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Aviation History
1973
1973 - 0075.PDF
FLIGHT International, II January 1973 47 AIR TRANSPORT SKYTRAIN NEARER FINAL British Government clearance has been obtained by Laker Airways to begin its low-cost, walk-on/walk-off Skytrain service between Stansted, London and New York. The airline's application to the US Civil Aeronautics Board had still to be submitted, however, as we went to press. The CAB has not yet designated Laker for the service and before this is done (following consultation with the British Civil Aviation Authority) the airline cannot make its appli cation, which is ready and waiting. Laker was expecting designation at the same time as CAA approval, but still hopes to see a CAB hearing started by the end of January and to have gained approval by the end of February. Laker expects to face opposition from British Caledonian and probably three US airlines. The Department of Trade and Industry has dismissed the British Caledonian appeal against the CAA decision in favour of the service, which is planned JB have a £32-50 one-way winter fare and one of £37-50 in "the summer. The BCAL objection was based on a claimed diversion of traffic from its scheduled services between Gatwick and New York this summer. It was made in the light of CAA policy guidance that BCAL should be given preference when the question came up of licensing additional British carriers on existing scheduled-service routes.- Laker's original proposal was for its Skytrain service to fly from Gatwick, but the CAA decided upon Stansted after the initial hearing. The principal reason given by the Department of Trade, and Industry for upholding the CAA decision is that "the Secretary of State accepts the judgment of the authority that a demand exists for the Skytrain type of service which is unserved in any other way; and that, taken together with the restrictions which the authority proposes to place on the Skytrain service, in particular the capacity limita tion and operation out of Stansted, this demand will be sufficient to minimise the risk of diversion from BCAL's scheduled services and avoid any significant threat to the viability of BCAL as a North Atlantic scheduled operator." Laker's financial resources are regarded by the DTI as such that there is "a reasonable prospect that the services would prove viable." SANCTIONS DEMANDED A CALL to the British Government to press for the strengthening of the anti-hijacking measures, which the Legal Committee of Icao was due to consider in Montreal on January 9, has been made by the British Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. The object is to penalise coun tries whose airport security is poor or non-existent. Captain Ron Gillman, the master of the guild, said the organisation had written to Mr Michael Heseltine, Minister for Aerospace, asking the Government to put forward a proposal at Montreal, within the framework of the new convention on hijacking, to extend the concept of a threat to the safety of civil aviation to cover "gross neglect by a state in whose territory a hijacker with arms is allowed to embark." This, if accepted, would mean that offending states would be liable to suffer the same sanctions which Icao decided should be inflicted on those countries found guilty of harbouring hijackers. The guild considers that countries are now prepared to contemplate the imposition of punitive measures on any state that fails to take proper action when a hijacked air craft or hijacker arrives in or is found in its territory. The guild also notes that in the recommendations of the legal sub-committee the offence which could result in measures being taken against a state is a breach of the principles of the Chicago Convention—"having contributed in any way to a threat to the safety of civil aviation"— and not failure to comply with the terms of the Tokyo or Hague Conventions. • Nobody with a criminal record will be employed by SAS from now on because of the growing number of bomb threats and hijacking. SAS would also like to see stricter security checks at airports, and the airline has proposed the organisation of specially trained police units to be stationed at each airport within its Scandinavian network. The airline has so far experienced only one hijacking, but has had 23 bomb threats directed against it during the past four years. • Cuba has not yet responded to the anti-hijacking pro posal put forward by the United States last November (see Flight for November 30). These proposals followed the hijacking of a Southern Airways DC-9 to Havana on November 12. Commenting on reports that the negotiations had run into difficulties, a State Department spokesman said in Washington recently: "I would be very cautious about drawing judgments one way or another." Southern Airways says it has received assurances from the Cuban Government that a reported $2 million ransom, taken by three hijackers aboard the DC-9, is being returned. RUSSIAN HIJACK PENALTIES HIJACKING has been recognised as a specific crime under Soviet Union law, and legislation announced last week also provides for the possibility of an aircraft being hijacked abroad and landing on Russian territory. The penalty for hijacking is now from three to ten years in prison, with 15 years plus confiscation of property if a threat of violence is used. If death or serious bodily harm results from a hijack attempt the death penalty, with confiscation of property, will apply. Until now, attempted hijacking of Soviet aircraft has been considered essentially as an act of treason—attempting to leave the country illegally. There have been two successful hijacks of Russian air craft, both in October 1970. In the first incident two students forced the pilot of a light aircraft to fly to Turkey, but they later returned home to face a total of 23 years in a labour camp, according to Reuter. In the second hijacking a Lithuanian and his son forced an Aero- flot aircraft to Turkey. A hostess was killed and the co-pilot injured. The hijackers are believed still to be awaiting trial in Turkey. SSTs to Narita The Japanese Ministry of Transport appears to have reversed an earlier decision and will now allow SSTs to fly from the new Narita airport at Tokyo, provided that they are no noisier than current aircraft. BA§ appointment Mr John H. Cox has been appointed acting managing director of Airways Engineering, which provides maintenance facilities for the two British Air Services companies, Cambrian and Northeast. Linjeflyg, the Swedish domestic carrier, is disposing of its Convair Metropolitans. Three or four of the aircraft will be put up for sale when the airline receives the first of three Fokker F.28s early in June. Finnair is still flying Convairs on some domestic routes, particularly where air fields are unsuitable for Caravelles and DC-9s. Concorde honours Five ^members of the Concorde team at the BAC Commercial Aircraft Division have been named in the British New Year honours list. They are: technical director Dr W. J. Strang, CBE; C. R. Holland, assistant flight-test manager, MBE; B. G. Watts, senior flight engineer, Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air; J. Street, foreman, BEM; and V. O. Webber, skilled fitter, BEM.
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