Tag Archives: Cape Town International
Two Turkish Airforce Airbus A400Ms Land at Cape Town International Airport
UPDATE: The Turkish Airforce made four appearances delivering medical supplies to Cape Town International in a matter of days!
A pair of Turkish Airforce Airbus A400M landed this afternoon at Cape Town International Airport South Africa.This isn’t the first time a Airbus A400M has landed in the Mother city, previous years have seen both Royal Airforce A400Ms as well as the German Airforce.
The A400Ms of the Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) arrived at Cape Town International Airport this afternoon 30 April 2020 bringing in donated medical supplies for the war against Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.
“This is a gesture of the Turkish government to South Africa. The consignment has been prepared upon the instruction of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” Turkish Ambassador Elif Comoglu Ulgen had said.
She said the consignment comprises medical equipment and personal protection gear including surgical masks, medical-grade N95 masks, and protective suits ect.
The Airbus A400M Atlas is a European four-engine military turboprop cargo aircraft . It was designed by Airbus Military (now Airbus Defence and Space ) as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities to replace older transport aircraft, such as the Transall C-160 and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
Swiss Air Ambulance Challager 650 Lands at Cape Town International Airport
A lone Swiss Air Ambulance Challager 650 landed at Cape Town International Airport yesterday. The reason is not yet known but some sources indicating a possible medical evacuation of a Swiss National with possible COVID-19 symptoms!
Swiss Air-Rescue is a private, non-profit air rescue service that provides emergency medical assistance in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Rega was established on 27 April 1952 by Dr Rudolf Bucher, who believed the Swiss rescue organization needed a specialized air sub-secti.
The Challenger 650 is the updated version of the Challenger 605. The Challenger 650 features 2 additional executive seats to accommodate up to 12 passengers, upgraded engines offering a higher thrust rate to reduce takeoff field length, and larger appliances in the galley to assist with faster meal preparation.
Hundreds of Swiss travellers remain blocked abroad due to Covid-19 restrictions and cancelled flights. Travel operators and the foreign ministry are working to find ways to get them home.
“We still have several hundred clients abroad who want to get back to Switzerland. We’re doing our best to find flights for them,” Bianca Gähweiler of Hotelplan Suisse told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Wednesday.
The travel agent is scrambling to find solutions for clients in locations such as Morocco, South Africa, and Ukraine, where travel bans are in place for people from Switzerland.
The foreign ministry, meanwhile, has called on Swiss travelling abroad to try to return as soon as possible due to the pandemic, but has reiterated that the costs of flights and other expenses must be borne by individuals. There is no legal basis for an organised repatriation.
SAA A350
SAA A350’s soon to be seen at OR Thambo International as well as Cape Town International!
In August 2014 Airbus sent their newly built A350-900, F-WWYB, to Johannesburg for some testing. She arrived on Friday evening 2 August 2014 (A350 XWB Route proving Tour Trip 3 from TLS to JHB with flight number AIB301 which took 9h35mins) and departed on Monday morning 4 August 2014 (A350 XWB Route proving Tour Trip 3 form JHB to SYD with flight number AIB303 which took 21h1min). During her visit here, high altitude auto landing trials (with flight number AIB302 which took 3h14mins) were performed on RWY 03L and 03R on Saturday 3 August 2014. There was huge excitement among plane spotters and the aviation community in general as everyone could picture and A350 in an SAA (South African Airways) livery.
The reality at that stage was that we would not see any A350 in SAA livery any time soon. That all changed a few months back when there were rumours that SAA might be leasing two. Again the excitement picked up and when the news broke during early July 2019, the wait for their arrival could not be soon enough.
So why did why did SAA opt for the two A350’s? SAA want to replace its 4-engine operated aircraft with 2-engine operated new technology aircraft. The A350s are such 2-engine new technology aircraft, capable of flying the Ultra-long New York route. The lease is for 3 years and when we asked SAA if we can expect more than two A350’s, we were told that “This is a possibility we cannot rule out”.
All this is good news and you may be asking yourself: when will they arrive? Where will I be able to spot/see or maybe even fly the SAA A350? We will be able to see them arrive during October 2019 and are likely to be seen at OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport and if you are to fly domestic, you may end up in an A350 while in the beginning of their operations when the A350’s are being introduced into service.
Now all the technical stuff:
Registration: ZS-SDC
Serial number: 226
Aircraft Type: A350-941
Engine Type: 2 x RR Trent XWB-84
Test Registration: F-WZFG
Production Site: Toulouse, France (TLS)
Age of Aircraft: 1 y 1 m (Jul 2018)
Current registration: B-304Z
Currently with: Hainan Airlines
Will be leased from: Avolon Aerospace
Registration: ZS-SDD
Serial number: 245
Aircraft Type: A350-941
Engine Type: 2 x RR Trent XWB-84
Test Registration: F-WZNX
Production Site: Toulouse, France (TLS)
Age of Aircraft: 0 y 11 m (Oct 2018)
Current registration: B-305A
Currently with: Hainan Airlines
Will be leased from: Avolon Aerospace
Dimensions:
Overall length: 66.80m
Cabin length: 51.04m
Fuselage width: 5.96m
Max cabin width: 5.61m
Wing span (geometric): 64.75m
Height: 17.05m
Track: 10.60m
Wheelbase: 28.66m
Capacity:
Typical seating 3-class: 300-350
Cargo capacity underfloor (LD3): 36
Max pallet number underfloor: 11
Performance:
Range: 15 000km
Mmo: M0.89
Max ramp weight: 280.90 tonnes
Max take-off weight: 280.00 tonnes
Max landing weight: 207.00 tonnes
Max zero fuel weight: 195.70 tonnes
Max fuel capacity: 141 000 litres
Take-off (MTOW, SL, ISA): 2 600 m (8 500 ft.)
Landing (MLW, SL, ISA): 2 000 m (6 600 ft.)
Service ceiling: 13 100 m (43 100 ft.)
First flight: 14 June 2013
Introduction: 15 January 2015 with Qatar Airways
We cannot wait for their arrival and spotting them at either OR Tambo International Airport or Cape Town International Airport!