Flight delay issues in Britain!
There have been major disruptions at airports across Britain this week. Staff shortages related to Covid have led to hundreds of flight delays and cancellations, with British Airways and easyJet customers the most affected. The nation is bang in the middle of the Easter vacation season, and problems are expected to continue in the coming weeks.
Flight delay issues with Alaska Airlines!
It wasn’t its own pilots picketing over failed contract negotiations that resulted in Alaska Airlines suffering “significant flight cancellations” last week, the Seattle-based carrier said on Friday. Instead, Alaska Air blamed the COVID-related staff sickness, bad weather, and its own poor planning for the disruption that first hit just over a week ago.
A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines has been forced to clarify that the informational picketing events carried out by pilots were not the cause of the mass flight cancellations and has confirmed that pilots are not participating in any form of strike action.
The carrier should now be through the worst of the short-term cancellations but Alaska has trimmed its schedule by around 2 percent through to the end of June.
The Allied Pilots Association which represents Alaska pilots says the airline failed to properly plan for increased travel demand and take the steps necessary to ensure it attracted and retained pilots.
Flight delay issues in Australia!
Close contact COVID-19 isolation rules have been urgently scrapped for workers at Sydney International Airport after days of delays that Qantas boss Alan Joyce initially blamed on passengers for not being “match fit”.
The decision to ditch isolation rules for airport workers was meant by the New South Wales minister for health Brad Hazzard after what is believed to have been a personal appeal by the under-pressure Qantas chief executive.
Close contacts of positive COVID-19 cases must still isolate for seven days under New South Wales’ current pandemic restrictions. However, certain ‘critical workers’ are exempted from isolation for the purposes of attending work only.
Until Friday, the list included critical workers like police officers, social workers, and supermarket employees but not airport workers. The Public Health Order has now been amended to include airport workers in an effort to reduce the delays.
Some have missed their flights as a result of the airport chaos, while Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin Australia have been forced to hold some planes at the gate to wait for passengers.
Since initially blaming customers, it has since emerged that Sydney Airport could be facing staff shortages due to surging COVID-19 cases. People who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for seven days, along with any of their close contacts.
