A captain of Italy’s flagship state airline has been fired after he allegedly fell asleep at the controls, leaving traffic controllers unable to communicate with the plane for ten minutes. According to the Italian daily Repubblica, both pilots of the ITA Airlines AZ609 passenger flight from New York to Rome on April 30 had dozed off at the controls of the Airbus 330. The co-pilot was napping for a “controlled rest” as procedure allows, according to the report, but the captain is supposed to be awake and reachable. ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia, is the new state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy, which the government reorganised after Alitalia formally declared bankruptcy last autumn. The communications blackout, which lasted for just over 10 minutes while the plane was on autopilot, sparked a terror alert, with French air authorities contacting their Roman counterparts at 5.21am warning that a terrorist hijacking could be under way. On Twitter, Michele Anzaldi, a centre-left lawmaker, called for an official apology from the state-owned carrier. “What happened on the ITA flight from New York, where both pilots fell asleep, is very grave,” he said. “The company has a duty to guarantee that this will never happen again and must apologise to the passengers.” While the internal investigation by ITA Airlines found grounds to fire the captain, who denies he fell asleep, it did not cite a specific reason for his mysterious radio silence.<br/>
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KLM will launch its premium-economy cabin on routes to North America later this year, the SkyTeam carrier confirmed on 27 May, as it starts to roll out the new product across its widebody fleet. The launch will be the realisation of an ambition announced by the Dutch flag carrier in February 2020, on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic, to bring KLM’s product slate into line with that of transatlantic partners Air France, Delta and Virgin Atlantic. Outlining its plans for the premium-economy product in more detail, KLM does not specify which aircraft will receive the cabin first, but does say customers will be able to book the class for “a growing list of destinations” from late July this year, spearheaded by North American services. The product itself – dubbed ‘Premium Comfort’ – is described as an “entirely new in-flight class” for the airline, which will complement its business- and economy-class offerings. Compared with the latter class, customers will have larger seats, more legroom and a larger screen, alongside a “distinctive” catering product and other baggage and check-in service upgrades. The seats have been sourced from Collins Aerospace, which is supplying an “upgraded” MiQ seat.<br/>