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Old 23rd Jul 2007, 01:38
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BelArgUSA
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: AEP
Age: 80
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Erçan airspace...

I was based in Erçan in the late 1970s for a few months, as a B-720 captain on ACMI with KTHY... was a nice little operation, with short flights, to Istanbul, Ankara, and Adana. Of course, we were not "recognized" by Athens ACC nor Nicosia. Erçan claimed its airspace, but not recognized by ICAO.
xxx
Thereafter, I flew that aispace often, on flights between Europe and the Middle-East, and I knew well, what to do when leaving the Turkish airspace, heading for Syrian or Lebanese FIRs... essentially you had to communicate on 2 VHF radios, and report to both Nicosia and Erçan, and not to mention "the other" to be politically correct. Back then, if I remember correctly, Erçan was on 126.7 as frequency.
xxx
I think the only very minor incident I ever had, was as to the proper transponder code requested. Nicosia might tell you 1234, and Erçan requested 2345. And obviously, you did not request a flight level change in that contested airspace, to avoid any conflicts.
xxx
I never had problems with them, as I knew "better" thanks to my brief career operating for KTHY... but I heard many airplanes getting confused as to proper frequencies and who to report to. The problem was essentially the lack of clarity on the enroute charts, as to "whose airspace" and "which frequencies" to communicate. Since Erçan ACC was not recognized by ICAO, Jeppesen chart were long to publish a certain frequency to use to keep them and Nicosia happy.
xxx
Just a personal word here, when I was based there, we were in a small but nice hotel in "Gyrne" (Kyrenia) on the North coast of Cyprus, devoid then of any tourists. It was a little paradise, great food, and the local population, both ethnic Turks or Greeks were very nice to us. The only inconvenience or regret is that we could not pass the "border" to visit the "other side".
xxx
Even found my PA notes in Turkish for KTHY, phonetically, it was "Sayin yolyularemoz, kaptan (my name) veh ekibi utsagameza hosh geldiniz. Kabin ekibi, luften otorun. Kalkusha haziriz. Means "hello, I am captain xxx and my crew welcome you aboard, cabin crew please be seated, we will takeoff shorthly...
xxx

Happy contrails
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