push the button, click the switch

We’ve been seeing a steady flow of Click Airways (ICAO: CGK) and Click Airways International (ICAO: CKW) movements between the UAE, Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Bagram, and some other war-on-terror locales like Djibouti and northern Somalia. Here’s something interesting; Click(CGK), one of the airlines banned by the EU in April last year, is registering a lot of Ilyushin 76s in the EY-, Belarussian Tajik registry. I reckon, what with the closure of the Moldovan registry and even pressure on some of the Central Asian ones, they’re running out of space.

Something else that’s interesting; I occasionally mention that I heard from a source that Aerocom’s shortlived Australian operation (Air Bridge Group – used the same registry and the same aircraft) “wanted to start flights between South-East Asia and Australia with aircraft with a rear cargo door that could be opened in flight”. Why on earth could anyone want that particular capability on that route? Who knows, eh.

Back when Air Bridge was a going concern, in 2003, the Antonov 12s involved came from Aerocom and Imtrec, another UAE-based operator often seen on UAE-Iraq or UAE-Afghanistan routes. Now, look who’s here; Click(CKW) just bought an An12, registered EK-11418, serial 7344705, that not only came from Click (CGK) but also from Air Bridge via Imtrec and some outfit called Air People International; in the old 3C- Equatorial Guinea registry but after they pulled all the regs to clean up.

Update: As a commenter points out, EY- is Tajikistan, EW- is Belarus. Which is interesting; Trans Avia Export Cargo is in Belarus, but this is the first Tajik activity we’ve seen.