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Old 10th Jan 2007, 01:32
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TZZ
 
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Gulf Air denies mid-air crisis

GULF Air's head of operations yesterday dismissed as "nonsense" reports in other newspapers that passengers' lives were endangered when a flight, which was running low on fuel, was denied clearance to land in Manila, the Philippines.
However, aviation officials in the Philippines have praised the pilot for avoiding a potential catastrophe.
GF154 from Bahrain to Manila was diverted from Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport because Philippines' President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was using the runway on January 3.
"In aviation, there is a minimum amount of fuel that must be carried," said Gulf Air vice-president operations Captain Hameed Ali.
"We can never go below this minimum, but we may add to the amount of fuel according to other factors."
This minimum is in accordance with Civil Aviation Regulation Operations (CAROPS) - a standard enforced by Oman's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which is based on the European standard JAROPS (Joint Aviation Regulation Operations).
Capt Ali said this would be enough to divert to another airport and also includes an additional 30 minutes of fuel on top of that.
However, airline officials have declined to reveal just how low on fuel the plane was when it landed.
"As for passengers' lives being in danger, this is nonsense," he continued.
"Prior to approaching Manila airport, the air traffic control (at Manila International Airport) informed the flight crew that the airport was closed due to VVIP movement.
"In such cases, the flight crew would enter a holding pattern until new information about the reopening of the airport is made available."
He said that if the information was not known, the pilot would then execute a diversion based on many factors - one of which was fuel reserve.
The safest course of action in this case was a diversion to an alternative airport, which was planned prior to departure, added Capt Ali.
"Accordingly, the aircraft was diverted to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (Clark Air Base)," he said.
"It was then prepared for another departure awaiting information on the reopening of Manila International Airport.
"This is a normal practice followed in any aviation operations and Gulf Air flight 154 landed in Manila without any incident and, under no circumstances, was an emergency declared."
There were 213 passengers onboard the aircraft at the time, said another Gulf Air source.
"We always have sufficient fuel, we are a world-class airline with more than 60 years in the industry," he added.
"Our procedures conform with the best international practice and that includes maintaining enough fuel to carry out a diversion, which is the normal practice in the day-to-day operations of the aviation business.
"At no time was the flight in any kind of danger, crisis or the passengers exposed to any kind of risk.
"Fuel is the most important area of the business. Planes need fuel to fly and you cannot cut corners."
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