Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 23/Nov 04:12

Lutchmedial: FAA warning on flights over Venezuela airspace, a pre-caution

FORMER civil aviation director general Ramesh Lutchmedial says the decision by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to warn US airlines about a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela is a normal precaution when it comes to potential conflict situations. But Lutchmedial, a Newsday columnist, said the decision does not imply that some form of military conflict in Venezuela could be imminent. In a notice on November 21, the FAA spoke about what it called the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.” The FAA added that threats arising from this situation could pose risks for aircraft at all altituThe notice requires US airlines to provide the FAA with at least 72 hours' advance notice of planned flights, but stopped short of prohibiting flights over Venezuela.uela. On November 22, Lutchmedial said the FAA has the best aerial navigation and intelligence system in the world to assess situations such as this. He described the notice as a precautionary measure to US airlines, which will be "transiting over Venezuelan sovereign airspace.” Lutchmedial said these airlines are allowed to do this through the International Air Transit Agreement (IATA). Over 170 nations are signatories to this agreement, including the US, Venezuela and TT. "It is a normal practice, for example, where there are areas of what we call 'hostile airspace' where everybody knows what's happening between Venezuela and the US." Lutchmedial cited Afghanistan, Ukraine and Syria as examples of countries where no-fly zones have been established based on hostilities there. He said, "The global aviation industry tends to piggyback on what the Americans are doing because of the advanced technologies and intelligence." Asked if TT should be concerned about the FAA notice and whether it implied US military action against Venezuela was imminent, Lutchmedial said to interpret it as this could be speculative. "I tend to say things that I have evidence to support what I am saying." Lutchmedial repeated that the notice is just an advisory for US airlines to be cautious and inform the FAA about their intended flight paths. He said this allows the FAA to advise the airlines whether those paths are safe or not. Should the airlines observe anything unusual, Lutchmedial said they can use the FAA's hotline to report their observations. "At this stage, it is precautionary, but should the situation escalate, then areas would be designated no-fly zones." Lutchmedial said the rationale behind the creation of the IATA came about because of the existence of landlocked countries in the world and the need to allow airlines to transit safely from the sovereign airspace of one nation to another. He highlighted airlines wanting to fly from Bolivia to Miami in the US as an example of this. Lutchemedial said airlines whose countries are IATA signatories can easily fly through their respective airspaces without any problems. He added that there is a daily flight from Turkey to Venezuela, which passes through Barbadian airspace. "They can do that because Barbados, Turkey and Venezuela have all signed the air transit agreement that allows airlines to do that." The FAA said it will continue to monitor the risk environment for US civil aviation operating in the region. The notice comes against the background of ongoing US-Venezuela tensions in the southern Caribbean. A total of 83 people were killed in 21 US strikes targeting suspected narco-traffickers since September 2. The US military deployment began in August with the arrival of guided missile destroyers USS Gravely, Sampson and Jason Dunham. They were later joined by the 22nd US Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and additional naval and air assets. The Gravely and Marines from the 22nd MEU visited TT between October 26-30, and the marines were here for another week between November 16-21, for what was described as a joint training exercise with members of the TT Defence Force. The MEU were a key unit involved in the 1983 US military invasion of Grenada, code named Operation Urgent Fury. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford and its strike group have recently joined US forces in the region. The Gerald Ford’s strike group includes nine embarked squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Eight, Destroyer Squadron Two’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan, and the integrated air and missile defence command ship USS Winston S Churchill. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has publicly supported the deployment and US military strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean. Persad-Bissessar has also supported the Trump administration's position that the deployment of troops is part of an anti-narcotics exercise. On November 18, she said TT will not be used as a launch pad for any attack on Venezuela. The post Lutchmedial: FAA warning on flights over Venezuela airspace, a pre-caution appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.