This is how the head of Wizz Air explains the landing problems in Tromsø – E24

Darwin Triggs is Head of Flight Operations at Wizz Air and has worked to address the company’s landing challenges in Tromsø.

He says the reason they have failed to land in Tromsø several times on days when others have, is because of the snow and ice conditions, and how they are handled at the airport.

– We have learned more about how the runway is treated with warm sand when there is ice, and how landing conditions, in terms of braking grip for planes, improve from bad to good enough for landing, says Triggs, in a interview with iTromsø.

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Full depth analysis

According to the Wizz Air manuals from the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the reported conditions should indicate that the braking conditions on the runway are poor.

But after a dialogue with the Civil Aviation Authority, they have received information that braking conditions will be better, thanks to the way the runway is prepared by ground staff in Tromsø.

– Our crew was unfamiliar with this way of handling it, and we have conducted an in-depth analysis of the situation with both the Norwegian aviation authorities and our aircraft manufacturer, and now we have a clear understanding of such situations. At the same time, I want to emphasize that the conditions in Tromsø are not in themselves the challenge. We have an experienced crew, who among other things fly in Canada, in very difficult conditions, says Triggs, who is Canadian.

– Why didn’t you have updated manuals before you started flying to Tromsø?

– We discovered the problem after the first trip where there were challenges with the landing. And the updates to our manuals weren’t formally introduced until the night after the second time we didn’t land, so that explains why it happened a second time.

Try the flight at NOK 96, – – VGTV

“Amazing” collaboration

Triggs boasts of collaboration with the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority.

– The collaboration has been “amazing”. And we expect nothing less. They contacted us and have been very helpful in updating our manuals for Norwegian conditions.

The Wizz Air boss says that passenger safety always comes first, and he praises pilots for putting safety first, rather than taking what they see as a greater risk.

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– We have been harassed for having a culture of fear. But these examples in Tromsø show the opposite: our team makes the right decision. They are not fired or demoted for that reason. They are not afraid of not landing, but they know that they always have the airline behind them.

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It will avoid problems

The Wizz Air boss will not disclose the cost of not landing.

– Obviously it comes at a cost and creates problems for our passengers, something we really want to avoid. But now we have solved this problem and everything is fine.

Since the interview with Wizz Air was conducted on Friday, December 18, last week, another Wizz Air plane has turned instead of landing in Tromsø. iTromsø has been unable to get a comment from the company on why the third plane has not landed, due to vacation cancellations at Wizz Air.