Akasa Air announced "QP" as its airline code

Akasa Air, which is planning to start its commercial flight operations in July, on Tuesday, May 17 announced its airline code - "QP".

ALSO READ - Flight operations of Akasa Air pushed to July

Every airline in the world has a designator code. For example, IndiGo's code is "6E", Go First's is "G8" and Air India's is "AI".

Akasa Air announced "QP" as its airline code

IATA airline designators, sometimes called IATA reservation codes, are two-character codes assigned by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to the world's airlines.

The standard is described in IATA's Standard Schedules Information Manual and the codes themselves are described in IATA's Airline Coding Directory.

The IATA codes were originally based on the ICAO designators which were issued in 1947 as two-letter airline identification codes (see the section below).

Akasa Air is backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation veterans Vinay Dube and Aditya Ghosh

IATA expanded the two-character system with codes consisting of a letter and a digit (or vice versa) e.g. EasyJet's U2 after ICAO had introduced its current three-letter-system in 1982. Until then only combinations of letters were used.

Akasa Air said on Twitter, "Quite Proud to announce our airline code - QP!"

ALOS READ – Jhunjhunwala’s Akasa has received NOC, find out what will happen next

The airline, which is backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation veterans Vinay Dube and Aditya Ghosh, received the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in August 2021 to launch commercial flight operations.

https://twitter.com/AkasaAir/status/1526490271953076224

ALSO READ – Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s Akasa Air signs deal for 72 Boeing 737 Max planes

With the Directorate General of Civil Aviation giving the green light to Boeing 737 Max aircraft in late August 2021, Akasa Air signed a deal with Boeing on November 26, 2021, to purchase 72 Max planes.

India's aviation sector has been growing quickly, with more and more people opting for air travel. The traffic on airlines has almost reached pre-pandemic levels due to a drop in COVID-19 cases.

Aviation consultancy firm CAPA said in November 2021 that the disruption in the Indian aviation sector due to Akasa Air will possibly be felt from 2024-25 onwards "once it has the scale and achieves a competitive cost base".

The Biden administration will no longer enforce a US mask mandate on public transportation, after a federal judge in Florida on Monday, April 18 ruled that the 14-month-old directive was unlawful, overturning a key White House effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Soon after the announcement, all major carriers including American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, as well as national train line Amtrak relaxed the restrictions effective immediately.

Last week, U.S. health officials had extended the mandate to May 3 requiring travellers to wear masks on airplanes, trains, and in taxis, ride-share vehicles or transit hubs, saying they needed time to assess the impact of a recent rise in COVID-19 cases caused by the airborne coronavirus.

The majority of major US airlines drop mask mandate after court ruling

Industry groups and Republican lawmakers baulked and wanted the administration to end the 14-month-old mask mandate permanently.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, an appointee of President Donald Trump, came in a lawsuit filed last year in Tampa, Florida, by a group called the Health Freedom Defense Fund. It follows a string of rulings against Biden administration directives to fight the infectious disease that has killed nearly one million Americans, including vaccine or test mandates for employers.

Judge Mizelle said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had exceeded its authority with the mandate, had not sought public comment and did not adequately explain its decisions.

A U.S. administration official said while the agencies were assessing potential next steps, the court's decision meant CDC's public transportation masking order was no longer in effect. The administration could still opt to appeal the order or seek an emergency delay in the order's enforcement.

"Therefore, TSA will not enforce its Security Directives and Emergency Amendment requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs at this time," the official said in a statement. "CDC recommends that people continue to wear masks in indoor public transportation settings."

The Transportation Security Administration said it will rescind the new Security Directives that were scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, April 19.

The ruling comes as COVID-19 infections rise again in the United States, with 36,251 new infections reported on average each day, and 460 daily deaths, based on a seven-day average - the highest number of reported total COVID-19 deaths in the world.

United Airlines, American, Delta, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines said masks are now optional on their planes.

The White House called the ruling "disappointing." The CDC first issued a public health order requiring masks in interstate transportation in February 2021. The TSA issued a security directive to enforce the CDC order.

United Airlines, American, Delta, Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), JetBlue (JBLU.O) and Alaska Airlines (ALK.N) said masks are now optional on their planes.

"We are relieved to see the U.S. mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel as COVID-19 has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus," Delta said. The World Health Organization warned against comparing the virus to an endemic illness like the flu earlier this year, noting it is evolving too quickly.

The move could impact travel demand, which has roared back after a blip caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant. U.S. passenger traffic has been averaging about 89% of the pre-pandemic levels since mid-February, according to TSA data.

With the COVID-19 case count rising again, lifting the mandate could make some passengers wary while prompting others to fly again.

Only 36% of Americans think it's time for people to stop using masks and quarantines so that life can get back to normal after COVID-19, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted between January 31 and February 7.

Only 36% of Americans think it's time for people to stop using masks and quarantines so that life can get back to normal after COVID-19

However, while a mere 16% of Democrats hold this view, a whopping 60% of Republicans do, according to the poll. Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian last week acknowledged the risk but said the airline still expected its flights to be full.

"It's a question of individual accountability, personal accountability, making your own decisions rather than the government making decisions for people as to how to stay well," Bastian told Reuters in an interview.

On Monday, April 18 Delta asked its employees to show "understanding and patience" as the unexpected nature of the announcement could result in "inconsistent" enforcement.

Thousands of passengers have been put on "no-fly" lists for refusing to comply with masking requirements.

Since January 2021, there have been a record 7,060 unruly passenger incidents reported, 70% involving masking rules, according to the FAA. Thousands of passengers have been put on "no-fly" lists for refusing to comply with masking requirements.

Alaska said some passengers will remain banned, even after the mask policy is rescinded.

Masks continue to be mandatory for airports and flights in India

As people in India seem to be ditching the mask these days, a statement comes from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regarding mask mandates at airports. Arun Kumar, Director General of Civil Aviation said that it is still recommended to wear a mask during air travel in India.

People may not be wearing masks in the cities of Delhi and Mumbai, but it is still important to carry masks when at airports and taking flights in the country.

Masks continue to be mandatory for airports and flights in India

In March 2021, the DGCA had said that passengers who refuse to wear masks on flights, will be deboarded, and considered unruly. This rule continues to apply, so if you are travelling, it is best to wear masks, use sanitiser, and continue to practise social distancing. COVID appropriate behaviour is still the order of the day.

Maharashtra has however lifted the mask mandate in the state, so people are not required to wear it in the public. There has been a gradual decrease in active cases and deaths from COVID 19.

So, you do not have to wear masks at weddings, gyms, hotels, and buses in the state. Delhi too has decided not to penalise people who are not wearing masks in the public. However, that is not the case for airports in Delhi and Mumbai, or anywhere else in the country.

A Go First plane, which was scheduled to go to Delhi, has been halted in Srinagar and is being searched following a telephone call warning about a bomb inside the aircraft, officials said.

The plane is being searched thoroughly. Nothing has been found yet, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said.

The Go First flight, which was scheduled to return to Delhi, was stopped at the Srinagar airport after a manager of another private airline got the call about a bomb on the plane, the officials said.

Go First aircraft halted in Srinagar after hoax bomb call

They said the call has been traced to Delhi and the number is switched off since then. Police are investigating the matter, Kumar said adding that airport operations are going on smoothly.

In June 2021, a SpiceJet flight SG 8721 scheduled to operate from Delhi to Patna was delayed when a passenger, after boarding the aircraft, inquired about the safety of the aircraft including the possibility of a bomb, the aircraft.  

The said passenger repeatedly told the crew that he had an intuition that there was a bomb on board the aircraft. The crew informed the Captain and the aircraft was moved to a remote bay. All passengers were de-boarded and baggage screened again.

The said passenger and the one accompanying him were handed over to CISF and Delhi Police for further investigation and the flight departed.

Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a scheduled flight from New York JFK to Miami. The flight was routine until the plane began its approach to Miami International Airport. Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972, the Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar crashed into the Florida Everglades, causing 101 fatalities-only 75 survived.

Eastern Airline Lockheed L-1011 Tristar | Representative | Wikipedia

According to the final investigation report released by the NTSB, "the failure of the flight crew to monitor the flight instruments during the final four minutes of flight, and to detect an unexpected descent soon enough to prevent impact with the ground" was determined to be the probable cause of the crash.

Reportedly, during the turn of events, the flight crew failed to recognize the deactivation of the autopilot. Following a missed approach, because of a suspected nose gear malfunction, the aircraft climbed to 2,000ft MSL and proceeded on a westerly heading.

After the aircraft had descended 250 feet from the selected altitude of 2,000 feet, a C-chord sounded from the rear speaker. This altitude alert, designed to warn the pilots of an inadvertent deviation from the selected altitude, went unnoticed by the crew.

Mysteriesunsolved.com

Flying over the darkened terrain of the Everglades, coupled with night-time flying conditions, made it impossible for the crew to realize the Tristar was actually descending.

Following this and many other accidents in the 1970s, many airlines started crew resource management training (CRM) for their pilots.

Cognitive Lockup

Cognitive skills are defined as brain-based skills needed in the acquisition of knowledge, manipulation of information and reasoning.

Representative | 2SER

The relation between planning and acting is key for cognitive science, as well as an important aspect of human-computer interaction. Cognitive psychology establishes the fact that sequences of actions are organised hierarchically by a mental planning process.

How does this play a role in aviation?

Human errors are an inevitable part of the action, something which we all are susceptible to. They become more significant when it occurs in high-performance environments like aviation, where the stakes are even higher. Thereby, it becomes crucial to understand why human errors in aviation are made andhow they can be mitigated.

Human Errors and Human Differences in Aviation | Representative | dentalimplantsurgery.com

Definition

"Cognitive Lockup", as defined by Moray and Rotenberg(1989), refers to the tendency of operators to deal with disturbances sequentially (regardless of the severity). In other words, you could be holding on to a specific task when other, more severe issues, could be attended to first. The crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, is a prime example of this.

What do the statistics say?

According to figures, 48% of fatal accidents and onboard fatalities, between 1959 and 2016 (Boeing, 2017), occurred during the final approach and landing.

Approximately 65% of all accidents take place during critical phase(s) of flight- take-off/landing | Representative | 123RF

IATA publication data from 2011-2015 shows that approximately 65% of all recorded accidents occurred in the approach and landing phase of the flight, and unstabilised approaches were identified as a factor in 14% of these approach and landing accidents.

Representative | ISASI.org

Representative | ISASI.org

Probable causes of cognitive lockup

According to Goleman (1995), when the brain receives information, stimulus travels totwo places in the brain from the thalamus: the amygdala and the neocortex. The neocortex represents the thinking part of the brain, while the amygdala processes physiological responses and fight orflight information.

Representative | District 105

If the emotional brain does not like what it is seeing, it will declare an emotional emergency, an amygdala hijack. Most individuals can only be effective when both the emotional and thinking brain work together.Goleman, 1998

Representative | Supari.In

When people switch between tasks, the mental reconfiguration to another task takes time- also called the "switching cost". Cognitive lockup is reduced when it is obvious that the benefits of a switch exceed the switching cost. This goes to show that the decision to switch or not to switch may be influenced by a misperception of the expected benefits.

Furthermore, if an individual feels that the ongoing task is almost complete, they are more likely to stick to the ongoing task even if the new task is comparatively more significant.

Typically, there are two types of pressure on pilots:

Time pressureTask pressure

Time pressure, being a function of the number of tasks to be performed in a given period, becomes high when there is a perception that time might be scarce.

People experience time pressure when 70% or more of the available time is required for the taskBeevis 1999

The primary task of pilots is getting the passengers from point A to point B. Understandably, they are focused more on completing the task within the stipulated time frame and additional manoeuvres like a go-around or a diversion, although critical from a safety standpoint, may sometimes be overlooked by the crew- Task pressure being a case in point.

Representative | The Independent

People have the tendency to stick to their current task when 90% or more of their total stages of a task have been completedBoehne and Pease, 2000; Garland and Colon, 1993

Thereby, it can be safely said that there is an interaction effect between task completion and time pressure on cognitive lockup.

How does this translate to aviation?

The effects of cognitive lockup are more profound when a pilot approaches the destination. The pilot by now has effectively invested a lot of time in almost completing the task of reaching the destination. In such instances, the pilot might continue with landing, despite, let's say-encountering an unstable approach on landing. Performing a go-around could be perceived in a negative light and hence the pilot might stick to the first task- landing on time at the destination.

An aircraft on final approach | Representative | Wikipedia

Cognitive lockout is the primary reason for the reluctance to go around.

Possible solution(s)

Appropriate training can have a profound effect on reducing cognitive lockup by increasing the practice of "task switching", as compared to other tasks.

Representative | TU Delta- TU Delft

Additionally, the following could be implemented:

Decision support tools:  Tools that assist pilots in recognising the relative priorities of tasks, thereby reducing the likelihood of cognitive lockupSimulator training: Pilots could be trained in scenarios where new, more urgent, tasks arise when dealing with an existing task and could reinforce awareness of the need to continuously assess and prioritise tasks.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Pinterest

Air India has cancelled flights to Hong Kong between April 18-April 23, 2022, due to restrictions imposed by the Hong Kong authorities and limited demand in the sector, as per an update shared by the airline on Twitter.

Earlier, Hong Kong had banned Air India services till April 24 after three passengers on one of its flights tested positive for COVID-19 post-arrival on Saturday, April 16 a senior government official had said.

Passengers from India can arrive in Hong Kong only if they have a COVID-19 negative certificate from a test done 48 hours before the journey, according to rules issued by the Hong Kong government, said the official on Sunday, April 17.

https://twitter.com/airindiain/status/1515757075938541570

“The three passengers on Air India’s AI316 Delhi-Kolkata-Hong Kong flight on April 16 tested positive for COVID-19 post-arrival,” the official said.

All international passengers are required to take a post-flight COVID-19 test at the airport premises in Hong Kong. Air India flights from New Delhi and Kolkata have been banned till April 24 by the Hong Kong government, the official added.

“A lady passenger who was negative before departure had tested positive for Covid-19 after arrival. As a result of which the lady’s husband and a fellow passenger were immediately quarantined,” another airline official said, declining to be named.

Air India cancels flights to Hong Kong amid Covid spike

“Apart from Air India, one flight each of All Nippon Airways, Turkish Airlines, Japan Airlines, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines have been restricted to fly to Hong Kong for a week,” the second official said. “Cathay Pacific’s two flights have been restricted.”

ALSO READ - Hong Kong suspends flights to and from India among 7 more countries

It is not the first time airline firms are facing such an issue. In January, Hong Kong had announced a two-week ban on incoming flights from eight countries due to the surge in the Omicron, which included India.

ALSO READ - India to restart scheduled international flights after 2 years from March 27

Regular international flights resumed in India on March 27 after a two years hiatus induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has laid down roles and responsibilities for airlines as part of its surveillance programme to strengthen flight safety, and warned of strict actions in case of non-compliance, people familiar with the development said.

The aviation regulator has also asked the airlines to take immediate and strict action in case an issue is pointed out to them.

“Flight safety is a serious business and it requires a systematic approach towards safety management. It has to be collaborative and correctional. The organised response lays down roles and responsibilities of all concerned, which, if not discharged appropriately entails enforcement actions.A robust safety management system is a sine qua non (essential condition) for every entity working in aviation. It identifies key safety priorities, indicators and risks and their resolution through appropriate mitigation measures."Arun Kumar, Director General, DGCA

The direction comes as the DGCA has made a detailed surveillance programme focusing on passengers’ safety. Organisations such as scheduled airlines, non-scheduled operators, aircraft maintenance firms, design and manufacturing organisations, flying training institutes, and maintenance training institutes have been included in the programme.

Explaining the procedure, the aviation regulator said any significant non-compliance of safety standards — which lowers the safety standard and affects seriously the flight safety — identified during surveillance should be addressed immediately and intimated to the DGCA.

DGCA lays down roles and responsibilities to improve flight safety

Once intimated, the DGCA office will then verify compliance action to ensure that the safety hazard has been resolved.

However, in some cases, such resolutions may take time. “In such cases, DGCA office may allow the resolution of the level 1 finding for a period not exceeding seven days provided that the immediate safety risk has been adequately mitigated,” a DGCA circular, dated April 15, read.

DGCA said that findings related to non-compliance that could lower the safety standard and possibly hazard the flight safety must be resolved within a short time not exceeding 30 days after a review of the submitted targeted corrective action plan.

“The observations shall be intimated to the approved organisations in the form of Deficiency Reporting Forms (DRF), which has been standardised,” the circular stated.

Arun Kumar, Director General, DGCA

Kumar said, “Continuous monitoring of risk mitigation measures to ensure that they remain relevant is incumbent on all concerned.”

The DGCA has asked all organisations to take prompt action of resolving the non-conformities brought out during the surveillance inspection, spot checks or safety audits conducted by them. It also said that the organisation will define a corrective action plan and demonstrate corrective action to the satisfaction of the DGCA within a period depending upon the level of the finding.

“Where no reasonable and justified reasons are assigned for non-implementation of the corrective action plan within the time frame... necessary enforcement action will be initiated against the organisation or the person responsible for non-compliance as the case may be,” the circular added.