Ryanair has welcomed a ruling by the commercial court in Barcelona that no compensation should be paid to customers whose flights are cancelled due to strike action. The ruling, which was the ninth to be made in Spanish courts in recent months, declared that compensation under what’s known as EU261 legislation should not be given in situations where flights are cancelled because of internal strike action, as they are deemed to be beyond an airline’s control. Ryanair, which this week issued a profit warning due in part to concerns over ongoing strike action, claimed that if the industrial action was within its control, “there would be no strikes and no cancellations”. Ryanair added that it fully complies with EU261, what CE Michael O’Leary has recalled a “ridiculous” piece of legislation. <br/>
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British tourists travelling with Thomas Cook will not receive compensation or expenses should their flights be grounded as a result of a no-deal Brexit, the company has said. The airline and tour operator, changed its terms and conditions to reflect the risk of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal, including on aviation. Thomas Cook has designated a no-deal Brexit as being akin to other situations it cannot control such as “civil unrest or events arising out of political instability”, in its conditions. While the company will continue to refund the cost if a flight is cancelled, the change will mean it is not obliged to pay additional compensation. Last week, the EC president, Jean-Claude Juncker, confirmed that “if everything goes wrong … British planes will not be able to land on the European continent”. <br/>
Emirates is to reduce the number of flights it operates by nearly a third for 45 days next year when 1 of 2 runways at Dubai International is closed for upgrade work, the airline said Thursday. The southern runway will be closed from April 16 to May 30, 2019 for resurfacing and replacement of ground lighting and other infrastructure. Dubai International, which handled 88.2m passengers in 2017, is the base for airlines Emirates and flydubai, and an engine for Dubai's economy, which relies heavily on tourism and travel. Emirates will cancel some flights, reduce the number of flights to certain destinations and reschedule others during the upgrade work, said a spokeswoman. Flydubai said Thursday it would move some flights to Dubai's second airport, Al Maktoum International, during the temporary closure. <br/>
Canadian ULCC Swoop will add service to its first Mexican destination early next year, announcing service to Cancún, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. The carrier will connect Hamilton’s John C. Munro Hamilton International and Puerto Vallarta International with twice-weekly service, and fly 3X-weekly between Cancún International Airport and YHM. Swoop will also serve both Mazatlán International Airport and PVR twice-weekly from Abbotsford International Airport. Each of the 4 routes are scheduled to start in January. Adding the 3 Mexican cities brings Swoop’s route map up to 14 destinations. Montego Bay, Jamaica, is the only other station located outside Canada and the US. The carrier has 4 Boeing 737-800s in service and plans to add 2 more in time for its January route expansion. <br/>