Pilots quit; PAL forced to cancel 11 flights

FLAG CARRIER Philippine Airlines (PAL) cancelled 11 flights today after a number of pilots "indiscriminately" resigned.

"The pilots left their posts without proper notice. They have written us letters but those are not enough. According to the labor law, the pilots should have given us 180 days to process their resignations. Most of these pilots left us because of better offers. We will impose the proper sanctions," PAL said in a statement.

The Lucio C. Tan-led airline cancelled eight domestic and three international flights assigned to 180-seater Airbus A320 planes.

Chaos at IGI airport - New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Operations at the new integrated Terminal-3 of the IGI Airport have hit the airport operator, airlines and passengers hard causing delay in departure of flights.

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Aer Lingus cabin crew to vote on strike

Cabin crew at Aer Lingus are to ballot for industrial action in a row over the implementation of the company’s new €97 million cost-cutting plan.

The ballot, which is being held after attempts to resolve the dispute at the Labour Relations Commission failed,  will conclude on August 9th.

Under trade union legislation, cabin crew would have to serve a minimum of seven days notice before implementing any form of strike action.

Philippine Airlines flight attendants threaten to strike

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS at the Philippine Airlines (PAL) are planning to strike following the management's “discriminatory policy” of lowering the compulsory retirement age to 40.

In PAL, the other employees are allowed to work until 65 years old. The pilots’ compulsory retirement age for both males and females is 60 years old. But for flight attendants, the compulsory retirement age is as young as 40 years old.

Since the Collective Bargaining Agreement expired in July 2007, flight attendants have not been granted any increase in salary.

Plane with 152 on board crashes in Pakistan

A Pakistani passenger plane, with 152 people on board, crashed on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad on Wednesday.

The Airblue plane was headed to Islamabad from the sea port city of Karachi when it crashed in a hillside while trying to land.

AirBlue Airlines has cancelled all flights until initial investigation has not been made regarding flight AD-202

Air France - Ground staff on strike July 30?

The CGT-Air France called on Friday the Airline ground staff, to strike on July 30 in the provinces and at Orly airport to defend working conditions and employment.

UPDATE. Strike will be a 4 day strike, starting Friday, but only at Toulouse Airport.

Greek air controllers' strike declared illegal

A Greek court has declared plans by an air traffic controllers' union to start 24-hour rolling strikes Sunday are illegal.

Union officials say they will not defy Friday's decision by the Athens court, but will likely continue a work-to-rule protest _ following contractual obligations to the letter _ launched this week to press demands for additional staff and new equipment.

UPDATE Sunday July 25: No strikes but very long delays! Expect also long delays on Monday. Check your airport/airline.

UPDATE Monday July 26: As a result of the Greek work-to-rule protest, flights to and from and overflying Cyprus can have long delays.

UPDATE Tuesday July 27: Greek airport officials say flight delays have eased after protesting air traffic controllers resumed negotiations with the government.

Greek strike to disrupt flights on July 25

Flights in and out of Greece will be disrupted on July 25 when air traffic controllers go on strike over a state reform plan, a union leader said on Tuesday.

Yannis Kourmoulakis, general secretary of the controllers union, said the strike would start on Sunday and last a day.

UPDATE: see posting July 23 17.52hr.

BA strike fear as pay deal snubbed

Ba union chiefs last night warned of a fresh wave of strikes after cabin crew rejected the airline's latest pay offer.

They voted by more than 2-1 against a 2.9% rise next year with 3% the year after.

Unite joint leader Tony Woodley called the result "a wake-up call" for airline chief executive Willie Walsh.

The union is now pondering another ballot that could mean further walkouts in September.

Delays in Spanish air traffic as controllers work to rule

Barcelona - An alleged work-to-rule by air traffic controllers was Monday delaying flights in Spain.

The daily El Pais reported delays of up to one hour in flights from Barcelona, Alicante and Palma de Majorca to Madrid.Eighteen of the 53 Barcelona air controllers, who are responsible for air traffic in the north-east and in the Balearic Islands, also took sick leave, sources of the airport managing company Aena said.Even more delays occurred for similar reasons over the weekend.

UPDATE: July 20. Airport Girona Costa Brava is closed from 21.00 Local time until 01.00 LT, due to lack of staff

UPDATE: July 21. Barcelona air traffic control's 'sick' strike could lead to prolonged flight disruption.

Labour dispute threatens air traffic at Vancouver airport

VANCOUVER - Travellers could face disruptions at Vancouver's airport Monday morning because of a labour dispute.

On Sunday night, negotiators for Servisair left the bargaining table without waiting for a union response to a proposal regarding refuelling supervisors.

Paris-based Servisair had served a 72-hour lockout notice on Thursday to 21 supervisors and administrative staff.

Jamaica - Major delays for travellers

Travellers using the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay could be faced with further delays as immigration officers at that airport are on go slow.

The officers are reportedly upset over a dispute between one of their colleagues and a manager employed to MBJ Airports Limited, which occurred last Saturday.

The action of the immigration officers has resulted in long delays for passengers, with even some missing their flights.

Yesterday, at least two people reportedly fainted while waiting to clear Customs.

Galway airport strike deferred

A planned strike, which was due to begin at Galway airport tomorrow, has been deferred, pending a ballot on settlement proposals.

Union members had voted for industrial action in a row over the renewal of contracts for some employees at the airport.

However, the strike has now been postponed after talks between Siptu and management at the Labour Relations Commission.

New strike threat at UK airports

Workers at six UK airports are being balloted for strike action by the Unite union.

Unite is to ballot more than 6,000 members based at BAA airports, including Heathrow, in a dispute over pay.

It has accused BAA of offering a "paltry" pay offer for 2010 after a pay freeze in 2009.

The ballot closes on 12 August, which could lead to a walk-out on the August Bank Holiday weekend, one of the busiest periods in the travel calendar.

France - Air traffic strike Wednesday July 21.

HOLIDAYMAKERS planning to fly to or from France next week are facing delays and cancellations because of a strike by air traffic controllers.

Five unions representing civil aviation workers have given formal notice of a walkout from Tuesday evening (July 20) to Thursday morning (July 22), potentially affecting summer holiday travel.

Update:Strike will start July 20 at 17.00 utc until July 22 05.00 utc. Up to 20 percent of flights into Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport and 50 percent of flights into Orly may be cancelled.
Update: Pau - Pyrénées Airport will be closed until July 21, 08.00 Local Time.

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Power out at Reagan National Airport

Officials say a power outage is expected to affect flights at Reagan National Airport.

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokeswoman Courtney Mickalonis says electrical power was lost about 11:45 a.m. at terminals A and C and at the airports authority headquarters building. Mickalonis says it has affected ticket counters, security checkpoints and concessions.

She says flights will be affected and urged passengers to contact their airlines for any delays or cancellations this afternoon.

Mickalonis says it's not clear when power will be restored. She says officials are making notification announcements in the terminal.

Argentina - LAN airline pilots go on strike over ‘discriminatory selection process'

LAN Argentina airline pilots decided to go on strike for an unspecified period of time after they accused the company of "discrimination" in the pilot selection process, a union spokesman said.

The Airline Pilots Association vice-president, Pablo Biró, explained that the measure began minutes after 11 am and didn't rule out its spreading all over the country's airlines.

Biró warned that the measure would remain in effect until the company changes their requirements in the selection process, which he considers to be in violation of Articles 14 Bis and 16 in the Constitution.

"If nothing changes, flights during the weekend will surely be affected," he added.

Sydney airport faces pay-row strike threat

The Transport Workers Union said yesterday it would go ahead with the strike next Wednesday at Airport Fuel Services (AFS) over a proposed pay deal that would see casual employees employed on rates lower than permanent staff.

The industrial action could disrupt domestic and international flights at Sydney airport, and potentially affect passengers at other airports.

Update July 21: Sydney Airport says there will be no delays to flights on Wednesday despite refuellers proceeding with a strike.

ITALY – July 2010 Strikes

Transport is one of Italy's most strike-prone sectors, at the same time as being covered by legislation (law 146, 1990) regulating strikes in essential public services. A strike must be announced and because of the "announcement effect", a strike call can cause considerable disruption, even though the strike itself is cancelled.

09.07.2010 12.00-16.00 ENAV (Air Traffic Control)

20.07.2010 10.00-14.00 Alitalia personal Torino

20.07.2010 00.00-24.00 Alitalia – Air One CANCELLED

20.07.2010 00.00-24.00 Assohandlers

20.07.2010 10.00-14.00 Meridiana NEW

20.07.2010 00.00-24.00 SEA Handling (Milan)

26.07.2010 11.00-15.00 Airport Bari CANCELLED