Civil Aviation Authority

These services have become more depending and many players are penetrating into this industry to ensure the travelers have all the products and services they need.

In East Africa which comprises Kenya,Tanzania,Uganda,Burundi,Rwanda the services are available from the major Airports Like,Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Wilson Airport,Moi International Airport, Nanyuki Airstrip, Lamu, Malindi, Kilimanjaro International Airport, Arusha Airport, Daresalaam, Mwanza, Zanzibar, Mbeya, Dodoma, Entebbe, Soroti, Kampala, Kigali, Bujumbura which provides both international and local private aviation flights. You charter flights from Kilimanjaro/Arusha Airports to Lake Manyara, Ngorongo Crater, Seronera, Grumeti, Sasakwa, Lobo, Mafia Island, Pemba Island, Mahale, Zanzibar, Kigoma, Kogadete, Ndutu, Kleins Camp, Serengeti and many others including major cities like Dodoma, Musoma, Tabora, Kigoma, Mbeya, Geita, Mwanza.

In Tanzania you can get aircrafts ranging from Caravan 208 12 seater single turbo prop engne,Let 410 18 seater twin engine, Twin otter 17 seater twin engine, Beechcraft 1900C 18 seater pressurized, Beechcraft 200 Superkingair 10 seater pressurized,PA-34 5 seater twin piston engine,ATR 42 45 seater turbo prop twin which mostly are based in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza and Daresaalam. You can charter an aircraft to national parks & reserves at short notice and an aircraft of your choice and with the capacity that you require.

In Uganda there aircrafts like PA-34 SENECA 3 5 seater twin piston engine,Beehcraft 1900C 18 seater pressurized, Beechcraft 200 Superkingair 10 seater pressurized, Let 410 18 seater unpressurized,C-208 Caravan 12 seater single turbo prop engine with many others. You can charter from Entebbe to South Sudan, Somalia, DR Congo, Khartoum, Juba, and Rumbek for either cargo or passengers.

In Rwanda you can charter CRJ Regional jets, Beechcraft 1900D 18 Seater Pressurized same to Burundi but most of the Aircrafts will be chartered from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and DR Congo. Most of the aircrafts are on contract by United Nations or Non-Governmental organizations and you can't charter them.

There direct private charter flights from/into Kenya National Parks & Reserves to point of entry/exit in Tanzania like, Kilimanjaro, Musoma, Mwanza, Zanzibar, Arusha. All is required 4 working days notice to organize for immigration & immigration officers who will facilitate the clearing and obtaining permission to land in Tanzania. For those firms with a month timetable then a block clearance can be obtained with a roaster for the officers and stand-by and their telephone contacts.

Kenya is a hub for all commercial and non-commercial flights for cargo and passengers within Africa including South Sudan, Somalia,Darfur,DR Congo out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Wilson Airport, Lokichogio and out of Uganda Entebbe International Airport, Gulu Airport for flights to Central Africa Republic,DR Congo, South Sudan, Juba, Yei, Rumbek and many others.

For flights into Uganda from Kenya you will require 1 day notice to obtain clearance, Tanzania 2 working days notice same to Rwanda and Burundi as these are cross-border flights and you require over flight and landing permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of that country. Flights to Somalia the charterer will have to give a letter on the firm letterhead to the carrier with details of flight, departure date, names and nationality of the passengers or nature of cargo and purpose for the flight which the carrier will attach on the request letter to Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kenya for clearance issuance and the flight will not take off until an official communication has been received which is copied to Control Tower, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and Kenya Airports Authority.

Flights to South Sudan you will be required to give 2 working days notice for obtaining the passes and you will have to take original passport,2 copies passport size photos for every passenger and you will be issued with one to three month passes or 1 to 6 month which you should renew on expiry and on arrival South Sudan you will pay visa fee of USD 100=00 per person for one month.

Please when planning to travel to cross-border, observe the above condition carefully in terms of duration for obtaining permission and the required documentation as in South Sudan if you fly there without passes the aircraft will be shot and this is endangering your safety

Pilot training is gaining a lot of interest and momentum these days especially among the aviation enthusiasts and hobby fliers who may wish to rent an aircraft and for those who own a personal aircraft. Owning an aircraft is no longer a symbol of status among the who’s who. Learning to fly one’s dream machine is what completes the whole package when it comes to flaunting one’s wealth. This has resulted in mushrooming of many aviation academies in India like Chimes Aviation Academy, which boasts of providing private pilot training on the much famed Cessna 172 and is also one of the best aviation academies in the country.

To become a private pilot, one has to obtain a Private Pilot License (PPL) which permits the holder to act as the pilot of an aircraft privately (i.e. he does not fly an aircraft for any remuneration). The requirements to obtain the license are determined by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), but the actual implementation varies widely from country to country.

While undergoing training at an aviation academy, the student is given a Student Pilot License. Student Pilot License is given to those with 10+2 with science and aged at least 16 years should register at a flying club which is recognized by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Government of India.

The second step is the Private Pilot License (PPL). PPL training includes sixty hours of flying of which about fifteen hours are dual flights, that is accompanied by the flight instructor and at least 30 hours of solo flights apart from five hours of cross-country flying. This makes one eligible for the Private Pilot License exam. The prescribed age for appearing for this exam is 17 years and an educational qualification of 10+2 along with a Medical Fitness Certificate issued by the Armed Forces Central Medical Establishment (AFCME).

Although there are various types of aircraft, many of the principles of pilot training have common techniques. All pilot training courses consist of some combination of theoretical learning conducted on the ground and practical exercises conducted in the air. Initial pilot training is often conducted in specialized training aircraft (most aviation academies use Cessna 172), which are designed for benign handling characteristics and lower costs compared to the aircraft which the pilot concerned is ultimately aiming to fly.

Aviation academies train an individual on the various skills required to fly an aircraft. It teaches a pilot the process of flying an aircraft through the air with proper direction and control. It also teaches the students to understand the weather forecasts.

Private pilot training program mainly require high level of innovative mind capabilities and great aptitude skills. This supports the candidate to get the concept in an easy manner.

However, with such busy and fast paced life, many passionate fliers do not get time to fulfill their dream. Thus Chimes Aviation Academy has come up with a Cruiser (Executive PPL) programme which enables the student to pursue flying with a convenient, personalized over the weekend schedule. The schedule is designed to make the student a Private Pilot License holder in just nine weekends. Currently, Chimes Academy has Bollywood actors Kunal Kapoor and Chitrangda Singh and ace golfer Jyoti Randhawa as its students.

You are probably raring to go on that long awaited and well deserved overseas holiday with your family. However, like most people going on foreign tours, you must be carrying some apprehensions concerning the safety of yourself and your family. After all, your family is your most prized possession and the last thing you want is that they be stranded in some strange and unfamiliar foreign land in the event of something going awry.

In these days of economic turmoil, we often hear of companies going bust and the frequent cancellation of flights. In such a scenario, it is not alarmist to make safeguards for such a situation against the airlines and travel company you bank upon. After all, god forbid, if something like this does happen in the middle of your vacation, you would not want to face the avoidable nightmare of fending for yourself and watching your hard earned money going down the drain!

Thanks to Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) scheme, you can get yourself an iron clad guarantee against such unforeseen circumstances. ATOL is a scheme for ensuring the financial protection of travellers. Under this scheme, in case a travel operator listed under ATOL goes bust, then passengers of that tour operator do not have to suffer hassles like losing money or staying marooned. For instance, if you plan your itinerary with Southall Travel, which is an ATOL member, you won't run such risks. To be thorough in your homework, always make sure that you check out the operator's website, which in this instance is Southall Travel UK.

ATOL makes it mandatory for its travel operators to be part of a financial guarantee scheme for passengers. This scheme is under the management of Air Travel Trust (ATT) and this is the agency responsible for providing bailout funds that ensure passenger safety, when things go wrong. You simply cannot afford to overlook ATOL, especially when you book tickets for long haul air travel like flights to India further eastwards. The significance of ATOL can be gauged from the fact that it falls under the responsibility of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which is the number one specialist aviation regulator in the UK.

The UK government even mandates that all tour operators selling flight packages within its boundaries need to hold the ATOL license. This license is granted only when the tour operator in question satisfies the licensing requirements laid down by the CAA. Every ATOL holder has an exclusive ATOL number, and this number can be cross checked by visiting the CAA website, CAA UK.

In a way, ATOL is like your travel insurance. In fact, ATOL members do need to acquire insurance bonds from the CAA. The purpose behind the entire exercise is to make sure that passengers face the least possible inconvenience in the event of flight cancellation. Not only are passengers entitled to refund of fares and alternative flights, they also get other amenities promised in the holiday deal package.

So, next time you think about saving some money by booking DIY holidays, keep it in mind that you would be much better off with an ATOL protected holiday package anytime. Saving a few pounds by not ensuring ATOL protection and then blowing off a major chunk of your savings in case of some misfortune is not a wise deal at all.