Lufthansa said it cancelled some flights on Sunday due to technical issues, just hours before a major strike threatened to force most of Germany’s air and rail services into a standstill. The cancellation and delays at Lufthansa were caused by technical problems at external service providers, affecting check-in and boarding in Frankfurt, the carrier said on Sunday, adding that the issues have been mostly resolved. Lufthansa will offer alternative connections and rebookings on trains, it said. That might be easier said then done as Verdi and EVG transport and railway unions are planning industrial action that will begin at midnight for 24 hours, with the unions expecting severe disruption to travel, according to a statement. Verdi is demanding a wage raise of 10.5% for public sector workers. Major airports including Frankfurt won’t operate Monday. Frankfurt Airport also advised passengers changing plane to avoid the hub. Long-distance, regional and local trains operated by Deutsche Bahn and other railway will also come to a standstill, EVG said. Verdi Hamburg on Saturday said it has made agreements with all affected companies in order to guarantee safe passage in the event of accidents, emergency landings or medical or patient transport.<br/>
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The CE of Air India said the carrier is embarking on the biggest turnround effort in airline history as he outlined ambitions to turn India into the next major aviation hub following a huge order for new planes. Campbell Wilson said he hoped to return the recently privatised airline to the “upper echelons” of global aviation as part of an overhaul by new owner Tata Sons. Wilson has begun to rebuild an airline that has been bleeding $2.4mn a day, is upgrading a fleet of antiquated planes, and runs on some of the oldest information technology in the industry. “It’s certainly the biggest aviation turnround, I think, that I am ever aware of . . . I don’t think there is anything that has ever been attempted like this before,” Wilson said. Tata, the industrial group that acquired the formerly state-owned national carrier after a $2.4b bid in 2021, last year began a five-year turnround programme codenamed Vihaan.AI — derived from the Sanskrit for “dawn of a new era” — aimed at transforming the brand following nearly 70 years in state hands. Last month the airline announced its global ambitions with an order for 470 planes from Airbus and Boeing, one of the largest ever such purchases. The airline is recruiting staff and pilots and rolling out services in hope of capitalising on India’s growing economy and population — from this year the world’s largest — and diaspora, many of whom fly to India via the Gulf. Wilson said he planned to triple passenger numbers and to eventually challenge Gulf airport hubs including Dubai and Qatar for layover traffic. Tata is also seeking regulatory permission to merge Vistara, its airline joint venture with Singapore Airlines, into Air India. As part of the planned merger, Singapore Airlines is investing about $250mn in Air India, giving it a 25.1% stake. Air India is also integrating its Air Asia Express and Air Asia India into a single carrier. Wilson was unable to say when the carrier would turn a profit, but pointed to “so much low-hanging fruit” for cost cuts and revenue growth, including modernising basic functions such as scheduling, fuel and insurance contracts and its frequent flyer programme. He said the airline was the last in the world to switch away from an old reservation system, and until the takeover had last hired anyone to work in IT in 2007.<br/>
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended two employees of the air traffic controller department for "carelessness", the aviation body's spokesperson Jagannath Niroula told India's Press Trust of India (PTI) on Sunday. Nepal's CAAN on Sunday wrote to the Director General of Civil Aviation of India (DGCAI) to probe why the Air India plane suddenly descended to about 15,000 feet from 19,000 feet. "We have written to DGCAI requesting them to evaluate the occurrence and take action as deemed and inform us accordingly," CAAN spokesman Jagannath Niroula told Reuters. On Friday, an Air India and a Nepal Airlines aircraft came close to collision mid-air but the warning systems alerted the pilots which averted the disaster, PTI reported on Sunday. The Nepal Airline's plane was coming to Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the Air India plane was coming to Kathmandu from New Delhi.<br/>
Juneyao Air has taken delivery of the first Airbus A321neo to be completed at the airframer’s final assembly line (FAL) in Tianjin. The facility in China was upgraded last year to undertake A321neo work amid high demand for the largest variant of the A320 family. “Since we announced the commissioning of the first A321 aircraft at FAL Tianjin last November, the relevant final assembly activities and tests went on smoothly, showcasing the maturity of FAL Tianjin to quickly adapt to new products,” says George Xu, chief executive of Airbus China. The Juneyao Air aircraft is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines and was delivered using a 10% sustainable aviation fuel blend. All four of Airbus’ A320-family FALs are now able to work on the A321neo, Toulouse having joined Tianjin, Hamburg and Mobile earlier this year. The Tianjin facility has completed assembly of around 600 A320-family jets over the past 14 years, Airbus says.<br/>