As part of its contingency planning for the closure of air traffic control facilities, also termed “ATC Zero” (ATC-0), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is utilizing an airspace management strategy that allows operations during ATC-0 situations in Class A airspace. The ATC-0 operations are conducted without the availability of air traffic control (ATC) services, including aircraft-to-aircraft separation, ATC surveillance, and air-to-ground communications with air traffic controllers at an ATC facility such as an Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). Flight crews will generally be on their own to maintain safety in ATC-0 airspace.

13 April 2021 - Albanian airspace (the LAAA/Tirana FIR) along with LATI/Tirana Airport was closed on 8 April 2021 due to a lack of ATC staff. There is an ongoing dispute between ATC and the authorities which has resulted in three controllers being detained. Although the airspace has been re-opened, the Albanian controllers still working are under extreme pressure for their future employment. There are reports that controllers from other States have been brought in to replace the Albanian controllers, their status as to training and local ratings are unknown. Pilots are requested to exercise extreme caution while operating within this airspace.

13 April 2021 - The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) is extremely concerned with the latest developments of the situation involving Air Traffic Controllers in Albania. The International Convention on Civil Aviation prohibits an air traffic controller from exercising the privileges of their licences and related ratings at any time when they are aware of any decrease in their medical fitness which might render them unable to safely and correctly perform these privileges. It is considered unsafe to have a person perform air traffic control that is physically or mentally impaired in any way, or unqualified and untrained for the position (...)

9 April 2021 - This joint bulletin (A joint publication with IATA, CANSO, and IFATCA on Safety Risk Assessments (SRA) on the effects of COVID on operations) is a result of the SRA and the webinar series Safely Navigating the Industry Recovery. It highlights key considerations with regards to the impacts of health measures on operational staff, the possible long-term impacts of COVID infections, and best practices for health measures.