Turkish Airlines flies to many markets that are considered to be at risk war zones/unsafe, which the large majority of other airlines avoid.
I looked on google flights and see that TK has scheduled Kabul service next year. I have always wondered, in countries that are considered to be unsafe, do pilots and cabin crew turn around back home once they arrive?
Turkish Airlines also serves Somalia and Iraq, wonder if pilots/cabin crew stay or turn around back home for departure as soon as possible.
This has always interested me, wonder what the airline does in this regard.
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Re: Turkish Airlines- dangerous countries and crew safety
3D101CA wrote:Turkish Airlines flies to many markets that are considered to be at risk war zones/unsafe, which the large majority of other airlines avoid.
I looked on google flights and see that TK has scheduled Kabul service next year. I have always wondered, in countries that are considered to be unsafe, do pilots and cabin crew turn around back home once they arrive?
Turkish Airlines also serves Somalia and Iraq, wonder if pilots/cabin crew stay or turn around back home for departure as soon as possible.
This has always interested me, wonder what the airline does in this regard.
Usually, yes. And if you don't have enough time on the clock, it would be advised to augment with additional crewmembers as the regulators require.
It's been a long time since I've had to fly there, but that's how we handled PAP for example. When I was briefly on the Bus we operated to PAP and had a part go sour on the turn... company told us to stay with the plane and they flew down a mechanic with the part and tools on the next FLL flight to get us back out, canceled the return leg and had us ferry it back to the mainland.
Besides the obvious problems of reliable crew transportation (this even comes up with less third world countries), you need to make sure there's a safe, decent hotel for the crew to stay at. I would imagine that's probably impossible in Mogadishu, Kabul, Erbil, etc., not to mention you're leaving foreign nationals from a significantly more wealthy nation and member of the EU in places where they would fetch a pretty sizeable bounty to be ransomed back to their country. If they do stay anywhere dodgy, it's probably in an excellent hotel with private security everywhere - you can find those in the scarier countries which have phenomenal mineral deposits, for example.
Re: Turkish Airlines- dangerous countries and crew safety
3D101CA wrote:do pilots and cabin crew turn around back home once they arrive?
3D101CA, yes, this is one way to handle the situation.
There are various methods. As stated above by bluecrew, you can also augment if the total time fits within regulatory requirements.
In your example, IST-BGW is blocked around three hours, so a standard flight crew--Captain / First Officer--should be able to complete the roundtrip without augmentation. However, for contingency purposes, it would probably be prudent to augment with a relief pilot (and a mechanic, as well).
IST-MGQ is closer to seven hours each way; this would probably require two crews to meet flight time restrictions.
My company serves a few locations where it is not possible to turn the crew. In these cases, the crew is met by a coach with two armed guards aboard and there are armed "lead" and "follow" vehicles which accompany the crew bus.
The hotel is located behind a secured entry point--we call it "the compound"--and crewmembers are not allowed to venture outside the compound.
Sometimes it is the company's insurer that dictates whether or not the airline will serve a particular destination.
Standby, you will get additional responses from other people who work for companies that serve destinations such as you mentioned.
e38
Re: Turkish Airlines- dangerous countries and crew safety
bluecrew wrote:Besides the obvious problems of reliable crew transportation (this even comes up with less third world countries), you need to make sure there's a safe, decent hotel for the crew to stay at. I would imagine that's probably impossible in Mogadishu, Kabul, Erbil, etc.
Great post but Erbil probably doesn't belong in a list alongside Mogadishu and Kabul. It's pretty safe these days. Multiple EU airlines fly there daily and crews often stay overnight.