oneworld

Finnair has begun talks about temporary layoffs with its long-haul pilots following a reduction in its services to China because of the coronavirus outbreak. Negotiations began Monday, the airline says. No decisions have yet been made. “We are currently evaluating the impacts flight cancellations due to the novel coronavirus have on our employee resource needs if the exceptional situation prolongs,” says Finnair. “We have now started a co-determination process concerning long-haul pilots to evaluate possible need for temporary layoffs.” The carrier has cancelled its direct flights to China until March 28 and halved the frequency of its Hong Kong service to once per day. CE Topi Manner said earlier this month that he expected the coronavirus to have a “relatively limited” impact on the airline’s earnings. <br/>

Malaysia’s top leadership considered from the outset the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014 a mass murder-suicide by the pilot, according to Tony Abbott, who was Australia’s PM at the time. “My very clear understanding from the very top levels of the Malaysian govt is that from very, very early on here they thought it was a murder-suicide by the pilot,” Abbott said in a clip from a documentary airing Wednesday on Sky News. Abbott declined to name any individuals to support his claim. Najib Razak was Malaysia’s PM when the plane went missing. Official inquiries into the tragedy failed to offer a technical explanation for the plane’s disappearance, or explicitly blame the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah. <br/>