May_2021 - 8

BUSINESS BUZZ

Havaş Renews Agreement
with Qatar Airways Cargo

Havaş signed an agreement with Qatar
Airways Cargo to extend the long-term
ground handling partnership until the
end of 2025. According to the renewed
agreement, Havaş will continue to provide
cargo and warehouse services at Istanbul,
Ankara, Izmir and Antalya airports to
Qatar Airways Cargo; as well as cargo services at Adana Airport.
" We are very glad
to extend our service
agreement with
Qatar Airways Cargo
to create synergy on
cargo and warehouse
services, " Havaş
general manager

S. Mete Erna said. " We will continue to
increase the efficiency of our operations
and adopt innovations to contribute to the
success of all our business partners. "

Menzies Aviation Wins
Contract with Avianca

Menzies Aviation announced it has been
awarded a five-year cargo contract with
Avianca at Miami International Airport
(MIA). This contract represents one of
the most significant wins in the history of
Menzies' cargo business. From May, a team
of more than 300 Menzies professionals
will provide warehouse cargo handling
services for Avianca.
" We are so proud that Avianca has
selected Menzies to be their cargo handling partner at their Miami hub, which
is a large-scale and complex operation for

the carrier, " said
John Redmond,
executive vice president - Americas.
" The Avianca
organization is
delighted to be
starting a new chapter alongside Menzies
Aviation at our Miami hub, which is one
of our most important operations, " added
Ruben Atehortua, director cargo operations - Avianca Cargo. " We have every
faith that this is the beginning of a strong
alliance which will enable us to continue
providing an exceptional service to our clients whilst enhancing our position in the
Miami market. "

What's Going on with NFPA 407?
By Jessica Purgett

he National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) standard for aircraft fuel
servicing in the United States, NFPA
407, lays out requirements for the safe refueling of aircraft. The standard applies to fuel
farms, self-serves, mobile refuelers and other
fueling operations.
The NFPA undergoes regular reviews
and there were some changes in the 2017
version which require both new and existing
equipment to have automatic overfill devices
installed at airport fuel loading racks by June
2 of this year.
According to the National Air Transportation Association's (NATA) GA Fuel Handling
Subcommittee, these additional over-fill protection systems are not necessary.
" Essentially, these automatic over-fill
devices communicate electronically with
fuel trucks to shut down the pump when the
truck becomes full, " said Steve Berry, NATA's
manager of fuel quality and safety.
Though these overfill protection devices
work well, Berry says there is not enough
data to prove they are necessary.
" The requirements
and operational
procedures we have
in place now have a
demonstrated history
of reliability. Every
fuel truck in use at
airports today already
has a high-level shutSteve Berry
off device installed, "

8 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE

he notes. " While those manufactured in the
last few years have two high-level devices
installed. These devices, commonly called
jet-level sensors, have been a requirement
of the 407 for decades. And you also have
what's known as a dead-man device. Basically, it's a device that you have to hold while
you're performing the bottom loading operation. If you release it, the fuel flow stops. "
The over-fill protection devices on fuel
trucks are tested before every bottom load
operation to ensure they're working properly.
Berry notes this process has worked since
he's been in the industry - almost 20 years.
" The overfilling of mobile refuelers is
just simply not a statistically relevant issue, "
he says. " It just doesn't happen with the
kind of frequency that would justify such a
wide-sweeping change and expense across
the entire industry. "
He says additional overfill safety devices
could cause major logistical issues.
" In the general aviation industry, the
majority of fuel trucks are leased from the
major fuel suppliers, " he notes. " And so,
you've got a fleet of tens of thousands of
trucks out there all across the country that
are going to have to be retrofitted to meet
whatever system ends up being installed at
the airport. "
Berry says if these requirements are
enforced, there will have to be great communication between the airports and the owners
of the fleet trucks to make sure the truck has
the same fueling system as the airport.

MAY 2021

" There's also the issue of emergency situations. Any time there's wildfire season out
west, for example, fuel suppliers will send
trucks to support the need for additional
fueling operations, " he mentions. " These
trucks get moved around the country all the
time to support the critical fueling operations
our country needs. So, when we add this
extra step in there, we're talking about having
to retrofit these trucks before they can get
shipped out. It just creates and compounds a
logistical problem. "
There is also a major cost involved with
retrofitting all these trucks to meet the new
standards. Berry estimates it to be around
$100 million after taking into account all the
public-use airports.
Berry and other members of the NATA
tried to overturn this regulation with TIA
1558. Their initiative fell short of passing
by four votes. NATA members requested a
hearing in order to appeal that ruling, but it
was denied by the NFPA Standards Council. In a press release published April 30,
NATA wrote it, " filed a Notice of Intent to
Petition the NFPA Board of Directors as a
final effort to seek relief from these onerous
requirements. "
NATA encourages fuel providers to work
with their Authority Having Jurisdiction
(AHJ) to, " request a modification to the retroactive component of the requirements, "
which would prevent existing equipment
from being subject to the June 2 compliance
deadline.

May_2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May_2021