Construction work has begun on 11 buildings designed by UK-based architects TPS for Muscat International Airport, with the air traffic control (ATC) tower expected to be completed by April 2012.

Standing at just under 100m in height, the control tower will be the tallest-occupied building in Oman when it is finished early next year. The remaining ten buildings, which include an air transport management complex, a contingency and training centre and fire and sea rescue buildings, will be completed by October 2012.

Hanif Macci, the Dubai-based regional director for TPS, told Muscat Daily that the company's designs are 'off the drawing board' with all the buildings currently under construction. "The works are progressing. TPS is undertaking the detailed design work. The construction of the air traffic control tower, contingency and training centre and air transportation management complex is all progressing and the structural work is being done.

"We envision that the tower will be completed around April 2012. Completion of all the facilities is scheduled for around October 2012." Macci added that a key challenge has been meeting a strict series of requirements on a very tight schedule. "The main challenge for us is delivering the design to a very tight programme, going through various approval processes. We have met all the technical challenges."

The tower, which will require a series of dampers in order to minimise the effect of wind, will provide the essential air traffic control services and has been designed to satisfy all operational and regulatory requirements.

Working with Oman-based construction company Carillion Alawi, TPS and its sub-consultants are overseeing their design being implemented during the construction process which will include the installation of 'tuned mass dampers' to allow the air traffic controllers to work normally at that height.

The contingency and training centre will house classrooms, meeting rooms, simulators and a 100-seat auditorium, with the air transportation management complex consisting of gyms, laboratories, workshops, an area to watch air traffic controllers and a studio to broadcast weather forecasts.

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PILOTS of Glasgow-bound planes have been targeted by Kilmarnock yobs shining green laser pens at their aircraft.

There have been at least four incidents over the last few weeks and police believe they have pinpointed the source of the ‘dazzling’ to the Shortlees area.
In each case the pilots immediately reported the dangerous practice to ATC Air Traffic Control..
Fortunately there have been no serious outcomes so far, but ATC air traffic control has passed on the details to police in Kilmarnock, who are now investigating all of the incidents.
Inspector Gordon Bruce confirmed this week they are also launching a public awareness programme specifically targeting local schools.
Said Inspector Bruce: “We are taking this matter very seriously and will be sending community officers into local schools, both primary and secondary, to point out the horrific consequence such behaviour could have.”
At Glasgow Airport, a spokesman said: “We have been in touch with police in Kilmarnock after complaints from several pilots of laser lights being aimed at them as they flew over Kilmarnock on their approach to the airport.

“We welcome the police involvement in this as it is potentially putting a lot of people at risk.”

A spokesman for the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) told the Standard on Tuesday that ‘dazzling’ was an increasing problem, with green laser pens – up to 50 times more powerful than their red counterparts – easily available via the internet.
He added: “There were 93 ‘laser’ incidents reported at Glasgow Airport in 2010, the second highest total in the UK. Only Birmingham reported more similar incidents.”

He said that a new law, making shining the pens at aircraft etc. a criminal offence, had been introduced last year.
But the number of ‘dazzling’ incidents continues to rise and is expected to double in 2011.
“There is no doubt this is a big problem,” said the CAA spokesman.
“We would appeal to residents in your area who witness this practice to get in touch with police immediately.”
Green laser pens or ‘pointers’ are far more distinctive than red ones when used in the sky.
Unlike a red laser, the green beam itself is so bright that it can be seen mid-air during dark conditions, and can be tracked from much greater distance, making it easier to pinpoint the source.

“We believe the instances reported to us could involve laser pens being used in or near Shortlees,” said Inspector Bruce.
“We obviously back the CAA’s call for support from members of the public in identifying those responsible.”

The success or failure of a mission rests on the shoulders of many Airmen, and when it comes to flying missions, there is no room for error.

ATC Air traffic controllers are the eyes and ears of the mission. They relay valuable information to pilots and ensure safe takeoffs, flights and landings.
"We provide air traffic control service within five miles of our tower to get the pilots in the air and then back on the ground safely," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Michael Merritt, 23rd Operations Support Squadron tower chief controller. "The pilots trust us, and we ensure they are taken care of while they're in the air.

"Operations have to stay fluid," he added. "It's never the same, it's always changing. You have to be able to think on your feet, adapt and overcome, and make the right decision."

ATC Air traffic controllers communicate with numerous other squadrons, such as weather, to get valuable information to pass on to pilots.

"Us doing our job helps pilots do theirs," Senior Airman Darnell Smith, 23rd OSS air traffic controller and trainer. "We contribute directly to the fight. While pilots are flying missions and dropping bombs, we make sure they have the important information they need."

Because of the important responsibilities they take on,  ATC air traffic controllers attend a challenging 72-day technical training course. Even after technical training, they go through long and extensive on-the-job training, which lasts up to a year.

"Training is the most difficult part of our job," said Staff Sgt. Bradley Davis, 23rd OSS air traffic controller. "It takes a lot of work to stay proficient, but I like the challenge."

Once at their first base, ATC air traffic controllers spend eight to 10 hours a day training until they are fully rated. The training involves book work and memorization, live training, and time training with the Tower Simulator System.

"I have a lot of pride and confidence in my trainers," said Merritt. "It is a challenging career field, and it has a high washout rate."

Airman 1st Class Glenn Strickland, another ATC air traffic controller, has 12 days of training left until being fully rated and said despite the challenges and training, he enjoys the job.

"I like the challenge," he said. "It never gets boring, and there are always different scenarios."

"So much training and time goes into being an ATC air traffic controller," he added. "It takes so much out of you every day and it can be stressful. Not everyone can handle it."

Air traffic controllers have many responsibilities and have to be ready for any scenario to communicate hazards to the pilots.

From their tower, ATC air traffic controllers keep a watchful eye on the runways and planes, making sure flying operations run smoothly.

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The international airport has released the latest images of its proposed new ATC air traffic control tower, which it claims will be the second tallest in the UK.

Nottingham-based architects CPMG has drawn up the plans for the facility, which will stand around 60 metres in height.

Manchester Airport said in a statement: "The building will not just be impressive from the outside. Inside it will house the latest ATC air traffic control technology, taking Manchester Airport into the premier league for flight information management. The electronic flight data system and the replacement radar display system will allow for Manchester to take advantage of the fast track process and give our business partners and passengers more accurate, up to date information."

A tender process for a construction contract is due to end around the middle of September, with the successful contractor expected to start on site at the end of November 2011.
Manchester Airport declined to reveal any further details, but said five contractors are shortlisted for the £16m contract.
The current air traffic control centre, located on top of the tower block, is 40 years old and is being reviewed as part of the renovating process.

National Air Traffic Services will manage the equipment and run the tower's 24-hour operation while Manchester Airport will own and maintain the building.

The new ATC air traffic control Tower is due to be completed in spring 2013.

Some airlines are "ripping off" travellers over refunds for the Air Passenger Duty (APD) airport departure tax, a consumer group has said. A number of carriers have withheld "tens of millions of pounds from their customers" in refunded APD when passengers have booked tickets but not flown, the Air Travel Advisory Bureau (ATAB) said.
The bureau has now joined forces with London law firm Barket Gillette LLP to fight on passengers' behalf.

ATAB chairman Tony White said: "It is a scandal that some airlines hang on to this money. It never belonged to them. It's a tax collected on the behalf of the Government.
"With a couple of exceptions, most of the UK airlines make it as difficult as possible to get your money back. If you don't actually fly, for whatever reason, you are entitled to get the APD refunded."

Mr White continued: "It is truly shocking (about what goes on). We've found some airlines that will charge an 'administration fee' greater than the value of the refund. This is a complete rip-off and it's our intention to put an end to it.
"If you have booked an airline ticket out of the UK anytime since 1994 (when APD was first introduced) and not flown, then we want to hear from you."

Barker Gillette LLP partner Steven Barker said: "Our primary aim will be to ensure that all claims are valid and properly made out. We hope and expect that airlines will co-operate with us in agreeing and refunding valid claims and that claimants need only seek the assistance of the courts in respect of legal issues that might not be agreed."
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Russian ATC traffic controllers gave incorrect and confusing landing instructions to pilots of a plane that crashed and killed Poland’s president and 95 other people, a Polish report said yesterday - a finding that could further strain ties between the countries.
But the report into the crash apportions most blame on Polish officials and procedures. Poland’s defense minister, Bogdan Klich, whose ministry oversaw the training of the crew of the 2010 flight, resigned yesterday.
The report challenges a Russian aviation commission report published in January that put sole blame for the disaster on Polish officials, striking Poles as an attempt to avoid any responsibility for the crash in heavy fog at a rudimentary airport near Smolensk , 220 miles southwest of Moscow. Since then, Poles have eagerly awaited their own experts’ report, hoping it would create a more balanced picture.The accident on April 10, 2010, killed dozens of senior officials along with the president and his wife.

As key causes of the crash it cites incorrect positioning of the Tupolev-154 during an attempted landing due to insufficient training of the pilots.
It also cites a lack of proper cooperation among the crew and an overly slow reaction to an automatic terrain warning system that warned pilots they were flying too low.
Incorrect information from the airport’s ATC traffic control tower on the plane’s position also prevented the crew from realizing they were making mistakes, it said.

A Denver ATC traffic controller has been relieved from duty after failing a routine, random FAA drug-and-alcohol test while six hours into his shift, which was scheduled for 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on July 5, the FAA said this week. The legal limit for ATC traffic controllers on duty is .02 (for drivers over age 21, the legal limit is .08); the FAA did not say how far above the limit the controller tested. The controller has been relieved from duty and is now in an alcohol rehabilitation facility. The FAA said it is investigating the incident. Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said in a statement that the incident was “deeply troubling.”

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ASTA today called upon the federal lawmakers to look elsewhere for money to close the budget deficit, saying that increasing aviation taxes would only serve to hurt the U.S. transportation industry and the consumers who rely on it.

“To place additional airport departure taxes on airline travel might assist with closing the budget gap in the short run, but such actions will no doubt have unintended, long-term negative consequences as consumers already faced with tight budgets cut back on air travel or eliminate it altogether,” said Tony Gonchar, ASTA CEO. “The results could be catastrophic for an industry already struggling to recover from the recent recession which saw millions of Americans curtail their travel.

“It won’t be just the airlines that feel the resulting pain, but travel agencies who sell air, hotels and resorts, cruise lines and car rental companies to name a few. The resulting loss of jobs would only serve to compound our current economic troubles, rather than alleviate them.”

According to a release recently issued by the Air Transport Association of America, the industry’s non-income tax burden has grown from $3.7 billion in 1993 to approximately $17 billion today. In 2010, U.S. airlines and their passengers contributed $3.4 billion in airport departure taxes and fees to the Department of Homeland Security, including $2 billion in  airport departure taxes and fees to the Transportation Security Administration – a 50 percent increase from the amount collected in 2002. Taxes on ARC-settled air fares sold by travel agents increased from 9.7 percent in 2001 to 16.63 percent in 2010.

ABOUT ASTA
The mission of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) is to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge and the enhancement of professionalism. ASTA seeks a retail travel marketplace that is profitable and growing and a rewarding field in which to work, invest and do business.

Over the last century, innovation in global air transport has opened the door for endless possibilities worldwide. Because of these innovations we get to explore new parts of the world, visit our favorite destinations, or meet with international colleagues and friends.

As someone who travels quite often, my own trips abroad have introduced me to people and exposed me to new issues and ideas. On some of these travels, I have witnessed how climate change has created new vulnerabilities in the agriculture sector because climate change is challenging farmers with increasingly unpredictable water supply and temperature extremes. I have met with farmers who are unable to grow food to feed their families because of the weather changes. I have met children who must stop going to school in order to spend time searching for water or helping to cultivate their families’ small farms. The impacts of climate change are devastating.

Few of us think about how much the very flights we take are actually contributing to the impacts of climate change. Yet, as the industry grows, their emissions may triple or quadruple in the next forty years.

In order to reduce the impact of airline travel on the environment, the European Union has created a law to cap carbon emissions from flights arriving to and departing from the EU. By selling a portion of pollution permits to airlines, the law also generates finance that can be used to help poor countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. This law – even as modest as it is – helps the airline industry to face the inevitable: when it comes to climate change, no one gets a free ride.

The EU law makes smart business sense. The Associated Press reported over Memorial Day weekend that fuel accounts for more than one-third of airline operating budgets this summer. Greener fleets and newer technologies like GPS systems to reduce flight paths exist and will reduce fuel costs, save money, and lower emissions – and airlines need to get serious about these steps now. The law requires that airlines reduce their emissions 3 percent below 2004-2006 levels by 2013 and 5 percent by 2020. Sooner or later the industry is going to have to face the challenge of lowering carbon emissions or consumers will face the consequences of climate impacts. Moreover, poor people in the United States and other countries will face the brunt of these impacts and yet have the least capacity to respond.

Sadly, instead of seizing an opportunity to develop further innovation in the airline industry, the Air Transportation Association of America (ATA), American Airlines, and United Airlines filed a lawsuit to exempt themselves from the law. The airlines are touting their environmental commitments while fighting measures to address climate change. Lawsuits, marketing and lobbyists will not make flight emissions go away.

The airlines aren’t the only entity fighting an opportunity; the Obama administration is too. Just recently the administration raised its strong objections to the EU law. This is unfortunate, as the EU law would actually help the United States meet its international climate commitments. Back in 2009, the U.S. government made a commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. It also made a commitment to work with other countries to mobilize $100 billion per year for climate action in developing countries. The EU law would help the United States meet its international commitments to reduce emissions and generate finance. Of course, regulating the airline industry is only part of the solution, but it is a start.

Airlines and the U.S. government have a responsibility to reduce emissions which cause climate change and to support poor countries and communities who are experiencing the impacts of climate change. If the airlines can figure out how to fly us across the world, surely they can figure out how to do it in a more environmentally and socially conscious manner.

Packages being removed from a UPS container at East Midlands airport after a suspected bomb was found in October 2010. Photograph: Darren Staples/ReutersThe Department for Transport has barred the delivery firm UPS from moving air cargo through sites in the UK due to "security requirements".

A spokeswoman would not reveal which sites had been restricted and why the move had been taken. Asked if it was due to an explosive device, she said the DfT would not "give details of security arrangements".

In March, an investigation was launched after a fake bomb was placed on a UPS flight to Istanbul. The Metropolitan police arrested a 26-year-old man, but said the incident was not terrorist related. The suspicious device travelled to Turkey from the UK without being detected.

In October 2010, a printer cartridge bomb was found on a UPS cargo plane at East Midlands airport, triggering new security measures in the UK, implemented from November.

The UPS plane was bound for Chicago, and an alarm clock on a mobile phone attached to the device was set to go off at 10.30am BST – when the plane would have been over the eastern seaboard of the US.

"The safety of the travelling public is paramount and our security regime is kept under constant review," the DfT spokeswoman said.

"We can confirm that, following careful consideration, the department has restricted the number of sites in the UK at which UPS Ltd are permitted to screen air cargo until it has satisfied current security requirements."

She added: "For obvious security reasons we will not comment on the details."
UPS was not immediately available for comment.

• Adam Gabbatt
• guardian.co.uk
•  Friday 17 June 2011 13.03 BST