Another coup by British journalism. The first flight after the US bombings was 9 days earlier than reported, on 3 Dec 01. (I'm sure that they meant to say the first commercial flight as the one I saw had no pax) The first flight was notable for the cyclist happily pedaling down the taxiway oblivious of the Antonov on short finals. When he looked up there was an obvious wobble followed by a sharp exit off the taxiway. A quick bit of risk analysis by our cyclist; a certain mincing by the props or just a chance of a landmine off the concrete.
Luckily no-one was hurt and now that the airport is being used runway access is more controlled. However, it does illustrate how different things are compared to what most PPruners are used to. Along with everyone else I wish them every luck for the future. The country needs some good news.
As far as the working 727 goes, again all credit to them. The bit of taxiway available has good tarmac for 1,000m followed by a small crater which the Antonov sidestepped around (remember this is on a taxiway so not alot of width!) before reaching the other 600m prior to the turn. To get a 727 onto that when the airfield is 5,870ft up seems pretty good to me. I'm not sure how legal it all is but I expect that's the least of their problems.
[ 18 December 2001: Message edited by: Blakey ]