“Hahnair is delighted to partner with Nico Hülkenberg, an exceptional athlete who embodies speed, commitment to success, and the skills to master powerful technology,” said Daniel Rudas, general manager and chief operating officer of Hahnair. “Hahnair ensures that airlines achieve accelerated success in the highly competitive airline distribution market, mirroring the relentless drive and cutting-edge performance seen in Formula 1.”

Hülkenberg will also travel to his races with Hahnair.  He drives for the Haas F1 Team in Formula One, has won the GP2 Series Championship in 2009 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015. He is also a previous champion of both the Formula 3 Euro Series and A1 Grand Prix, as part of A1 Team Germany.

Hülkenberg added: “Traveling with Hahnair, I can count on their first-class connoisseur service as well as reliably arriving at my races in time.” 

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Kosing (pictured right) replaces Viktor Peters, who has moved on to a new role with the ADAC Group. The aerospace engineering graduate has held several management positions at MTU Aero Engines, including the position of CEO at its Hartford, Connecticut-based development site. Kosing later joined the management board of Atena Engineering, a development service provider in the field of aeronautics, automotive and energy. Most recently, he was a member of the board at IABG, a technology company working in the area of analysis, simulation and testing and system operation.

“We would like to thank Viktor Peters, who has made a significant contribution to the successful development of Aero-Dienst over the last seven years with his strategic work and outstanding efforts,” said Ebach (pictured left). “With Dr. Oliver Kosing, we are happy to have gained a CEO who brings valuable experience in business management in addition to a wide range of technical and sales expertise. We are confident that our combined expertise will allow us to successfully continue the growth strategy we have adopted.”

In his new role as CEO, Kosing will focus on further strengthening the brand and expanding the development of the operations and ambulance business, said Ebach.

Kosing added: “I am looking forward to my new tasks at one of the most experienced full-service providers for business aviation and air ambulance services in Europe, and especially to advancing the development of Aero-Dienst together with a dedicated team.”

In addition to its headquarters in Nuremberg, Aero-Dienst also operates a maintenance station in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, as well as two stations in Austria (Vienna and Klagenfurt). 

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Atlas Air Service offers aviation facilities with its head office in Ganderkesee and aviation operations in Bremen, Augsburg and Stuttgart, Germany. It also operates across the Swiss border in Altenrhein, Switzerland, on Lake Constance. In addition to being an IADA-accredited dealer, the company is also an IADA-verified products and services member.

“The IADA Board of Directors is very pleased with this excellent expansion of our member companies’ private aviation capabilities in the European Union and Switzerland,” said Wayne Starling,  executive director  IADA. “Atlas Air Service’s excellent team, led by CEO Nicolas von Mende, is graciously welcomed into our international organisation of the best preowned aircraft dealers in the world.”

“As a pan-European dealer of used aircraft, we are looking forward to continuing to work with our new IADA-accredited colleagues around the world,” said  Nicolas von Mende, CEO, Atlas Air Service.

“As Europe’s largest provider of maintenance, charter and sales for used business aircraft, we offer our customers a wide range of opportunities,” he added.

Atlas Air Service offers preowned aircraft maintenance and modifications, business jet charter, aircraft management and flight training. It has more than 275 employees. 

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The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria is thought to have surpassed 50,000. Both nations were devastated by two earthquakes on February 6th, followed by another two on February 20th.

The firm’s humanitarian Emergency Response Team said it has worked around the clock to source and secure aircraft in what has become a “volatile market with ever-dwindling capacities”.

Despite the challenges, Chapman Freeborn said it has chartered numerous aid flights to affected regions from the US, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Spain, Belgium, India, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Singapore and the Philippines.

Neil Dursley, chief commercial officer, Chapman Freeborn said he travelled to Dubai shortly after the first earthquake to meet with Giuseppe Saba, CEO, International Humanitarian City, to discuss how the firm could assist.

“The tragic situation in Turkey and Syria is heart-breaking,” said Dursley. “The Chapman Freeborn Emergency Response Team was activated immediately upon learning of the initial huge earthquake.”

According to Dursley, the years of civil war have made delivering aid to Syria very challenging. However, the firm said its team navigated embargoes and closed borders, negotiating with local authorities, to ensure the aid reaches those in need.

David Tasker, director, Government & Humanitarian, Chapman Freeborn said: “The worldwide compassion expressed following this disaster just underlines all that is good amongst the human race. The whole aviation industry and associated industries were quick to react, with Chapman Freeborn proud to be at the forefront with their support.”

The company, part of the Avia Solutions Group, said it will continue to deliver aid to the nations, where millions of people continue to be affected by the events.

“Our teams work relentlessly to help those in need and the efforts of the whole industry must be commended,” said Tasker. “We will of course continue to support people in the affected regions over the coming weeks and months.”

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Krüger will take on the role of vice president of Northern Europe and MD of the German Entities, while van der Blom has been appointed as director for Commercial Development of the Northern European region.

The two appointments are part of a strategy to “reinforce activities in the German market by counting on renowned experts well positioned in the ecosystem”, the company said. Luxaviation has been operating aircraft management, charter and sales in Germany since 2011, when it acquired Fairjets which had been active in the region since 2006. Luxaviation retained its management and base in Paderborn, and has bilateral agreements with aviation authorities in Italy, Austria, Sweden, Spain and Denmark.

Krüger comes to the role with more than two decades of experience in business aviation. He co-founded Fairjets before the firm was acquired by Luxaviation.

Van der Blom brings 30 years of experience in commercial aviation across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He previously acted as director of Business Development, Aircraft Operational Management at ExecuJet and was director of Aircraft Sales and Acquisitions Services in Asia for Hawker Pacific.

Its FBOs at Berlin and Munich are high revenue generators, Luxaviation said. The company is refurbishing the current General Aviation Terminal (GAT) at Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg (BER) in order to meet new European Standards in 2023.

“Luxaviation is well established in the German market,” said Krüger. “The strengthening of our teams confirms our commitment to providing global support to our clients and allows us to accentuate our development particularly in Germany, which represents a mature and dynamic aeronautical market and a source of opportunities.”

The company has been building its presence in Europe over the past few years. Last summer, the group added the 2021 Gulfstream G600 to its fleet at London Luton Airport and in May this year it announced the addition of the Cessna Citation M2 Gen2 jet to its fleet in Le Bourget, Paris Airport, France. Six more aircraft were added to its global fleet this autumn, two of which (the Cessna Citation CJ2 and CJ4 Gen 2) were based in Germany and Belgium.

The market in Germany has been cooling slightly this year in comparison with 2021, but figures are still up from 2019 and 2020 figures, according to WingX. In the first four weeks of November this year, there were 398 business jet departures from Munich International Airport, down 0.7% from November 2021 but still up 49.1% from November 2020.

In Berlin Brandenburg Airport there were 394 private jet departures this month so far, down 22.7% from this time last year. But flights were still up 71.3% from November 2020 and 13.9% higher than 2019.

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Italian police said the suspects, held on warrants issued by Belgian authorities, are accused of charging around €10,000 ($10,000) each to smuggle the migrants. Eurojust report suspects charged as much as €20,000 per smuggled person. The police believe the suspects to belong to a criminal organisation aimed at abetting illegal immigration, according to Reuters. Two arrests were made in Belgium, three in Italy. 

The two aircraft, seized by Belgian police, are reportedly worth €426,000.

The suspects allegedly gave the migrants fake diplomatic identification papers from St. Kitts and Nevis and put them on flights heading to the Caribbean country with stopovers in Europe. Once in Europe, the migrants would declare their real identity and apply for asylum.

It is believed that, between October and December 2020, at least five smuggling operations took place in five different European countries. In addition, several plans were made to carry out other smuggling operations. 

Following a joint investigation by the five European authorities, an Italian man and two Egyptian men were detained in Rome, while another Egyptian and a Tunisian woman were arrested in Brussels. Two more suspects remain at large in Italy and Belgium, according to Italian police chief Costantino Scudieri.

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The Austrian-registered Cessna (tail reg: OE-FGR) was flying from Jerez, Spain, where it took off at 12:56GMT, reportedly destined for Cologne, Germany.

Th aircraft twice altered course, at Paris and Cologne, before heading out over the Baltic, passing near the Swedish island of Gotland. At 17:37GMT the Cessna was listed on the FlightRadar24 as rapidly losing speed and altitude.

“We’ve learned that the plane has crashed north-west of the town of Ventspils in Latvia,” a spokesperson for Sweden’s rescue service said. “It has disappeared from the radar.”

German and Danish military aircraft had been sent to inspect the aircraft as it passed through those countries’ airspace, but were unable to make contact, Johan Wahlstrom of the Swedish Maritime Administration said.

“They could not see anyone in the cockpit,” Wahlstrom said. 

However, some media outlets have reported that whilst nothing but a bag was visible on the seat in the cockpit a person could be seen gesturing from a cabin window. 

“I can confirm that it was the private jet of our owner, Karl-Peter Griesemann,” said a spokesperson for Quick Air, an air charter company based in Cologne. Griesemann and three others were onboard the plane, the spokesperson added.

A Cologne-based newspaper, Express reported that Griesemann was the pilot and that he was accompanied by his wife, daughter and daughter’s boyfriend.

A Lithuanian air force helicopter was dispatched to the crash site for search and rescue, whilst Latvia said it had sent ships to the scene.

A Stena Line ferry travelling from Ventspils to Norvik in Sweden was also redirected to the crash site, according to MarineTraffic.

A Lithuanian air force spokesperson also said that fighter aircraft from the NATO Baltic Air Police mission in Amari, Estonia had taken off to follow the Cessna 551.

According to AMSTAT, the aircraft is owned by Cologne-registered GG Rent. Corporate Jet Investor has reached out to GG Rent for comment. 

The cause of the crash is not yet known.

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McKay (Pictured left at CJI London 2022) has been the president of the GAEA since 2019. She is also publicly appointed sworn aircraft expert witness; an expert witness being a person with specialised knowledge whose duty it is to give a court or tribunal an impartial opinion on matters within their expertise.

GAEA, established in 1965 in Germany, is a non-profit organisation that educates and develops aviation and aircraft professionals in Europe, especially in German speaking nations.

Alongside her various management and consulting positions, McKay has experience in military, commercial and private aviation. The president of the GAEA started her career in the German Navy where she earned her wings and then became a licensed aircraft engineer within commercial aviation.

She owns and manages two companies, one being Kayway.Aero, which manages jet sales. The other, McKay-Aircraft.Expert, handles aircraft valuation. McKay-Aircraft.Expert also perform import/ export of aircraft and handover deliveries on owner/operator changes. Collaborating with industry lawyers, McKay and her company also specialise in aircraft re-possessions

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Caroline Werf, managing director ACS Germany said: “We are near the end of what is set to be our record year and we have almost doubled in size, in terms of staff, since January. This new office is nearer the centre of the city and will better serve most of our clients who are based here. We have around double the floorspace of our last office allowing us room for further growth of the team. Along with our expanding passenger and cargo departments, our On Board Courier team is also growing more rapidly than expected as they have smashed all targets for this year.”

“We are near the end of what is set to be our record year and we have almost doubled in size, in terms of staff, since January.”

“We are currently almost 50% up on last year in terms of revenue and hope to build further on this come the end of the year. This new office gives us the chance to expand our already experienced team over the coming year – these are very exciting times to be part of ACS Germany,” added Werf.

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Werf, an aviation management graduate from Bad Honnef near Bonn, joined ACS and originally worked in the company’s London headquarters before taking up her role in the Frankfurt office.

“Caroline has quickly built up a strong reputation in the industry, and now has a good customer base that relies on her expertise and knowledge of the charter market in Germany, Austria and beyond.”

Justin Bowman, Air Charter Service’s CEO said: “Caroline has quickly built up a strong reputation in the industry, and now has a good customer base that relies on her expertise and knowledge of the charter market in Germany, Austria and beyond.”

“We are sure that Caroline is ready to take on this new role leading the team and will help to drive the Frankfurt office forward as we move into newer, bigger premises next month in what is set to be our record year in Germany. The new office is nearer the city centre and will incorporate our ever-growing On Board Courier Division,” added Bowman.

Werf said: “I am looking forward to expanding our amazing team here. Our growth this year has been exceptional and these are very exciting times.”

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