Efficient and precise flight data communications made it possible to ensure a safe flight home for Canadian students traveling back from Guatemala during global border closures.
During a March 2020 humanitarian mission to a remote area of Guatemala, a group of Quebec school students and their teachers struggled to secure a flight back home to Canada, amid the rush of global border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the looming deadlines for grounded international travel, the students were able to successfully evacuate from Guatemala within minutes of the country’s international border closure – thanks to a chartered flight from Quebec-based Nolinor Aviation. The success of this urgent flight was leveraged by the airlines’ SKYTRAC SkyWeb flight charting platform and communications powered by Iridium’s pole-to-pole satellite network.
On March 16, Nolinor Aviation received an urgent call from the Quebec school board for help in rescuing the stranded students. Nolinor’s aircraft took flight as soon as they received the transportation request, utilizing SKYTRAC’s SkyWeb Flight Following & Voice platform to chart flight paths and communicate with ground operations, while already in the air.
Time and precision were essential for this mission. The plane was the last aircraft to exit Guatemala City airport – just 45 minutes before the country ceased all international traffic. Ultimately, the Nolinor aircraft transported 45 Canadian students and five teachers safely and timely from Guatemala and coordinated all critical communications through SKYTRAC Systems’ SkyWeb.
“We were racing against the clock to rescue a school group in Guatemala and left 45 minutes before airspace closure. All critical communications and decisions were made during flight with SKYTRAC Systems,” Oliver Tomczak, Security Director of Nolinor Aviation
Nolinor Aviation is the largest privately-owned airline carrier offering specialized commercial charter flights to and from Canada. Its progressive and steady growth has allowed them to offer air transport across Canada, the United States, and multiple destinations worldwide – including remote regions with challenging gravel and icy runways. Nolinor has integrated SkyWeb into its day-to-day operations to drive efficiencies and add value to their global operation.
SKYTRAC Systems offer companies such as Nolinor, a secure Automated Flight Following and Voice solution that allows aerospace organizations to chart flight paths, track aircraft quickly, and have real-time voice communications over reliable pole-to-pole satellite connectivity. Providing companies with the technologies and support to operate their missions successfully and efficiently is a fundamental goal of SKYTRAC.
