Australia last week implemented a new requirement for all commercial aircraft operating in the country to be fitted with enhanced ground proximity warning systems (EGPWS).
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says three carriers missed the deadline and their requests for exemptions were denied because they had known for five years that the new regulations would be implemented on 1 June.
Papua New Guinea’s Air Niugini has been banned from operating its two Fokker 100s into Australia because the aircraft are not yet equipped with EGPWS. But Air Niugini, which has been operating the Fokkers on nine weekly flights to Cairns in north-east Australia from Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby, also operates EGPWS-equipped Boeing 767s and Bombardier Dash 8s.
CASA says Skippers Aviation, a regional carrier in Western Australia, and Regional Pacific Aviation, a Cairns-based carrier, also missed the deadline. Both these carriers operate Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias and will be able to continue to operate them under visual flight rules only.
Source: Flight International
