Two freighter aircraft operated by Global Crossing Airlines, a startup charter airline based in Florida, are on their option to Israel with greater than 50 tons of relief supplies because the country prepares for war. Global X, in shorthand, is the one known U.S. all-cargo operator and one in all only a handful worldwide still operating to the Middle East war zone, where even FedEx and UPS have suspended flights.
The 2 Airbus A321 converted freighters are hopscotching their option to Tel Aviv, currently en path to Frankfurt, Germany, based on aircraft tracking site Flightradar24. The flights originated in Tampa and stopped at Portsmouth International Airport in Recent Hampshire and in Reykjavik, Iceland. The A321 is a narrowbody plane typically used for short-to-medium-haul routes and desires to stop for fuel on a transcontinental flight.
Global Crossing Airlines (USOTC: JETMF) Chairman and CEO Ed Wegel announced the help flights on LinkedIn Monday evening, and that the 2 aircraft will carry medical supplies and equipment for first responders. A 3rd freighter will soon be dispatched with more supplies for Israel, he said.
“Today, we stand with Israel,” he said.
Company officials declined to supply further details concerning the mission to Israel, including the shopper.
Miami-based Global Crossing entered revenue service two years ago with A320-family passenger jets providing charter flights for airlines, cruise lines, casinos, and hotel and resort destinations. The carrier earlier this 12 months received its first two A321 leased freighters, which spent greater than twenty years ferrying passengers before being converted for dedicated cargo operations. The planes typically operate within the Caribbean (Miami – Kingston, Jamaica – Port-au-Prince, Haiti) and the Texas-Ohio corridor in the US.
Global X is the one U.S. airline to this point to operate the A321 converted freighter. It’s third aircraft, leased from Air Transport Services Group in Wilmington, Ohio, was delivered per week ago. The cargo jet has not had its operating specifications — the algorithm that an airline agrees to operate by — approved yet by the Federal Aviation Administration and isn’t authorized to fly yet.
Global X participates within the Defense Department’s business airlift program and deployed passenger aircraft to evacuate 1,500 refugees from Afghanistan in August 2021, shortly after receiving its aircraft operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport is lower than 40 miles from the front lines of Israel’s war with Gaza, and a big majority of international airlines have canceled flights to the town while the country continues to be under rocket attack.
Only a handful of cargo airlines are still operating to Tel Aviv. Of the three global express carriers, only DHL is working a couple of times a day to the town from its hub in Leipzig, Germany. FedEx and UPS have suspended flights with their very own aircraft, although they’re still offering international parcel service by booking shipments on business passenger planes and other third-party carriers.
Israel-domiciled airline CAL Cargo Airlines, a part of the Challenge Group, is flying recurrently to Ben Gurion airport from its European hub in Liege, Belgium, based on the corporate and flight data.
Other all-cargo operations identified in recent days flying into Tel Aviv include Azerbaijan’s Silk Way West Airlines (Boeing 747-400), Lufthansa Cargo, Poland’s SkyTaxi and Turkey’s MNG Airlines (Airbus A300).
Also identified on the bottom at Tel Aviv was a Boeing 777 freighter operated by Michigan-based Kalitta Air. Kalitta Air operates 25 Boeing 747-400 freighters, in addition to 4 777s.
However the aircraft in Israel was not a part of the regular fleet. It’s a used passenger aircraft that was converted by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to a main-deck cargo configuration and returned for more testing, said Heath Nicholl, Kalitta’s deputy chief operating officer.
IAI is starting its second series of post-conversion evaluation flights as the corporate works to get its aircraft modification approved by Israeli and U.S. civil aviation authorities so the plane may be certified for business flying. IAI has previously indicated it expects to receive the supplemental certificate for changing the unique design of the aircraft type later this 12 months.
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Kalitta is leasing the aircraft from AerCap, which acquired GE Capital Aviation Services and the 777 freighter program in November 2021. GECAS opted to repurpose older feedstock for cargo and is the launch customer for IAI’s conversion program. Kalitta Air can be the primary operator of the 777 converted freighter. The one 777 freighters currently in operation around the globe are factory-built by Boeing.
Last month, IAI reached an agreement with Ascent Aviation Services in Marana, Arizona, to establish a conversion site for the 777-300. Ascent is constructing two widebody hangers to support production, which is predicted to start out next 12 months.
Safety risk
One among the steps Israeli authorities have taken to guard aircraft is to vary the direction of approach to Ben Gurion airport in order that they avoid the conflict area near Gaza. Libby Bahat, head of aerial infrastructure for the Israel Civil Aviation Authority, said in a Wall Street Journal video report, that aircraft now take a more northern route than usual, bypassing Haifa. Military and civil air traffic controllers work closely together to make sure that missiles from the country’s Iron Dome defense system don’t impact civilian aircraft after they are intercepting Hamas missiles.
The federal government has also limited the variety of passenger aircraft on the gate loaded with fuel and passengers. And when aircraft are able to depart they’re cleared immediately, with no waiting in line on the runway, based on the WSJ explainer.
Israeli officials insist their airspace is secure to operate in despite concerns from some experts that conditions for an accidental shootdown exist, including from nonstate actors on Israel’s northern border. Air traffic controllers have over 90 seconds to maneuver aircraft when a missile is fired, during which period the aircraft can cover about 10 miles, based on the officials. And Israeli interceptors are technically incapable of mistaking an aircraft, they add.
Other aviation experts have also raised concerns about Hamas using GPS jamming technology to interfere with military communications network, which has the potential to disrupt business traffic.
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