No one could have imagined the situation we found ourselves in this year as countries locked down at different times, travel and flight restrictions often changed on a daily basis, entry requirements and health screening requirements were different from country to country… so, everything we knew about flight planning, permit applications, and immigration regulations changed in a matter of moments. Yet, emergency medical supplies were in critical demand worldwide and countries still needed to import essentials. So, we found ways to adapt to keep cargo moving and to repatriate people to their home countries.
For Asia, the biggest challenge for operators was the fragmented nature of the region. Over 4 billion people living in a region with no common economic or political area, and therefore no standardization of regulations. Pandemic control is being handled very differently by each country so there isn’t any joint action plan – every country is implementing its own rules. This has led to a situation where departure and destination countries often have very conflicting requirements regarding immigration, crew restrictions, night stops, etc., and this is making business travel almost impossible and operators in Asia are dealing with issues that don’t exist in the United States or the EU because they have open travel policies.
As we go forward into recovery, it’s important to consider all of these challenges and work with decision-makers to eradicate them. We must advocate for the establishment of a Regional Task Force to work on unified aviation regulations or guidelines to facilitate smooth air operations in line with the different country restrictions and respectful of their individuality. Why? Because the only solution for our industry is to get more standardization. Only a joint approach within a region will help to make business travel possible and keep the pandemic under control. I believe there needs to be a blueprint to keep the borders open during a similar situation in the future. Aviation organizations are calling for COVID-19-free public health corridors to address the very problem of disjointed regulations from country to country. This could make all the difference, and I am certain that we will find a way to work excellently together to ensure this industry’s recovery and ultimately, growth.
I was delighted to be able to share these thoughts at CJI Asia this week. Let’s hope that the spirit of cooperation between industry experts inspires more coordination between countries.
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Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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