The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Congo's new airlines brave riskiest African skies
- Mexico launches WTO dispute against Argentina
- Muppet urges Israelis to prepare for possible emergency
| Congo's new airlines brave riskiest African skies Posted: 27 Aug 2012 02:09 AM PDT KINSHASA (Reuters) - Its tarmac littered with dozens of dilapidated planes, the airport in Congo's capital Kinshasa makes clear the dire state of aviation even by Africa's generally low standards. The planes have been abandoned either as mechanical failures or by companies that went bust in a sector where a lack of proper infrastructure means pilots sometimes navigate with the help of Google Maps and sat-nav devices like those found in cars. "Crazy things happen here. We have to stop those crazy things happening," says Frenchman Jean-Marc Pajot, who with his new FlyCongo airline is setting out to prove there is a market for those determined to make it work. On the face of things, it looks like a good business. An airline can charge $700 for a seat on the 1,600 km (1,000 mile) flight from Kinshasa to Congo's copper mining centre of Lubumbashi. To fly a similar distance between London and Lisbon - and back - a ticket can be had for less than $100. With economic growth forecasts of around 7 percent until 2015 thanks to its mines, Democratic Republic of Congo's business prospects look healthy alongside regional peers. Air passenger numbers more than tripled in the decade to 2010, growing nearly twice as fast as they did globally. But as in much of Africa, a spurt in growth after decades of decline has not translated into an improvement in infrastructure for airlines or anyone else. A lack of equipment that would be standard elsewhere, haphazard safety measures and challenging weather conditions make Congo one of the world's riskiest places to fly. Last year Congo was behind only Russia with 111 flying fatalities according to the Aviation Safety Network, but Russia had some 30 times more passenger journeys. Only the much smaller African countries of Gabon, Sierra Leone and Djibouti scored lower in terms of overall safety in a survey by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The background to Pajot's FlyCongo could appear less than auspicious: it took over the assets of Hewa Bora, Congo's largest airline until it lost its licence last year when one of its planes crashed in a thunderstorm, killing 70 people. Pajot has already broken up six planes for scrap to streamline the company and as a gesture of its commitment to safety. He has five planes left. Pajot complains that airports don't even have proper control towers: his staff go out to runways with walkie-talkie radios to give the pilots a picture of landing conditions. Another new airline, Korongo, in which Lufthansa subsidiary SN Brussels is a partner, has put some $3 million of its $12 million investment into infrastructure - going as far as to pay for airport firefighters. The need for a functioning aviation network is clear in Africa's second largest country. It has hardly any roads. BY AIR OR ... CANOE? Pilot Hugues Gendre recalls taking one priest to his parish deep in the equatorial forest in little over an hour, a journey which previously took 10 days and 10 nights of non-stop travel by canoe. But Gendre, who flies aid workers around, is sceptical a safe and viable airline can run in Congo. "Firstly there's a lack of competence, then there's also the phenomenon of generalised corruption, and there's no strong central government," said Gendre, president of Aviation Without Borders, a non governmental organisation. "Little by little, training erodes, standards go down, and it ends in an accident." President Joseph Kabila lost his closest adviser in February when the plane carrying him overshot a runway. To support peacekeepers in the far reaches of a country the size of Western Europe, the United Nations operates its own air service. Many diplomats are barred by their embassies from using Congolese airlines. The government has resolved to reverse decades of mismanagement, said Emile Bongeli, who heads the state organisation which runs Congo's airports. Runways are being redone and a national communications system is being set up. Longer term, Congolese airlines seek their removal from U.S. and European safety blacklists so they can fly the foreign routes that mining companies use to bring in staff and equipment. But there is no sign of that happening soon. "It's not going to stop us working to improve security," said Bongeli. Foreign airlines currently link Kinshasa with Europe and also fly from Lubumbashi to the African hubs of Nairobi and Johannesburg. Air France, which has four flights a week to Paris, said it was looking at Congo as a long term growth market. For decades, Congolese aviation has been tarnished by short-lived airlines that were sometimes founded more for laundering the proceeds of corruption than as profitable enterprises. The new operators are setting out to be different. For most of his career, Pajot, 52, was a manager in the information technology sector, although he spent the past three years as a commercial pilot and flight instructor. His airline flies to five Congolese cities from Kinshasa. "We have to go by the book," he said. "I love big challenges, and this is certainly a big challenge." The other start-up - the Korongo joint venture of SN Brussels and Congolese company Malta Forrest - has put its planes under the oversight of Belgian authorities to try to tackle the foreign safety concerns. Korongo chief executive Christophe Allard believes operating to international standards will encourage local companies to follow suit. Korongo flies between Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Johannesburg. Despite the difficulties of navigating Congo's politics - Korongo's launch was blocked for more than a year because of internal wranglings - Allard believes the government is catching on to the need to improve the sector. "We told the Congolese that the game is over, that they have to accept modernity," he said. "Now they can prove they've chosen to move in the right direction." (Editing by Bate Felix and Matthew Tostevin) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
| Mexico launches WTO dispute against Argentina Posted: 27 Aug 2012 01:45 AM PDT GENEVA (Reuters) - Mexico has launched its first dispute against Argentina at the World Trade Organization, following similar complaints against Argentina by the European Union, United States and Japan, the WTO said on Monday. The four complaints centre on Argentina's import licensing rules, which its critics say amount to a blanket restriction on imports and are one of several protectionist policies adopted by the government of President Cristina Fernandez. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Alison Williams) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
| Muppet urges Israelis to prepare for possible emergency Posted: 27 Aug 2012 01:43 AM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli muppet on the cover of a new, emergency pamphlet being distributed nationwide puts a happy face on some grim warnings in a country preparing for possible war with Iran. Israelis, the military-issued booklet says, would have only between 30 seconds and three minutes to find cover and hunker down between the time air raid sirens sound and rockets slam into their area. The 15-page pamphlet has started to appear in mailboxes across the country, and instructs Israelis how to prepare a safe room or shelter for emergency situations. On the cover a smiling Moishe Oofnik, the Israeli muppet version of Oscar the Grouch - the resident pessimist of the U.S. children's show Sesame Street - sticks out of the trash can he calls home. He strikes a more pensive pose inside the booklet, resting his head on his hand under instructions on what to do when sirens wail. Stepped-up rhetoric by Israeli officials in recent weeks has suggested Israel might soon attack an Iranian nuclear programme its sees as an existential threat, raising international concern about regional conflict. Israeli ministers have said up to 500 civilians could die in any war following a strike on Iran. An Israeli military source said on Monday the emergency pamphlet was part of a regular, public awareness campaign and noted it also included advice on how to act in the event of an earthquake. "There are always innovations the public needs to know about, it doesn't mean anything is going to happen today, tomorrow or the next day," the source said. Iran denies it is seeking atomic weapons and has promised to retaliate strongly if it is attacked. Israel fears that Iran's Hezbollah guerrilla allies in Lebanon and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip could also launch rocket strikes. Israel stepped up the distribution of gas masks and other protective gear to the public some weeks ago, but the mailing of what-to-do information suggested an escalation in preparation for possible conflict. The pamphlet urges Israelis to have a "family talk" about getting ready for any national emergency. "You should find the proper time to have the conversation -- not during mealtime or when you are watching television. It should not be held after a family argument or when you are agitated about some other pressing matter," it advises. (Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Alistair Lyon) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
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