Professional Pilot, September 2016

er fuel in Even GUM Antonio Won Pat Intl Guam can experience erratic fuel supplies We know of a crew who had to wait 4 days on the ground at GUM for a fuel tanker to arrive before they were able to depart Jeppesen International Trip Support Account Specialist Jean Michel Sicaud notes that fuel can be a major consideration at CXI as well as requirements to prepay services If you overpay and a refund is due or if you cancel your trip it may take months to receive a refund on prepaid services Language barriers can also be considerations for ops to more remote locations There are airports in Argentina for example where ATC tower personnel do not speak English And for many domestic locations in Russia its necessary to carry a Russian navigator onboard to coordinate arrangements and provide translation services Weather and alternates When flying across oceans jungles or Arctic regions to smaller destinations alternate may be limited and often are located far from the intended destination In these cases significant fuel reserves may be required Its not uncommon for large weather systems particularly in the Pacific to cause 300 to 600 mile alternate diversions or to lead you to turn around and go back If your destination is close to an international border you may need to consider permit requirements and mandated documentation in order to utilize alternates in the area Consider also that snow removal services could be sporadic at smaller locations that do not have the appropriate snow clearing resources 64 PROFESSIONAL PILOT September 2016 When operating in northern Russia and even northern Canada during winter local snow clearing abilities may cause operating delays adds OCarroll Large winter weather systems also have the capability to block alternate options Permit considerations In some countries including Brazil Japan the Philippines and Panama operators need to obtain operating and landing permits for domestic travel If youre making more than a single stop in Brazil or Japan for example you must obtain a domestic operating permit points out Hoover You can arrive into Colombia permit free for a single stop of up to 48 hours but if you want to fly a domestic leg youll need a permit Indonesian ops can be even more complicated as GA flights are now only permitted 1 stop in country Catering and AOGs Catering options are usually more limited at smaller locations International support providers ISPs report a case of a client who routinely likes to uplift a very specific soup at all international stops While this is generally possible with advance coordination some locations are unable to put together this particular soup The client often opts to change locations or airports to where this soup can be prepared and sourced Jeppesen has a Bombardier Challenger 350 client who frequents more out of the way airports in Africa including a VFR only airfield in Namibia that he visited recently To deal with local catering and food safety challenges they carry a flight attendant who sources catering and ingredients locally and prepares all onboard catering says Sicaud Another caution for the international operator is to avoid being taken advantage of by local catering outfits Theres a non major airport location in Eastern Europe where the owner of the catering company is also an airport director says OCarroll Catering quality is low pricing can be astronomical and you may not self cater from any other supplier at this location There was a recent case of a crew who requested lobsters but did not ask the price in advance The invoice for a couple of lobsters was apparently 8000 Remote destinations ISPs routinely field requests for smaller and remote airport operations often to destinations that have known challenges or inherent uncertainly in services The location may be in an unstable region of central Africa or it may be a smaller airport in France with ground handling under the jurisdiction of the local Chamber of Commerce Repositioning a supervisory agent from a nearby larger airfield is one option to help smooth ground handling coordination and credit but there are costs involved Keep in mind that there may be no regularly scheduled airline services to the destination and in some cases you may need to consider bringing the supervisory agent with you onboard the aircraft adds Kang When planning operations to smaller and remote airports its best to gather as much information as possible in advance and to be prepared for potential service and support limitations recommends Hoover Reach out to the aviation community at large including NBAA resources talk with crews whove been there work with your ISP and coordinate local security with a trusted provider Briefing passengers on limitations at the smaller destination will help them make better plans for what they need to do REP Siem Reap Cambodia receives regular GA traffic and handlers here are capable Visas on arrival are normally possible for both passengers and crew Editor at Large Grant McLaren has written for Pro Pilot for over 20 years and specializes in corporate flight department coverage