Macedonia upgrades air navigation system

GLOBAL AVIATION NEWS

Airbus terminates Qatar order

Airbus has raised the stakes in a dispute with major customer Qatar Airways over grounded and undelivered A350 jets by announcing it had revoked a separate contract for 50 smaller A321neo jets the airline plans to use for new routes. The move widens a dispute that moved closer towards a rare courtroom clash, with a procedural hearing over Qatar's claim for more than $600 million in compensation over A350 flaws pencilled in for the week of April 26 in London. Airbus revealed it was walking away from the contract for A321neos in skeletal arguments presented during a scheduling session over the A350 dispute at a division of Britain's High Court. "We confirm we did terminate the contract for 50 A321s with Qatar Airways in accordance with our rights", an Airbus spokesman said following a filing setting out provisional arguments. Qatar Airways is expected to fight the A321neo contract's termination, having said it plans to take delivery of the jets even though it is refusing to take more A350s until a dispute over surface erosion on the larger planes has been resolved. The airline said in a court filing that it was "working through the practical consequences" of the A321 decision, adding that Airbus was not entitled to declare a "cross-default" on the basis of Qatar's refusal to take more A350s in the main dispute. Qatar Airways had no immediate comment on the A321neo contract, which has its roots in an order 10 years ago worth $4.6 billion at list prices, originally for a smaller version. Qatar Airways has said the A321s will help it launch flights to new markets where there is currently not enough demand for larger aircraft, but which are out of reach of smaller A320s. Qatar's first A321neo is due to be delivered in February 2023, according to the airline filing. Industry experts say the hot-selling model can easily be resold, in contrast with a drop in demand for big jets like the A350, worsened by the pandemic.

Macedonia upgrades air navigation system

NEWS FLASH

Leonardo has won a tender to provide an air traffic control system for Macedonia's air navigation service provider M-NAV. This will see Leonardo's LeadInSky installed at Skopje Airport. LeadInSky is compliant with the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme and Eurocontrol requirements. It will allow the country to meet its obligations under the Single European Sky framework. The system acquires and integrates information from multiple sources, from radar to satellites, to deliver complete situational awareness to tower controllers and operators in control centres. Multi-level fall-back and disaster recovery features will provide added resilience. Leonardo is a worldwide leading supplier of advanced air traffic control systems. Macedonia began preparations to upgrade its air navigation system in 2014. The entire project, which will be completed this year, is valued at thirteen million euros.

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Macedonia upgrades air navigation system

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