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The Supreme Court of Canada has allowed Delta Airlines to appeal a ruling involving a complaint by a Nova Scotia man alleging the airline discriminates against obese passengers. The court granted the company's appeal request Thursday. In 2014, Gabor Lukacs complained to the Canadian Transportation Agency that Delta was in the habit of bumping larger passengers from full flights in the hopes they would buy a second seat. The transportation agency refused to investigate the complaint because Lukacs is not obese, saying he was not affected by the allegations. Last September, the Federal Court of Appeal overruled the agency and said it had not followed the Canadian Transportation Act when it dismissed Lukacs' complaint. Delta said the company is pleased the court has accepted the appeal. <br/>

Alitalia was forced to cancel 60% of scheduled flights Thursday as its employees went on strike to protest about employment conditions. Hundreds of employees marched outside Rome's main airport, where usually bustling check-in areas were deserted. Alitalia's controlling shareholder Etihad Airways, which has a 49% stake, is pushing for deep job cuts. The airline's financial losses and failure to fend off low-cost competition is widely blamed on years of poor management. Protesters said Thursday they had been on "precarious" temporary contracts for 60 months, and were being asked to accept ever-harsher working conditions. Sources say heavy restructuring may include up to 2,000 job cuts and grounding of planes, in a last-ditch attempt to keep flying. <br/>