British airline easyJet has cancelled 350 flights arriving to or departing from Portugal due to a five-day cabin staff strike scheduled for later this month, the SNPVAC union of civil aviation flight personnel said late on Monday. EasyJet cabin staff in Portugal, a popular summer holiday destination, called a strike from July 21 to 25 to demand better working conditions and higher wages to cope with the soaring cost of living. It will be SNPVAC's third strike since the beginning of the year as the union and the company continue talks to reach a new labour agreement for 2023-2035. SNPVAC said that easyJet, the biggest airline in the UK by number of passengers, had so far cancelled 350 flights to or from Lisbon, Porto and Faro. That is the equivalent of 69% of all flights booked for that period. "We will not accept the company continues to perpetuate its regime of maximum profitability and minimum wages," the union said, adding the strike "could have been avoided if the company wanted to".<br/>
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Ryanair resigned from a UK effort to bolster the country’s aviation sector after five months, saying the industry-government panel had become a “talking shop” that failed to make progress on key priorities such as air-space modernization and border control. The UK Aviation Council was set up in February by Transport Secretary Mark Harper to help prepare the sector for future challenges ranging from customer rights and sustainability to flying taxis and freedom of movement. Led by Baroness Charlotte Vere, a junior minister in the Department for Transport, it includes the heads of major airlines such as British Airways, EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic Airways, along with airports and other travel industry players. In a letter to Vere signed by CEO Michael O’Leary, Ryanair said the council has “delivered zero action and no practical measures.” Among the Irish low-cost airline’s demands: more air-traffic controller staff to reduce delays, improved border-control processing times, lower visa costs, a UK push for airspace reform in Europe, and the reintroduction of temporary IDs at UK airports to bring on more workers. At a meeting on Tuesday, Vere proposed a working group to promote UK airspace modernization which Ryanair said won’t report back until April 2024 and will receive no DfT funding. “There has been no action, no delivery, and no improvement in UK aviation, and the Council has become a talking shop for Baroness Vere, Govt bureaucrats and the CAA to waffle on about reform while delivering none,” O’Leary said in a statement, referring to the UK Civil Aviation Authority. <br/>
Middle Eastern carrier Emirates is introducing a regional charter service with Embraer Phenom 100 business jets out of Dubai’s Al-Maktoum airport. The airline is offering the Phenom for on-demand flights to destinations within the Gulf region, including those outside of the Emirates network. Emirates says the four-seat aircraft provides privacy, flexibility and “hassle-free” service for “discerning travellers”. The charters will include chauffeur transit to the airport and assignment of a dedicated representative. “Customers benefit from fast on-ground escorted arrival and quick VIP clearance at customs and immigration provided by private terminal service partners,” adds the carrier. Emirates says the Phenom can fly to a “wide range” of cities in such countries as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.<br/>
A small passenger plane veered off the runway on arrival Tuesday at the international airport in Mogadishu, according to state media. The Somali National News Agency cited the transport minister as saying one person was injured and all others were safely rescued. Images shared on social media show the Halla Airlines plane with a partially detached cockpit lying next to a low concrete wall.<br/>It is not immediately clear what caused the accident. Weather at the seaside airport is partly cloudy.<br/>
UOB will close all five Myanmar Airways International (MAI) accounts by Aug 15, despite appeals by the airline to keep them open. In a letter signed by MAI CE Saravanan Ramasamy and sent to business partners, the bank proposed a timeline “to allow a smooth transition and minimise disruption”. The letter, seen by The Straits Times, also included correspondence from UOB dated June 26. It said that by July 1, no cash or cheque deposits will be allowed into MAI accounts with UOB. The airline will also have to stop using the bank to make payments to others by July 21, and neither will anyone be able to make payments or transfer funds to the bank, except those from the International Air Transport Association. After the Aug 15 deadline, any balance in the five MAI accounts will be remitted, said UOB in its correspondence with the carrier. It has asked MAI for a list of upcoming transactions and supporting documents to indicate the type of goods being transported through MAI’s cargos, citing examples such as cargo manifests and security declarations. In the meantime, UOB said it will step up its monitoring of MAI accounts, adding that there will be delays in the processing of payments and collections, although no reasons were given for the closure of the accounts in the document.<br/>