North America airline suspensions, country closures 23-29MAR ch-aviation PRO exclusive

The runway at Georgetown Wideawake Airport on Ascencion Island will be repaired by 2022 allowing AirTanker-operated A330-200 flights to return, Fluor, the company which won the contract, said in a statement. The USD170 million-dollar deal to upgrade the 3,054 x 46-meter asphalt runway 13/31 was awarded to the engineering and construction firm by the United States Air Force Installation Contracting Agency. The work is scheduled to be completed in 28 months, following a February 2020 start.

The task order was awarded under the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program IV (AFCAP IV), a position Fluor has held since 2015. Established by the US Air Force to fulfil the Department of Defense's global mission during contingency events, AFCAP provides the Air Force and other government agencies with additional capabilities to rapidly support the logistic requirements of its deployed forces using civilian contractors.

"We are honoured to be selected to support the Air Force and to be a part of its global mission," said Tom D'Agostino, President of Fluor's Government Group. "Ascension Auxiliary Airfield is in a...

Numerous US cargo and express package operators, including FedEx Express (FX, Memphis Int'l), Atlas Air (5Y, New York JFK), and Kalitta Air (K4, Detroit Willow Run), have requested relief from NOTAM A0003/20, issued on January 7, which restricts US carriers from operating in and through the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman. The NOTAM was issued as a result of Iran launching ballistic missile attacks on airbases housing US forces in Iraq, in retaliation for the US killing of Qasem Soleimani, a general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on January 3.

According to submissions filed with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Atlas Air (and its subsidiaries Polar Air Cargo and Southern Air) has asked for relief "to operate to the Bahrain and Qatar airports, in support of continued operations into the region.” The airline specifically requested to fly to Doha Al Udeid, where the United States Air Force and US Central Command both have operations.

Southern Air flies into the region on behalf of DHL...

Kalitta Air (K4, Detroit Willow Run) has started basing its only B777-F out of Germany's Leipzig/Halle airport, the key European hub for its customer DHL Express, the cargo carrier has confirmed to Cargo Facts.

Kalitta has been operating the ex-Emirates (EK, Dubai Int'l) freighter on domestic services in the US supporting DHL's Cincinnati Int'l hub between July 30 and August 31 before ferrying the twinjet to Leipzig/Halle. The aircraft will reportedly remain based in Germany until at least January 2020 and operate from there to Hong Kong Int'l, via either Bahrain Int'l or Delhi Int'l.

DHL also uses Kalitta B747-400(F) and B767-300(F) capacity with eight Kalitta B767 freighters being deployed on the domestic network in the US and B747s used to support DHL's international operations. Kalitta is in the process of obtaining ETOPS approval for its B777-F to also allow it to operate it across the Pacific.

Besides the B767s and the B777 operating for DHL, according to ch-aviation fleets advanced Kalitta...