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Mar302020 by adminNo Comments

EasyJet grounds all flights due to coronavirus

Business

EasyJet has grounded its entire fleet of aircraft due to the coronavirus pandemic.In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the no-frills carrier said it completed its final rescue flight on Sunday and was now about to place its cabin crew on a two-month leave of absence. The airline said: "As a result of the unprecedented travel restrictions imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the implementation of national lockdowns across many European countries, easyJethas, today, fully grounded its entire fleet of aircraft. ...

Nov82019 by adminNo Comments

German airline Lufthansa grounds 1,300 flights amid flight attendant strike

World

Nov. 7 (UPI) -- German airline Lufthansa grounded 1,300 flights on Thursday as thousands of flight attendants launched a strike. The strike over pay, pensions and working conditions is expected to last through Friday evening and affects about 180,000 passengers, NPR reported. The flight attendants' union, UFO, agreed to preliminary talks over the weekend but was not expected to end the strike early. UFO issued a statement accusing the airline of not working with them earlier to avoid the need for a strike. "Instead of averting the strike, plans were changed on a massive scale and additional standby services were acquired for the day of the strike," the union said. Lufthansa condemned the strike in a statement before it took effect and offered affected customers the opportunity to rebook ...

Aug92019 by adminNo Comments

Air Mobility Command grounds 123 U.S. Air Force C-130s due to ‘atypical cracks’

Business

Aug. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force said Thursday that Gen. Maryanne Miller has grounded 123 of 450 Total Force C-130 Hercules aircraft from service after discovering cracks on the wing. During maintenance, "atypical cracks" were found on the lower center wing joint or "rainbow fitting," accoding to an Air Mobility Command statement from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga. Miller gave an order to halt the aircraft from service on Wednesday after discovering the cracks. Inspections will take eight hours, and if cracking is identified, rainbow fitting replacement will be required. Otherwise, the aircraft will be returned to service immediately. As of Thursday morning, eight C-130s had been inspected and returned to service, AMC spokeswoman Alexandra Soika told Stars and Stripes. "The ...

Mar132019 by adminNo Comments

Boeing grounds entire global MAX 737 fleet

World

Boeing has grounded its entire global fleet of 737 MAX 8s and 9s following Sunday’s crash in Ethiopia. In a statement, the company said "out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft's safety" it had decided to temporarily suspend its entire fleet of 371 MAX aircraft. Boeing said it had taken the decision after consulting the US Federal Aviation Administration and the National Safety Board.The statement said: "We are supporting this proactive step out of an abundance of caution. Safety is a core value at Boeing for as long as we have been building airplanes and it always will be."There is no greater priority for our company and our industry. "We are doing everything we can to understand the cause of the accidents in partnership with...

Mar132018 by adminNo Comments

Trump blocks Broadcom's bid for Qualcomm on security grounds

Business

US President Donald Trump has blocked a planned takeover of chipmaker Qualcomm by Singapore-based rival Broadcom on grounds of national security.His order cited "credible evidence" that the proposed $ 140bn (£100bn) deal "threatens to impair the national security of the US". There were concerns the takeover could have led to China pulling ahead in the development of 5G wireless technology. The deal would have been the biggest technology sector takeover on record.A takeover of Qualcomm by Broadcom would have created the world's third-largest maker of microchips, behind Intel and Samsung. The chipmaking sector is in a race to develop chips for the latest 5G wireless technology and Qualcomm is considered to be a leader in this field, followed by Broadcom and China's telecoms giant Huawei. Ana...