Welcome to Shipping Online!   [Sign In]
Back to Homepage
Already a Member? Sign In
News Content

Russia's roomy IL-76 dodges around EU noise pollution ban

THE noisy, dangerous but roomy and versatile Russian IL-76 heavy lift aircraft which runs afoul of European noise pollution regulations is putting its defenders and detractors at odds, reports London's International Freighting Weekly.

Under Stage 3 noise regulations introduced in the EU in 2002, the old version of the aircraft is banned, but Volga-Dnepr spent US$20 million on a new version to make it compliant and operates two Il-76TD-90VDs, with a third being delivered in April. The new version costs $50-55 million.



But the old version continues to fly. "They are banned - and it is enforced - in the US, Japan, Australia and some places in the Middle East," says Dennis Gliznoutsa, group commercial director (charters) at Volga-Dnepr.



Another problem is that the IL-76 has had seven crashes in the past eight years, which has given rise to complaints from another quarter.



The IL-76 is exempt as a military aircraft or if used for humanitarian shipments. Operators of the aircraft, which are often seen at EU airports, include SilkWay Airlines, TransAVIAexport Airlines and Aviacon Air Cargo.



"We do hear people claim the flights are for relief cargo, when we know they are not, because we saw the request," says Volker Dunkake, head of global sales and services for Lufthansa Cargo Charter.



"I understand that relief cargo needs exemptions, as you don't want to spend more money on the transport than on the relief. But governments might want to rethink. They want to introduce emissions trading on one hand, but still allow banned aircraft," Mr Dunkake told IFW.



"There are three possibilities about why it happens - the aviation authorities believe it is relief cargo, they don't hear the request, or they are protecting their home country's airport business."



"The IL-76 is a very useful aircraft," says Justin Bowman, group commercial director at Air Charter Service. "You can get very high, wide pieces into remote air strips, war zones and areas of political tension. The aircraft are worth less than other types, so the insurance costs less."



"What's happened now is that there are some IL-76s which are Stage 4-compliant. The owners are trying to drive out the Stage 2 aircraft - the ACMI rate for those is $1,200-$1,800, while the new ones are $4,400. The owners of the Stage 4 ones want the others banned so everyone is forced to use theirs."



"Only the top echelons of IL-76 operators will get exemptions for Europe - many of the Middle Eastern operators are unlikely to have the insurance," explains Bowman. "There is probably a maximum of five airlines that could get exemptions in Europe," he said.



Despite the lack of enforcement of the rules by some countries, the majority of IL-76s cannot enter the EU. Several carriers, including Volare Aviation and Kyrgyzstan Airlines, are themselves banned.



Larry Coyne, CEO of Coyne Airways, agrees: "Most are, essentially, flying over deserts and don't see the need for huge amounts of insurance, and the authorities in the Middle East don't demand high levels. In Europe you would need 400 million special drawing rights which is close to $600 million."
About Us| Service| Membership and Fee| AD Service| Help| Sitemap| Links| Contact Us| Terms of Use