SAS is cancelling another 280 flights across the Nordic region through Thursday afternoon (1200 GMT), affecting 20,000 more passengers, due to a pilots' strike. The cancellation comes on top of 504 flight canceled Wednesday and hundreds more since pilots began an open-ended strike on Friday due to the collapse of pay negotiations. Karin Nyman, a Scandinavian Airlines spokeswoman, welcomed the resumption on Wednesday of talks with the pilots — the first contacts since talks collapsed — saying it raised "hope that it will lead to constructive conversations." <br/>
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SAS may be facing a loss in 2019 as the airline company weighs up the cost of a protracted pilot strike. The walkout, which has already disrupted the plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers, will continue into Thursday, with SAS saying it’s been forced to cancel another 280 departures across Scandinavia. The two sides were due to meet in Oslo on Wednesday to talk through their differences. “It is positive that the parties now return to the negotiating table, it is the only way the conflict can be solved,” SAS spokeswoman Karin Nyman said. “As the parties now meet, we have the aspiration that it will lead to a constructive dialogue.” SAS Chairman Carsten Dilling says it’s too early to estimate the full cost of the strike, but said that investors need to brace for the possibility that the company won’t generate a profit this year. SAS has tried to curb the fallout by sending layoff notices to Norwegian cabin crew, but labor laws prevent it from doing the same in Denmark and Sweden, Jyllands-Posten reported. Since starting late last week, the strike already looks set to have caused well over 3,000 cancellations, affecting about 350,000 passengers.<br/>
Asiana Airlines is receiving applications for voluntary retirement and unpaid leave from its employees, as the airline focuses on cutting costs. The measures come two weeks after Kumho Asiana Group, the parent group of the country's second largest carrier, decided to sell the debt-ridden airline to avert a liquidity crisis. This could also be the start of large-scale restructuring at the company. According to Asiana officials, Wednesday, the airline has begun accepting voluntary resignations from senior employees. "On Tuesday night, Asiana announced it would receive applications for voluntary retirement from employees with over 15 years at the company. Workers eligible include office employees and those in the sales and airport service departments," an official said. In addition, the airline is encouraging employees to go on unpaid leave to help the company save costs. The leave targets office workers mainly, excluding personnel related directly to safety and aircraft operations, such as pilots, flight attendants and mechanics. Employees can take leave of between 15 days to three years. "We are expanding the application scope for unpaid leave, which we have already been carrying out in line with efforts to cut costs," the official said. The voluntary retirement and unpaid leave are part of measures announced by company CEO Han Chang-soo to regain market confidence and garner support from creditors. <br/>
A Canadian amputee is petitioning to have his case heard by the Canadian Human Rights Commission after an official with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) at a Calgary airport confiscated the batteries needed to power his portable scooter. Stearn Hodge lost his left arm and right leg in a workplace accident in 1984 and uses a scooter powered by lithium batteries to get around. He can wear a prosthetic leg, but not for long because of the risk of infection, according to the outlet. In 2017, Hodge was travelling to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife for their 43rd wedding anniversary when a CATSA security agent at the Calgary International Airport and a representative from United told him it was unsafe to fly with his scooter's $2,000 battery and its spare. Hodge was prepared and presented documents he'd printed from the IATA, that said that while there is a risk of fire hazard with Lithium-ion batteries, the association's global standards make exceptions for the medical devices of travellers with disabilities if the airlines gives prior approval, the outlet reported. He had that approval, he told CBC. But Hodge said that no one would listen to him or read the documents. The Canadian Air Transit Security Authority declined to comment, citing pending litigation. When Hodge asked a United representative to confirm for security that he had gotten permission to bring the batteries on board, CBC reported, the agent sided with security. Story has more.<br/>
An All Nippon Airways plane headed for Kumamoto landed at Chubu airport near Nagoya on Wednesday evening due to engine trouble, the carrier said. The plane carrying 252 passengers and eight crew members left Haneda airport in Tokyo and detected the trouble at around 7:50 p.m., landing at Chubu airport about 40 minutes later. The cause of the problem is being investigated. The plane sustained no damage and no one was hurt in the incident. Many of the passengers stayed the night inside Chubu airport before flying to Kumamoto on another aircraft on Thursday, ANA said.<br/>