Citywing incident Isle of Man

[lfc84]

UPDATED: Disruption for Blackpool passengers as flight operator grounded - Blackpool Gazette

A UK CAA spokesperson said: “The UK Civil Aviation Authority has suspended Czech-registered operator Van Air’s permission to fly in the UK. "This follows an incident involving a Van Air aircraft at Isle of Man Airport on February 23. "The incident is being investigated by the Czech civil aviation authorities, who have regulatory oversight of Van Air. "

[G-CPTN]

Sounds like a mess - how can it be economic to bus passengers between Newcastle and Blackpool and between Blackpool and Liverpool?

[DaveReidUK]

Well compared to the cost of chartering a second 737 from Titan ...

[Livesinafield]

Yes indeed, i suspect if Citiwing carries on chartering Titans 737's for 3 people....it isn't going to last very long

[runway30]

For the purposes of EU261 claims, is grounding by the CAA regarded as an extraordinary event?

[Kewbick]

To answer an earlier question, most LET L-410s have about a 710 nm range, or an approximate 5-hr max endurance. The new L-410NG, awaiting certification in late 2017, will be superior in most aspects, with an endurance of around 9 hrs..

[EGNS26]

Seems the saga continues; Flightradar24 is currently showing Titan G-POWC as scheduled to fly IOM-BHD V9 502 on Tuesday 28th

[lfc84]

Van Air remain grounded 28/2 and 1/3

FLIGHTS UPDATES FOR 28 and 29 FEBRUARY 2017
Citywing are now able to confirm flights details for Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 01March 2017.
We are currently updating our system so will try and contact passengers regarding flight changes once this is done.
Tuesday 28 February
Tuesday 28 February - Belfast
For Belfast there will be a Saab 340 aircraft operated by Sprint Air at the following times:
V9 506 28 Feb departing Isle of Man at 1110 ( checkin 1010) arriving Belfast City 1145
V9 507 28 Feb departing Belfast City at 1210 (checkin 1110) arriving Isle of Man 1245
All passengers planned to go on other Belfast flights this day will be transferred onto the flight available.
Tuesday 28 February -Glasgow
The Glasgow flight will also be operated by the Sprintair Saab 340 :
V9 408 28 Feb departing Isle of Man 1500 (checkin 1400) arriving Glasgow 1540
V9 409 28 Feb departing Glasgow 1605 (checkin 1505) arriving Isle of Man 1655
All passengers planned to go on the morning Glasgow flights this day will be transferred onto the afternoon flight.
Tuesday 28 February – Gloucester
The Gloucester flight will similarly be operated by the Sprintair Saab 340 :
V9 610 28 Feb departing Isle of Man at 1725 (checkin 1625) arriving Gloucester at 1820 .
V9 611 28 Feb departing Gloucester at 1845 (checkin 1745) arriving Isle of Man 1940
All passengers planned to go on the morning Gloucester flights this day will be transferred onto the afternoon flight.
Tuesday 28 February – Blackpool
Unfortunately we have not been able to arrange any flights for Blackpool. All passengers will be rebooked onto the following day’s flight.
Wednesday 01 March
Wednesday 01 March -Belfast
For Belfast there will be a Saab 340 aircraft operated by Sprint Air at the following times:
V9 506 01 March departing Isle of Man at 1110 (checkin 1010) arriving Belfast City at 1145
V9 507 01 March departing Belfast City at 1210 ( checkin 1110 ) arriving at Isle of Man 1245
All passengers planned to go on other Belfast flights this day will be transferred onto the flight available.
Wednesday 01 March – Blackpool
Operated by Sprintair Saab 340
V9 116 01 March departing Isle of Man at 1540 ( checkin 1440) arriving at Blackpool 1610
V9 117 01 March departing Blackpool at 1635 (checkin 1535) arriving at Isle of Man at 1705
Wednesday 01 March – Gloucester
Operated by Sprintair Saab 340
V9 610 01 March departing Isle of Man at 1730 ( checkin 1630) arriving Gloucester at 1825
V9 611 01 March departing Gloucester at 1850 (checkin 1750) arriving at Isle of Man at 1940
Wednesday 01 March - Glasgow
Unfortunately we have not been able to arrange an aircraft for Glasgow and the flight will be cancelled.
These will be the only flights operated on these days. We will endeavour to contact all passengers to advise of them of these revised arrangements. For flights on the 2nd and 3rd of March we will put out our revised schedule soonest if required.
David Buck, Managing Director of Citywing said, “We apologise for the disruption this is causing to travel plans. We will do our best to keep passengers informed over the next few days. We know that the options available are far from ideal but we wanted to ensure where possible that we can provide an option for all passengers to reach their destinations. We are trying to contact all passengers but it is a huge task so we ask for your patience whilst we do so.”

[Hansol]

I think without doubt this model of operation is broken. Its time the IOM Government woke up to their responsibilities and only allowed fully CAA licenced operators to work from the Island. All credit to the guys and gals at Citywing, they have had a good run, but this shambles should never have been allowed to continue after the Manx2 crash.

[HeartyMeatballs]

If Brexit brings down Manx2 2.0 then it's another huge tick in the Brexit box.

[Rwy in Sight]

HeartyMeatballs,

I am not much of admirer of the EU, but alternatively the UK can harmonize the rules at around the mid-range bidder which would be more useful for all involved. Having said that I love your description of the location!

Feel free to ignore / answer by SMS as not to derail the thread.

[Geriaviator]

According to Manx Radio yesterday the Titan 737 went u/s at Ronaldsway after returning from Belfast, leaving around 60 passengers stranded in Liverpool. They were offered a coach trip to Heysham to catch the night boat for IoM. Must admit the Steam Packet Company becomes more attractive by the minute ....

[His dudeness]

A UK CAA spokesperson said: “The UK Civil Aviation Authority has suspended Czech-registered operator Van Air’s permission to fly in the UK. "This follows an incident involving a Van Air aircraft at Isle of Man Airport on February 23. "The incident is being investigated by the Czech civil aviation authorities, who have regulatory oversight of Van Air. "

Citywing have been advised by Van Air that the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has requested to speak with Van Air following the incident. Until such discussions take place, hopefully within the next 24-48 hours, the UK CAA has asked Van Air to stop flying

So what other AOC holder has been grounded by the CAA after an incident ? Was BA grounded after they drove a wing through a building ?

Double standards and pure racism, me thinks. But thats what the UK is good at for the moment it seems.

And people moan that this industry is "over regulated".

It is, but people like yourself will not stop to lobby further regulation until they made their share from it.

[barry lloyd]

I think some of the posters need to take account of the fact that the Isle of Man is not a member of the EU.

[oldchina]

"Double standards and pure racism, me thinks"


Since when did Czech folk, or Irish, Belgians, Dutch etc. etc. constitute a race?

[HeartyMeatballs]

His dudeness What a hysterical post. Anti British much or a self loather? British Airways vs a two bob turboprop outfit flying for an odd setup, a setup which has had a fatal accident previously and walked away with zero responsibility. Not the same. Not by a long shot.

They can't be that racist if they are allowing a DANISH and a POLISH operator to continue flying for them! So a Czech airline is involved in some incident, they're asked to stop flying pending investigation, the UK CAA then allow Danish and Polish airlines to fly for them in addition to an English one. Yes, that's shocking racism plain and simple.

[Consol]

A good synopsis Hearty.

Here's a link to Ireland AAIU 's investigation of the Cork Manx2 crash. Read and beware, it shows a road map to a fatal accident. Let's hope people can learn from this tragedy.

http://www.aaiu.ie/node/621

[pax britanica]

Well er racism perhaps the wrong word and comparing a tiny Cz outfit to BA is rather extreme but we British are pretty hypocritical when it comes to 'foreigners' and it does seem odd the CAA were on hand like that. What were they doing in IoM anyway , a place which enjoys a weird neither fish nor foul existence being not a state and not a country but somehow survives on hiding peoples money for them.

How that 'airline' survived the Cork crash I cannot imagine so I am not sorry to see a spotlight turned on them again but this whole story seems fishy to me anyway.

Perhaps also a bit of a warning that a Britain out of the EU will resemble a sort of giant Isle of Man living off of tax dodges. Freedom from Eu bureaucracy really means exemption from all kinds of safety legislation , protection of workplace rights, environmental laws etc that allow exactly this kind of dubious practice to flourish.

[HeartyMeatballs]

So leaving the EU is going to make flying less safe as we are going to be exampt from safety legislation? If that is the case, how come the EU have allowed the Manx2 business model to operate? If they were so great and their safety legislation so comprehensive, how does Manx2 live on despite what we learned?

[Super VC-10]

Pax britanica, the Isle of Man is a sovereign country in its own right. It has its own sovereign (the Lord of Mann), parliament, currency and laws. The UK is responsible for managing its defence and foreign affairs. The Isle of Man is not, and never has been, a member of the EEC/EU.