SA pilots connect Iraq and the world
Sunday Times: 20/06/04
SA pilots connect Iraq and the world
Only South Africans are flying civilians into Baghdad
SA pilots connect Iraq and the world
Only South Africans are flying civilians into Baghdad
ROBERT Brands view of Baghdad is restricted to the citys heavily guarded airport but the 32-year-old South African pilot is uniquely placed to catch a glimpse of life in Iraq.
Brands insight comes from his passengers military pilots heading for duty in Baghdad, VIPs, businessmen, journalists, TV crews, soldiers, dog handlers and their dogs, and many South Africans; most of them security guards and construction workers.
Among these South Africans are university students. A pair from Pretoria University recently told Brand they would be paid 6000 a month for helping with reconstruction work.
All these passengers rely on Brands employer Airquarius Aviation, an air charter company based at Lanseria outside Johannesburg to get them into Baghdad. Airquarius, flying on behalf of Royal Jordanian, provides the only civilian flights into the Iraqi capital. Its also the only way to get there from the Jordanian capital, Amman, after the desert road became too dangerous.
For South Africans leaving Baghdad, the flight is a welcome surprise. Two friendly South African cabin attendants one white, one black welcome passengers on board, and the pilots accent makes the flight feel almost like a regular flight from Joburg to Cape Town, according to one passenger.
Occasionally Iraqis board the flight. But if you see children, its mostly with Iraqi families flying out, says Brand. The flight is too expensive for most Iraqis Royal Jordanian charges over 550 for a one-way flight .
At home in Pretoria this week, Brand spoke about the challenges of flying into Baghdad on behalf of a Jordanian airline whose own pilots were too afraid of the task.
Among the challenges the pilots face is to approach Baghdad International in a tight, downward spiral, staying within the airports perimeter from an altitude of 15000ft to avoid missiles and gunfire. Outward-bound flights spiral upwards before heading west on reaching the same altitude.
Airquarius has been flying Royal Jordanian s scheduled flights between Amman and Baghdad, up to four times a day, for six months.
Before the US invasion, and during a time of punitive UN sanctions, Royal Jordanian was one of only a few airlines that flew to the Iraqi capital, from Amman. After some form of stability returned to Baghdad last year, Royal Jordanian tried to resume its hour-long flights to Baghdad but its crews balked. Their pilots refused to fly the route as it was getting too dangerous for them, says Brand.
Stuck without planes or crews to service its two daily flights to Baghdad and back , the government-owned Royal Jordanian turned to Airquarius.
Gavin Branson, Airquariuss managing director, says his company has provided one aircraft, a Fokker F28, for the Baghdad-Amman service. Two crews each made up of two captains, two first officers and two cabin attendants man the flights, backed by two ground engineers and one operations person.
The F28 can take up to 70 passengers. For the Baghdad route, however, it has been reconfigured to fly only 60. Each flight has three Jordanian air marshals in case of any security threat . Airquariuss plane has been painted with Royal Jordanians slogan on the fuselage, but its registration ZS XGX is South African .
During their five-week tours of duty, the Airquarius crews fly to Baghdad once or twice a day, entering Iraqi airspace in daylight only at 22000ft . There they must remain under the instructions of US air traffic controllers.
Less than one hour after taking off from Queen Alia International Airport , Baghdad comes into view, a few minutes after flying over the Euphrates River at Fallujah. To Brand, the towns status as an important military base during the Baathist era is visible from the air. The giveaway is an airport with runways leading directly out of bunkers designed to protect fighter jets.
After the flight reaches 15000ft directly above Baghdad International , it comes under the control of the airports tower, currently manned by Australians.
The airport may now officially be known as Baghdad International Airport, but the name on the side of the building says only International Airport no one has got round to replacing Saddam with Baghdad .
Brand says he has been aware of some incidents involving mortars, machine-gun fire and missiles; but these have never been fired at Airquariuss Royal Jordanian flights. From far beyond the perimeter of the heavily guarded airport come the sounds of gunfire and exploding bombs, but never enough to cause much alarm on the runway.