The Government has cleared the way for Ukrainian-made Antonov-12 to begin resume air cargo flights out of the Emirates after it lifted a temporary suspension made in January.
But officials at the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) maintained they were prepared to take further action against operators using the aircraft if they found unsafe practices, following a spate of accidents that have taken place in recent months.
"We have sent a release letter to the industry and to civil aviation departments in the Emirates releasing this aircraft to operate in the UAE with conditions," said Saif Mohammed al Suwaidi, the director general of the GCAA.
The conditions include operators presenting a letter of certification from the manufacturer, the Antonov Design Bureau in Ukraine, attesting to the each aircraft's airworthiness.
The Antonov-12 is a popular aircraft used for air cargo flights from the UAE to Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan due to its low cost of operation and ability to land in adverse conditions such as gravel or dirt runways.
There are roughly 13 air cargo operators based in the Northern Emirates airports of Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah and Fujairah. On January 8, the GCAA ordered all Antonov-12 planes to depart the country after local operators were involved in four accidents in the UAE and Iraq between October and January.
igale@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse