star

Lufthansa Group has accepted a flight-attendant union’s proposal that a long-running labour dispute be addressed through mediation talks. Earlier this month, trade union UFO suggested mediation as a first step in preparing an arbitration process after two previous attempts failed in December. Lufthansa’s chief officer of corporate human resources and legal affairs Michael Niggemann states: “We now make a large step toward UFO and are ready for mediation of non-wage issues.” He adds, however, that the talks must “bindingly” facilitate an arbitration process to resolve the dispute, which spans 22,000 flight attendants across Lufthansa and several subsidiaries. Lufthansa has repeatedly stated that it wants to resolve the conflict through a “comprehensive” arbitration process. A meeting between the two parties and their designated arbitrators is planned for 16 January.<br/>

An Air Canada flight bound for Australia diverted to Honolulu over the weekend because of a dead passenger. Passenger Christopher Woodgate, 38, was pronounced dead when the flight landed in Honolulu on Saturday, said Kira Paiva-Kimura, an administrative services officer for the Honolulu medical examiner's office. An autopsy will be conducted. The flight from Vancouver was headed for Brisbane, Australia, when it diverted to Honolulu because of a medical emergency, said Peter Fitzpatrick, an Air Canada spokesman. He would not provide details about what happened to the passenger. “Out of respect for the privacy of our customers, Air Canada cannot confirm the details about the medical emergency,” he said. The man had been sick prior to the flight. The man was travelling with five children, his wife and another family member. There were 257 passengers and 13 crew members on the flight. The airline provided passengers with hotel and food vouchers. The passengers left Honolulu Sunday on a different flight, Fitzpatrick said.<br/>