In January, I wrote a column about the great strides that have been made and are being made constantly in the global effort to keep air travel safe. This week, in the wake of the devastating crashes of a Bangladeshi airline at Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport and a private flight from Sharjah to Istanbul, readers may want to know more about the risk factors at play when they fly, and the nature of the current challenges in the system.
Kathmandu is an airport I've flown in and out of several times and would describe as "challenging" due to its geography and lack of development in infrastructure. Because even experienced pilots need special training to land there, and its long incident list, I make a point of only using one of the world's safest airlines, such as Etihad, to fly in and out of Nepal. Yet once there, travellers often have no such choice. I've flown on two of the four Nepali airlines ranked at the bottom of the global airline safety rankings – Buddha Air and Yeti Air.
Given the number of flights operating on a daily basis and the still very low ratio of passenger numbers to fatalities, it’s still clear that the International Civil Aviation Organization’s “No Country Left Behind” initiative is very successful in ensuring that countries are able to cut across borders, economic levels, political divides and priorities to work towards improvements.
Yet in my previous piece I ended with a note of caution: “One of the biggest ongoing challenges is the growing complexity of technology and the interaction between that and the people using it. The global airline industry is held together by the remarkable hard work of thousands of individuals, day in day out. It’s now not just about “no country left behind” but “no people left behind.”’
People are the glue that keeps the industry together – the pilots, cabin crew, air traffic controllers, technicians, ground handling staff, regulators, auditors, and the thousands of other job roles out there. Aviation can be compared to a complex mechanical watch with all parts needing to work in perfect harmony – which it does pretty well for most of the time.
But there are challenges that every region or country faces and will need to address. According to aviation experts, the utilization of manpower is critical. Long flights, shorter turnaround ground times for crew, a growing number of flights and passengers puts more stress on ground staff. There is a shrinking talent pool, meaning that many regions and countries increasingly face growing shortages of key personnel. Training, initial and recurrent, in increasingly complex systems, quicker reaction times, and tight operational schedules mean training does not get its due importance (especially for ground-related non-technical jobs).
Then there's the issue of technology and processes. With the mish-mash of systems and technologies of varying ages that still form the backbone of the industry, one weak link can lead to a knock-on effect. While creating significant efficiencies, some experts worry that technology is reducing human-to-human communication, sometimes with detrimental effect. While the cause of US-Bangla Airlines crash is still not certain, there has been much discussion of apparent uncertainty over on which runway the airliner was trying to land on, and from which direction.
There had also apparently been a storm in the area shortly before the aircraft landing, which had produced clouds and possibly reduced visibility. Changing weather patterns and how to deal with them are also a current air safety concern, both on the ground and in the air. The lack of adequate infrastructure across the world is also significant factor in heightening safety related issues.
Finally, some air safety experts worry that the industry is not focusing enough on future job roles, requirements and competencies that may be the order of the day, and many have found that while jobs evolve, people have been left behind.
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Read more:
Air safety in 2018: should we be concerned about flying?
New rules are essential to prevent further air disasters
Nepal probes deadly air crash after runway confusion
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The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
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ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
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Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
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BANGLADESH SQUAD
Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vice captain), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
Business Insights
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
