Rob McKinney, chief executive of Alaskan regional airline Ravn Alaska and floundering start-up carrier New Pacific Airways, has left the group effective immediately. A representative for McKinney said on 1 July that the split comes as he “does not share the forward vision of the ownership and chairman”. “It has been an amazing journey to be part of the resurrection of Ravn from bankruptcy and to experience the rare opportunity of launching America’s latest Part 121 airline,” McKinney states. “Our partnership with Boeing and collaborations with other remarkable companies and individuals around the world brought our vision to life. However, there comes a time in life when you just don’t see eye to eye.” McKinney launched New Pacific Airways – at the time called Northern Pacific Airways – in 2023, initially aiming to connect Anchorage with key destinations in Asia and the lower 48 states. He looked to replicate across the Pacific Ocean what Reykjavik-headquartered Icelandair does over the Atlantic. For years, the Icelandic carrier has used its island base about midway between North America and Europe to offer low-fare flights between the continents, with the option for stopovers.<br/>
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Severe turbulence on an Air Europa flight to Uruguay from Spain on Monday injured more than two dozen passengers, officials said, leaving several with neck and skull fractures, in at least the second case of severe injuries from turbulence worldwide in less than a month. Flight UX045 made an emergency landing early Monday in the seaside city of Natal, Brazil, after experiencing turbulence more than four hours into the flight from Madrid, according to flight data. Some passengers hit their heads during the turbulence, resulting in head, neck and chest injuries, according to Brazilian public health officials. Thirty-six passengers were treated for injuries and 23 were taken to a hospital, according to health and airport officials. Some of the passengers who received treatment were suffering from shock but no physical injuries, officials said. By Monday evening, five passengers were still hospitalized, four of them in intensive care, officials said. Passengers described a frightening scene on the Boeing 787 jet, with some people flying through the cabin. Two women told the news channel Telemundo that at least one passenger flew out of his seat and became embedded in the plane’s ceiling area. Two videos posted on social media appeared to show a man lying in an area near or above the plane’s overhead bins and then being helped down by two other passengers. Other photos and videos showed broken ceiling panels and seats. “A person was left hanging between the plastic ceiling and the metal roof behind it, and they had to be brought down,” Evangelina Saravia, a passenger from Uruguay, told Telemundo. “The same thing happened to a baby.” Another passenger, Romina Apai, said she had been sitting next to the man who became embedded in the ceiling. “He flew and got stuck in the roof, in the bin — we couldn’t find him,” she told Telemundo. When the plane stabilized, she added, “people fell on top of seats, on top of other people.”<br/>
Canada’s second largest airline, WestJet, has reached a deal with its mechanics to end a strike that had disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers over the Canada Day long weekend. WestJet said late Sunday there will still be flight disruptions in the week ahead as its planes are brought back into service. In its own news release, the Airplane Mechanics Fraternal Association urged its members to return to work immediately pending a vote on the temporary agreement. Some 680 workers, whose daily inspections and repairs are essential to airline operations, had walked off the job on Friday evening despite a directive for binding arbitration from the labor minister. Since Thursday, WestJet has canceled 829 flights scheduled between then and Monday in the busiest travel weekend of the season in Canada. The vast majority of Sunday’s trips were called off as WestJet pared down its 180-plane fleet to 32 active aircraft and topped the global list for cancellations among major airlines over the weekend. “The damage to Canadians and our airline is massive, a swift resolution was necessary; we take no victory laps on this outcome but will sleep better tonight knowing further harm has been prevented,” Diederik Pen, President of WestJet Airlines and Group COO, said in a statement.<br/>
Aer Lingus and pilots remained at the Labour Court late on Monday as efforts were made to avert further travel disruption amid the busy summer period. The airline and the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) returned to the dispute resolution forum at 2.30pm on Monday in a bid to end the bitter industrial dispute. Both sides had blamed the other for prolonging the stand-off that has led to almost 400 flights being cancelled and disrupted tens of thousands of passengers’ travel plans. Monday’s mediation was focused on restarting pay talks in the intractable row. They remained in the Lansdowne Road building past 11pm on Monday – with the pilots’ representatives grabbing a coffee at the 24-hour garage across the road at around 7pm. Aer Lingus warned there could be further cancellations, while Ialpa said if efforts at the Labour Court failed, it would consider escalating its industrial action. The airline’s chief corporate affairs officer Donal Moriarty said Monday’s talks would be challenging. “This dispute is causing significant financial and reputational damage to Aer Lingus and it’s impacting negatively on everyone that’s connected with the company, including our passengers,” he said. “So we’ve no doubt that the engagement today in the Labour Court will be challenging, but we’re willing to engage in that meaningfully.” He added: “We’ve always been willing to engage in meaningful discussion and negotiation and we will continue that approach in the Labour Court today.”<br/>