British Airways flight attendants went on strike at midnight
Hundreds of BA flights are canceled, however BA maintains that it is flying about 60 percent of their flights. British Airways claims that more workers are showing up than expected and that they can keep more planes scheduled than anticipated. Seems only the passengers are suffering with the uncertainty.
The Unite union, which represents crew members, said more than 80 planes were grounded at Heathrow and an “enormous” amount of flights had been canceled.
BA said enough staff were turning up to maintain its revised schedule and let it reinstate some additional flights.
Staff are striking over pay and working conditions, with a further four-day walkout planned for 27 March.
Pilots who overshot airport could regain licenses
The Northwest/Delta pilots who overshot Minneapolis/St. Paul airport by 150 miles may have a way to get their licenses. That’s the good news for them. The bad news — it will be like starting over again.
The two pilots can’t reapply for any licenses until at least the end of August, more than 10 months after the incident. And they will be required to retrace all the steps of regaining an initial private pilot license; qualifying for a more-advanced license required to pilot larger aircraft and operate them under instrument flight conditions; and finally, receiving a full-fledged commercial pilot’s certificate.
But in laying out a timetable for regaining their licenses, the settlement agreement appears to include some provisions designed to streamline and remove potential hurdles from the process.
Senate OKs measure to boost flight hours for new co-pilots
After the fatal crash of the Continental Express/Colgan Air plane in Buffalo, New York, the Senate and the FAA have been wrestling with what seem to be lax pilot standards. The co-pilots are now allowed to be hired with only 250 hours of flight time. A change in the law will increase the minimum to 800 hours.
Schumer’s amendment had been expected to be combined with a series of other changes to the FAA bill that are still being developed. Set to be released later this week, those changes also are likely to include additional aviation safety measures stemming from the crash of Flight 3407 in Clarence.
Under the Schumer compromise, the FAA would have to set an 800-hour flight requirement for co-pilots by the end of next year. Some of that experience would have to be in multiple-pilot environments and adverse weather, including icing, as well as in other specific conditions.
If the FAA fails to develop and implement those rules by the end of next year, new co-pilots automatically would be required to have 1,500 hours of experience in specific, rigorous conditions.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
