Fokkernews March 2023 (issue 63)

General news

Fly All Ways airlines has applied to the US Department of Transportation for operating scheduled flights to any destination in the United States. Further details were not disclosed. The airline already has a permit to operate charter flights to the US. 

The plans for a new Fly All Ways route Paramaribo - Cayenne – Belem that should start 5 April 2023, have been cancelled. 

Busy Bee Congo is soon expecting its second F50, also from a Kenyan operator. 

JetAir Caribbean has added a triangle route Curaçao – Bonaire – Aruba as of 15 February 2023, using F70. 

The Australian competition authority has postponed their review of the proposed takeover of Alliance Airlines by Qantas until 20 April 2023.

Fokker F27, Fokker 50 & Fokker 60

c/n type registration new registration comment
20137 050 5Y-VVG 9S-*** Busy Bee Congo. Is expected to be re-registered in the 9S register in April.

Fokker F28, Fokker 70 & Fokker 100

c/n type registration new registration comment
11318 100 VH-FWI Virgin Australia. Registration cancelled 15 March 2023. The aircraft was scrapped in Singapore Seletar.
11416 100 9A-BTE Trade Air. This F100, stored at Woensdrecht since 24 October 2022, is still offered for sale, but there are also rumors that it might be parted out. Anyway, it is now missing part of its livery.
11528 070 2-HJCH 5Y-IFB I-Fly Air. The registration was cancelled from the Guernsey register on 27 February 2023. The Kenyan registration is not yet official.
11540 070 OB-2153P Wayraperu. Noted 9 January 2023 at Lima Callao airport, stored since September 2019 and looking quite dirty.
11577 070 P2-ANT Air Niugini. On 20 February 2023 the F70 was on a scheduled flight from Port Moresby to Mt Hagen, but returned to Port Moresby due to adverse weather at the destination airport. During descent the aircraft reportedly sustained a pressurization issue and made a safe landing. After arrival 22 of the 67 passengers were bleeding from ears and nose, necessitating hospital assessment. It appeared that 7 passengers were seriously injured and had to be admitted. One of them died since. The occurrence is under investigation.

The fuselage of Scenic Airlines Friendship N278MA (10280), used by the Daytona Beach airport fire brigade, recently lost its ‘Ciro Airways’ titles; see Fokkernews 59 for comparison. (Dan Raistrick on Flickr; Daytona Beach 14 March 2023)

 

The volunteers of VCNE (the Flying Dutch Cultural Heritage foundation) are working hard to bring their ‘Excalibur’ (former US Army Golden Knights C-31A Troopship, so actually an F27-400M), registered as N27FF (10668) in the air again. This picture clearly shows its pristine condition. (Dutch on Jetphotos.net; Lelystad, 1 March 2023)

 

Another Friendship preserved in the Netherlands is AP-BHZ (10686). It has an interesting career in three continents and is now the showpiece of the PSAero private collection, still in the basic colors of ASSL. It is no longer in a flyable condition. (Mark Murdock on Flickr; Baarlo, 7 September 2022)

 

Months after its mishap the wreck of Jubba Airways F50 5Y-JXN (20239) is still sitting next to the runway of Mogadishu airport, devoid of all identification marks. We assume that it will stay there for some time to come. (André Alders; Mogadishu 12 November 2022)

 

Karun Airlines had their first F100, EP-AWZ (11497), painted in the new livery that was introduced last year on a Boeing 737, with ‘Karun Air’ titles. Time will tell if the rest of the Fokker fleet will get the new corporate identity as well. (Shahram Sharifi on Airliners.net; Tehran 16 March 2023)

 

Credits

All photographers named above, ATDB newsletter, AMCAR, ASNAR-RDC, Aviation Safety Network, Aviator.aero, CH Aviation, Frank Ellemers, Walter de Groot, Greg Hyde, PPreNe network, Henk Wadman, WoensdrechtAS forum.