The EC ordered Ryanair Wednesday to respect EU rules by giving workers contracts in the country they live rather than in Ireland where its planes are registered. Europe’s largest low-cost carrier has traditionally employed a significant proportion of its staff under Irish law, which unions say inconveniences staff and impedes them from accessing local social security benefits. After a meeting with European Employment Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said the demand was “irrelevant” as the company had already written to unions in all EU countries offering to move staff to local contracts. Since announcing in December last year it would recognise trade unions for the first time in its 30-year history, Ryanair has accelerated a shift from Irish to local contracts as part of recognition talks with various unions. But the unions have held a series of strikes in recent months, citing disagreements over terms, including in several cases the question of local contracts. Ryanair has cancelled 150 flights on Friday due to the latest strike, by cabin crews in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. At a meeting in Brussels, Commissioner Thyssen told O’Leary that EU rules on employment for mobile air crews were clear - based not on the flag of the aircraft, but the place where workers left in the morning and returned in the evening. “Respecting the law is not something over which workers should have to negotiate and not something that can be postponed to a later date,” Thyssen said. In response, Ryanair published the terms of its offer to staff, including an offer of local contracts.<br/>
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Fastjet’s shares shed more than half of their value on Wednesday after the African budget airline said it needed more cash within a month for it to continue operating. Fastjet, launched in 2012 and modelled on the likes of no-frills airlines easyJet and Ryanair, has been running short of cash for more than two years and it was unclear if investors will continue to back it. “The company is currently in active discussions with its major shareholders regarding a potential equity fundraising, in the absence of which the group is not able to continue trading as a going concern,” the airline said. Fastjet’s shareholders include activist M&G Investment, Janus Henderson and South African carrier Solenta. Fastjet added that talks with some shareholders had been positive and discussions were ongoing, though it did not guarantee success. The budget airline has offered shares for cash at least twice in the last three months to meet its cash requirements, including last year to expand in South Africa and Mozambique. Fastjet’s shares, which have fallen over 16% this year, were down nearly 38% at 1231 GMT. The airline also posted a bigger half-year operating loss of $14.6m Wednesday, from a loss of $13.2m last year. The company said it was evaluating its Tanzanian operations and could cease operations in the country. <br/>
A passenger was kicked off an IndiGo flight after he tried to access the cockpit to charge his phone, the Indian airline said Wednesday. The incident took place as the flight was preparing to take off from Mumbai for Kolkata on Monday. “While an IndiGo aircraft being on the ground an unruly passenger tried to enter the cockpit stating that his mobile needs to be charged,” IndiGo said. “Following standard operating procedures the captain … initiated the offloading of the passenger on grounds of security violation.” An airport official told the Press Trust of India news agency that the man, said to be in his mid-30s, was drunk. Police questioned and then released him without charge, the official added. It was the second bizarre incident involving an Indian domestic flight this week after a passenger tried to open an exit door in mid-air, apparently mistaking it for the toilet. The man was travelling with GoAir from New Delhi to Patna on Saturday when he tried to open the aircraft’s rear exit, the carrier said. Another passenger raised the alarm and the man was apprehended by the crew.<br/>
Long-haul LCC Norwegian is cutting its US routes from Belfast, Northern Ireland, ending transatlantic services from Edinburgh, Scotland, and cutting some European routes from the Scottish capital. “Following a comprehensive review of our services from Belfast in response to customer demand, we have decided to withdraw our routes from Belfast to the New York and Boston areas,” the carrier said Sept. 26. Customers can still book for travel between Belfast and the US for travel until Oct. 27. “We will no longer have any flights operating from Belfast,” a spokesperson said. “New York and Boston-Providence remain well served by Norwegian from Dublin, Shannon and Cork (in Ireland) with up to 33 weekly departures,” the carrier added. The airline has also decided to withdraw routes from Edinburgh to the New York and Boston areas as well as to Barcelona and Tenerife, Spain, with the last flights departing March 30, 2019. <br/>
Air France announced five more of its routes that will transfer to hybrid airline Joon from mid-2019. Starting from next summer, Joon will fly from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Madrid, Stockholm, Prague, Manchester, UK; Quito, Ecuador, and the Caribbean island of Saint-Martin. The Stockholm, Prague and Manchester flights will be operated with Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft with 174 and 212 seats respectively. The Quito and Saint-Martin flights will be operated with Airbus A340s with 278 seats, including 30 in business, 21 in premium economy and 227 in economy. Air France-KLM launched Joon in December 2017 to help boost profitability and better compete with Gulf carriers.<br/>