Air Canada has announced that it has been awarded the Gold Level Certification by the Toronto-based nonprofit, Excellence Canada. The award recognises the Airline’s extensive investment into Mental Health and Wellbeing strategies and initiatives, including their Unlock the Best in You (UBY) programme, as well as Mental First Aid programme. Initially created in the 2022, so far 900 employees have undertaken Mental First Aid programme, which offers employees training and certification in the skills needed to support colleagues in times of need. Dr Jim Chung, Chief Medical Officer at Air Canada, said in a statement, “I am incredibly proud of Air Canada for achieving the Excellence Canada – Gold Level Certification. This recognition highlights our deep commitment to fostering a mentally healthy workplace culture where wellness is not just a program but an integral part of who we are and part of our daily lives. Through engagement and innovation, we are able to ensure that the mental and physical well-being of our employees and their families remain at the forefront of everything we do.”<br/>
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Star Alliance members ANA (All Nippon Airways) and Brussels Airlines are set to expand their codeshare partnership for the Northern Winter 2024/25 season. Effective October 30, 2024, ANA’s flight numbers (NH-coded) will be displayed on eight additional Brussels Airlines routes. This expansion enhances connectivity between Brussels and key European destinations. The new codeshare routes operated by Brussels Airlines include flights from Brussels to Bilbao, Gothenburg, Krakow, Marseille, Oslo, Porto, Toulouse, and Valencia. The collaboration provides ANA passengers with more seamless travel options across Europe, strengthening the alliance between the two airlines and boosting travel convenience for passengers flying to and from Asia via Brussels. This development is part of ANA and Brussels Airlines’ ongoing effort to offer passengers greater flexibility and connectivity through their joint networks.<br/>
A reported 90 hoax bomb threats have been made against Indian airlines in the past week, provoking international travel chaos as planes were grounded, diverted and flown to safety by fighter jet escorts. The unprecedented surge in fake bomb threats against multiple Indian and international airlines has caused severe disruption to India’s aviation industry and created a growing sense of panic among air passengers. Last week, there were a reported 90 bomb threats made against airlines flying domestically and to international destinations out of Indian airports. On Saturday alone, 30 hoax threats were reported, and at least 20 more threats were made to different airlines on Sunday. Indian aviation authorities and criminal investigators have yet to uncover the source and motive of the surge in bomb threats, which are largely being sent via email or posted through anonymous accounts on social media platforms such as X. Major Indian airlines such as Air India, Vistara, SpiceJet and IndiGo have primarily been targeted but American Airlines, Jet Blue and Air New Zealand have also had threats that led to flights being diverted. The impact on India’s airline industry has been enormous. Regulations enforce airlines to act on every threat, meaning dozens of planes have had to reroute and make emergency landings in third countries such as Turkey or Germany, or turn back to India. On Sunday, Afghanistan refused permission for a Vistara flight bound for Frankfurt to make an emergency landing after it received a bomb threat, forcing the plane to turn back to India. India’s air travel sector has been booming, with domestic air traffic carrying 152m passengers in 2023. Over the past week, passengers have been left enraged as their travel has been delayed, sometimes by days, and airlines are facing huge financial losses. Last week, an Air India Boeing 777 en route from Delhi to Chicago was diverted to the remote Canadian town of Iqaluit due to a bomb threat. The 200 passengers on board were grounded for three days before finally making it to Chicago onboard a Canadian air force plane.<br/>
From 27 October to 29 March, 2025, Thai Airways will operate flights to 64 destinations worldwide, including increased frequencies on key routes. The Star Alliance member will offer double daily service to Frankfurt, London, Sydney and Melbourne through next April. In Europe, Thai Airways will operate daily service to Munich, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Zurich, Paris and Milan in the upcoming winter schedule. From 1 December, the airline will also resume a daily service between its Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport base and Brussels. Flights to Istanbul and Perth will operate daily, too. In the Asia-Pacific region, regional highlights this winter include five daily flights to Singapore, four to Hong Kong and three to Tokyo Narita (plus two daily flights to Tokyo Haneda). Thai Airways is also offering expanded services to India, China, and Southeast Asia, including double daily service to Denpasar and Kathmandu, 22 flights a week to Delhi, eleven flights a week to Shanghai and ten weekly services to Beijing. In its upcoming domestic schedule through late March, Thai Airways has confirmed nine daily services to Phuket, as well as service twice a day to Krabi and 35 flights a week to Chiang Mai. Thai Airways is in the process of rebuilding its fleet after several punishing pandemic years.<br/>