Flight attendants at Delta Air Lines may soon make another push to unionize as broader public support for organized labor creates momentum, according to the head of the largest U.S. flight attendants union. Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, said Tuesday that developments in the long-running campaign to organize Delta’s cabin crew “maybe” could emerge “in a few months.” “The big change today is that we have a positive view of unions in the public,” Nelson said onstage at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas-Fort Worth. “They’re one of the most popular things in the country.” Nelson, who represents 55,000 members at 20 airlines, cited stronger support from community organizations and elected officials in Atlanta, Delta’s headquarters city, and Gen Z’s pro-union attitudes as factors that could tip the balance after three failed attempts over a couple of decades to unionize the carrier’s flight attendants. Nelson said Delta’s recent move to pay flight attendants for boarding time — unique among major U.S. carriers — was a direct response to union pressure. But she said to Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit that it was also driven by the airline’s effort to attract and retain Gen Z talent. Many younger workers have different expectations about compensation and working conditions. The initiative has since been expanded elsewhere, with “better terms” secured in contracts at American Airlines Group and a pending agreement at Alaska Air Group, Nelson said.<br/>
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Italian carrier ITA Airways is to open a service to the Libyan capital Tripoli, despite much of the country still considered risky for air transport. ITA intends to operate to Tripoli’s Mitiga airport, on the coast, rather than the city’s main international airport which lies some 13nm inland. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has an active conflict-zone information bulletin – valid until the end of April 2025 – advising carriers not to fly within Libyan airspace, citing a high risk of intentional or unintentional attacks on civil aviation at all altitudes. But EASA makes an exception for airports on the Libyan coast, as long as airlines conduct approaches over the Mediterranean Sea, in “full co-ordination” with local authorities and air traffic control. Airlines must also ensure that such flights are based on a “robust” risk assessment. ITA aims to begin operating to Mitiga from Rome Fiumicino on 12 January next year. Its reservations engine indicates Airbus A319s will be deployed on the route, which will be flown twice-weekly. The carrier says the restoration of flights follows “essential support” from the Italian government as well as the Italian and Libyan civil aviation regulators.<br/>