Emirates Flight Kills Flamingos in Mumbai, India

The carcasses of at least three dozen flamingos were found in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, on Monday night.  

 

The birds were reportedly struck dead by an Emirates flight which was on its final approach to Runway 27 at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. As per sources, Mumbai air traffic control reported that the pilots informed them of multiple bird strikes observed on the aircraft fuselage during the post-landing inspection. The Boeing 777 has been grounded at Mumbai since then. 

 

Residents initially discovered broken pieces of wings, beaks, and claws scattered over the Ghatkopar neighborhood which is close to the airport, following which they alerted the authorities. Local officials have launched a search operation to find out if more flamingos were killed in the accident.

 

A local environmentalist, D Stalin, had claimed that new power lines built in the area had “disoriented” the birds, causing the accident. 

 

Pawan Sharma, founder of the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW), said the carcasses have been sent for autopsy to determine the “exact cause of their death”, according to NDTV. RAWW are a local non-government organization that seeks to resolve human-wildlife conflicts and promote urban wildlife conservation.

 

Lesser flamingos are found in various locations across western India, particularly during the winter season. In Mumbai, a large number of the pink birds reside in the Sewri mudflats, a wetland area. The Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary on the city’s outskirts and Bhigwan, some 100km from the city of Pune, are other places in Maharashtra state where these exotic birds are found in abundance. 

 

India has the largest population of lesser flamingos (Scientific name: Phoeniconaias minor) outside Africa, mostly in the salt deserts of the western state of Gujarat.

Mis-drilled Holes on Fuselages Found on Undelivered Boeing 737 Max Planes

Boeing have discovered a new problem during the production of 737 Max jets that will force them to rework about 50 planes that have not yet been delivered. 

 

This was disclosed in a memo sent to Boeing (BA) employees Sunday by Stan Deal, the head of the company’s commercial aircraft unit. An employee at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which make the fuselages of the 737 Max jets, notified the plane maker that two holes may not have been drilled exactly to Boeing’s requirements, according to Deal’s memo. 

 

“While this potential condition is not an immediate flight safety issue and all 737’s can continue operating safely, we currently believe we will have to perform rework on about 50 undelivered airplanes”, they said. 

 

Spirit AeroSystems confirmed in a statement that they mis-drilled the holes. 

 

The mis-drilled holes are on the planes’ window frames, Jodi Baker, a FAA aviation safety official told reporters on Monday. “We’ll ensure that those airplanes meet all safety standards before we can approve them for delivery”, she promised. 

 

Boeing have halted delivery on a number of occasions over the last few years involving both the Max and the 787 Dreamliner because the planes had not been built according to specifications. 

 

The suspensions caused problems for airline customers that had been counting on the planes and also led to ongoing losses at Boeing. The company reported last week that it lost $2.2 billion in 2023, bringing losses over the last five years to $26.7 billion. 

 

And one of Boeing's largest customers, Dubai-based Emirates are reportedly planning to send their own engineers to oversee the US plane maker’s production lines. 

 

Their president, Tim Clark told the Financial Times on Sunday that he had seen a “progressive decline” in Boeing’s standards, which he put down to long-running management and governance missteps, including prioritizing financial performance over engineering excellence. 

 

Now, you know how bad the situation is in Boeing.

133 Million Cases and Vaccine Passports

Covid-19 cases have now totaled 133 million worldwide. 

Norway is the latest country to join C100K, having reached 100,149 cases today. The eighty-eight countries in the said grouping collectively account for 98.0% and 98.6% of global infections and fatalities respectively.

Yesterday, the World Health Organization said they are not backing vaccination passports for travel because of the uncertainty over whether inoculation prevents transmission of the coronavirus and not to mention, equity concerns. 

Even so, vaccine passports for the purpose of travel are primarily taking shape as free mobile apps where international travelers upload their proof of a vaccination as well as any necessary coronavirus test results or other health waivers. 

The goal is to digitize individual countries’ paper vaccination certificates into internationally recognized passes for travel. 

The International Air Transport Association, the IATA Travel Pass, has already been developed and garnered trial use on international air carriers, including Emirates, Copa, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines. 

So far, 21 airlines have signed up for the pass, and two – Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways – have launched full pilots.

Revealing Styles in the Aisles

It is a fatuously flighty exercise in flippant frivolity when Malaysian politicians couldn’t find anything important to raise in parliament – that they decided to bring up the issue of cabin crew garb. 

I remember there used to be loud protests about AirAsia’s attire. Now, PAS parliamentarians are raising hackles about the outfits worn by Malaysia Airlines’ female flight attendants:

Why this preoccupation with uniforms? We are telling the whole world that Malaysians are prudish – assuming of course, you believe their apparel is really revealing! 

Compare us with how other airlines clothe their cabin crew – and you can decide for yourself: 

China’s Hainan Airlines show off Paris-based Laurence Xu’s creations, taking inspiration from the cheongsam:

Icelandic low-cost carrier WOW air went with pink skirts and hats for women: 

Etihad Airways' uniforms combine 1960s Paris couture combine 1960s couture and contemporary runway looks:

Air Malta’s cabin crew wear suits complemented by colourful scarves and ties which mirror the uniqueness of the Maltese Islands with their proud heritage, colors, culture, symbols, hospitality and language:

China Eastern Airlines' uniforms, designed by Christian Lacroix are "simple, beautiful and dignified" – a fusion of an elegant oriental style and Shanghai style fashion:

Gulf Air's uniforms have a history of embracing French haute couture fashions: 

The red-hot AirAsia's uniforms. I'm referring to the color lah:

Virgin Atlantic’s uniforms feature a double-breasted ‘drape coat’, which can be worn fastened or open:

Korean Air’s uniforms are a mix of eggshell blue, white and cream but what is really striking is the gravity-defying neck scarves and the ribbon-like hairpins which remind us of “binyeo”, the traditional Korean hair accessory:

Russian airlines Aeroflot with their bright red vintage-inspired uniforms:

Emirates' uniforms are best described as iconic and they have remained relatively unchanged since 1997, with just a few minor tweaks in 2008:

Singapore Airlines have the same uniform since 1968 – in fact, they are considered to be the "longest serving uniform" in the skies:

Anyway, Transport Minister Anthony Loke yesterday advised the objectors to avert their gaze – it’s as simple as that! 

In case you’re wondering about my view – I love legs! Now, you know! LOL!