Tramon works with CAA to ensure compliance

Charter operator carves dangerous goods niche WHEN an AN-12 freighter was grounded at George Airport recently and the crew arrested for attempting to take off with a cargo of dangerous goods for which the paper work had not been submitted correctly, Tramon Air was called in to the rescue. "We put it all together within 12 hours, and two of our aircraft departed with the cargo within 18 hours of being contracted," says director Daniel Coetzer. "We are able to do this purely by observing regulations to the full, which is essential when it comes to dangerous consignments. We work closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the monitoring of our flights, and always request special assistance and advice from them on the packing instructions and routings we should follow. "We also consult with them on airports to be used for departure of this type of cargo from South Africa. For certain goods we are requested to use military airfields only due to the nature of the cargo and for security reasons. "On some flights where we have 10 tons or more of dangerous cargo we have special oceanic routes we fly in order to stay clear of land. These can make flights 50-70% longer, but itÕs essential for security reasons to ensure aircraft cannot be intercepted by bandits or terrorists." The company, which has been transporting dangerous goods for the past three years without incident, recently transported a Rooivalk helicopter to an air show. This called for the stripping of the helicopter, transporting it, re-assembling it, test flying it for CAA certificate, flying it for four days at the show, stripping it down again and bringing it back home. Tramon Air operates B707. IL-76, F-28 and Lear 24 freighters, with all crews trained in dangerous goods transportation and handling.