Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne confirmed in a tweet on Sunday that the black boxes of a downed Ukrainian airliner that killed all 176 people on board in January had arrived in Paris, ending a months-long standoff. The black boxes are expected to be brought to France's air accident agency, BEA, on Monday for analysis, Champagne said, adding that Canadian transportation officials would be present. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has said it accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 on January 8, mistaking it for a missile at a time when tensions were high between Iran and the United States. Many of the victims killed in the crash were Canadian citizens or permanent residents, or had Canada as their final destination. On Saturday, Iran's deputy foreign minister said the boxes had been sent to France for analysis.<br/>
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From Monday, every crew member on every Icelandair flight will be a pilot. The Icelandic national airline been negotiating with the Icelandic Cabin Crew Association (Flugfreyjufelag Islands/FFI) for months over new contracts in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In June, the two sides signed a five-year agreement that, according to Icelandair, involved “increasing productivity and flexibility”. The carrier has made similar deals with the pilots’ and engineers’ unions. But 10 days ago, cabin crew voted against the proposals by a majority of 73:27. Icelandair now says negotiations have broken down: “It has now become evident that a mutually agreed conclusion will not be reached.” As a result, it has decided to “permanently terminate the employment of its current cabin crew members and permanently discontinue the employment relationship between the parties”. The airline says it has been “exploring other options regarding safety and service onboard its aircraft”. From 20 July pilots who are currently not required for flying duties will be assigned “responsibility for safety on board”. Passengers are warned: “Services will continue to be at a minimum, as it has since the impact of Covid-19 started.” Icelandair is now seeking new cabin crew, and is reported to be in talks with staff who lost their jobs when Wow Air collapsed in 2018. The cabin crew union said a strike would begin at once.<br/>