Senior Editor

Jerry Siebenmark

Universal Weather &amp; Aviation undertook a big task last week to facilitate the delivery of one million face masks and a half-million Covid-19 test kits from China to the U.S. through the donation of Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Universal noted on a March 19 blog <a href="https://www.universalweather.com/blog/still-flying-business-aviation-making-a-difference-during-the-covid-19-epidemic/">post</a>. Leveraging its teams in China, Hong Kong, and Houston, Universal said it was able to navigate around the flight bans and restrictions that were literally expanding by the minute, including the U.S. ban on air traffic from China.

 


The March 16 effort included Universal’s logistics and regulatory experts, the latter of whom “were relentless, burning up the phones with our contacts at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to secure the required permissions.” It also had to determine where in the U.S. the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could take possession of the cargo that was transported by a Boeing 777.

 


It was air cargo carrier FedEx and its facility in Memphis, Tennessee, that stepped up to receive and handle the cargo. In all, Universal said the effort took nearly 100 phone calls and 72 hours of around-the-clock work to get all the flight permissions. “With literally minutes to spare, the final permissions came in, and the flight was able to successfully land,” Universal said.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

Universal Leverages Bizav Network for Masks, Test Kits

Universal Weather & Aviation assists in the delivery of one million masks and half a million Covid-19 test kits to the CDC.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Montreal airframer will host flight attendant summit in Hong Kong

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AmyWilder

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Safety investigations launched following close call

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Stuart “Kipp” Lau

News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

How a positive safety culture contributes to an effective SMS 

AINsight: PB&J, SMS, and Safety Culture

Jessica Reed

News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

Flight attendant received the Above and Beyond Award for Heroic Achievement

NBAA Honors Sydney Bosmans for Heroism in Fatal Crash

Curt Epstein

AI will reach every sector of the industry

Artificial Intelligence Looms Large in Bizav's Future

Hanneke Weitering

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

Twenty airlines and 25 corporate flight departments are using electronic flight bag software

GE Aerospace's FlightPulse Pilot App Surpasses 40,000 Users

One update is the “Quick FRAT” (Flight Risk Assessment Tool)

Nimbl Enhances Platform to Simplify Safety Management

Charles Alcock

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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