Pilot and cabin crew unions of Brussels Airlines plan to strike on June 23-25, coinciding with a summit of European Union leaders in the Belgian capital next Thursday and Friday. The unions of the airline, the Belgian subsidiary of Lufthansa, complain that work pressure is too high and that the company has been aware of the situation for around a year, without providing a solution. No one at Brussels Airlines was immediately available for comment. Paul Buekenhout of the ACV Puls trade union said the company had laid off staff in 2020 as part of restructuring forced by the COVID-19 pandemic and not adequately restaffed. “The workload is too much,” he said. “In some cases, there are cabin crew doing 18 flights in five days. If you are too tired, there is a problem of safety.” EU leaders will meet in Brussels on June 23-24 and are expected to address the issue of whether to grant Ukraine EU candidacy status.<br/>
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British low-cost carrier EasyJet on Thursday won EU antitrust approval to acquire 18 daily slots at Lisbon airport from Portuguese airline TAP as part of the latter’s rescue plan agreed with EU regulators last year. “EasyJet has now priority to conclude with TAP Air Portugal the agreement for the slot transfer that will allow easyJet to expand its operations at Lisbon airport and offer new flights as of 30 October 2022,” the EC said. Under the E3.2b rescue plan, TAP which is 72.5% controlled by the Portuguese state, was forced to reduce its fleet size, cut more than 2,900 jobs and reduce wages.<br/>
After bottoming out in April, China’s three largest carriers saw a marginal uptick in their domestic traffic in May, though demand remains weak despite a slight easing of onerous pandemic curbs. Still, traffic results from the Big Three’ - comprising Air China, China Eastern and China Southern - showed a significant decline year on year, as China’s airline sector struggles to pull through the latest round of movement restrictions. Air China flew close to 1.8m domestic passengers in May, a 37% rise against April. Capacity and traffic, meanwhile, were up 37% and 40% respectively month on month. Compared to the same period in 2021, Air China saw its passenger numbers plunge 78%, while capacity shrank 70% and traffic fell 78%. China Eastern, whose Shanghai hub briefly exited a long-drawn lockdown in May, carried 1.5m domestic passengers, about 76% higher month on month. Against 2021, the SkyTeam carrier reported a 84% plunge in passenger numbers, with capacity falling 79% and RPKs declining 83%. As for China Southern, it flew around 3.4m passengers in May. The figure is a 54% rise against April numbers, but a 71% year-on-year decline. Domestic traffic rose 59% month on month, with capacity increasing 49%. On a year-on-year basis, the Guangzhou-based carrier saw traffic and capacity decline 71% and 61% respectively. The latest traffic results are among the lowest levels seen since the early day of the pandemic, which began in China. The ‘Big Three’ saw domestic traffic nosedive to a record low in April, amid sweeping lockdowns in various parts of the country, including key hubs such as Shanghai and Beijing. China’s strict adherence to a zero-infection policy has meant that international borders remain tightly shut, and uncertainty over domestic traffic recovery, with lockdowns swiftly imposed when cases are detected. <br/>
Air India is polling pilots on whether they want to be trained to fly Airbus SE A350 jets, indicating that it intends to operate the model as it looks to renew its widebody fleet under new owner Tata Group. The airline may introduce the A350 by the first quarter of 2023, according to a letter sent to senior cockpit crew and seen by Bloomberg News. Pilots must respond to the offer by June 20, and those who accept will be ineligible for training on another aircraft type for two years, the letter said. Air India is looking to order around 20 A350s, people familiar with the matter said. One option would be to take on jets initially destined for Russian carrier Aeroflot that Airbus can no longer deliver due to sanctions, as well as Qatar Airways planes that the airline isn’t taking due to a dispute with the manufacturer over paint quality. A deal would be a coup for Airbus in India, the world’s fastest-growing aviation market prior to the pandemic, as the European planemaker doesn’t have a single customer there for its widebody jets. Two of its previous buyers in the country went bankrupt, while another was sold, handing a lead to Boeing Co., which has delivered 777, 787 and 747 jets to local carriers, including Air India. Airbus has had more success selling smaller jets in India. IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation, is the world’s largest customer for the manufacturer’s best-selling narrowbodies, ordering more than 700, and others including Vistara, Go Airlines India and AirAsia India fly planes from the same family. Boeing has an active order for 737 Max jets with SpiceJet, although the budget carrier hasn’t taken any new deliveries since a ban on the model following two deadly crashes was lifted last year. Boeing is also due to supply Max jets to new airline Akasa, which is backed by billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.<br/>