The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered WestJet to hand over all its files on harassment of flight attendants in a class-action lawsuit alleging widespread misconduct by pilots. The ruling by Justice Jacqueline Hughes says WestJet has been slow and "potentially adversarial" regarding the documents and it's unclear why complaint files haven't been produced in a timely manner. The underlying claim in the long-running lawsuit, filed in 2016, alleges WestJet breached flight attendants' contracts by breaking a "promise" to provide a harassment-free workplace. The ruling, posted Friday but dated Dec. 11, says the airline tried to limit document production to complaints against male pilots by female flight attendants who haven't opted out of the lawsuit. But Hughes ordered the airline to produce all harassment complaints by flight attendants during the class period — from April 4, 2014, to Feb. 28, 2021 — regardless of whom they were against. Iain Bailey, one of WestJet's Calgary-based lawyers, said he has no comment on the case as it's still before the court. The ruling says WestJet has handed over 24 harassment complaints, but the company's own "internal statistics" indicate there were "significantly more" during that period. <br/>
unaligned
One woman faces a mischief charge after an incident on a WestJet plane as it was preparing to leave for Toronto. It happened while passengers were boarding WestJet flight 670 for Toronto. The flight was supposed to leave around 3:15 Sunday afternoon. During the boarding process, a woman was reportedly going from seat to seat, having to move when passengers told her she was in their seat. Police say once all passengers boarded and the overage was discovered, all passengers had to deplane. One passenger on the flight told CTV News they boarded another plane about three hours later. Police say they arrested a woman inside the Calgary International Airport and she now faces one charge of mischief over $5,000. CTV News has reached out to WestJet for a comment about what happened but we have not heard back. When we asked the airport about the incident we were referred to Calgary police. <br/>
Iceland has become the first new member of Eurocontrol in a decade, joining the air navigation organisation on 1 January, exactly 10 years since Estonia in 2015. The accession brings to 42 the total number of Eurocontrol member states. Iceland has been participating as an observer in the organisation’s provisional council for more than 25 years. Co-operation with Iceland became particularly critical during the 2010 volcanic eruption which badly disrupted European air traffic. Eurocontrol director general Raul Medina says the accession process for Iceland commenced in August 2020 and has involved a “huge amount of work”. “It is excellent news for the agency and for the European aviation network as a whole,” he adds. Joining Eurocontrol is a “logical step”, says Icelandic Transport Authority director general Jon Gunnar Jonsson. He says aviation and air navigation are “vitally important” for Iceland given that it is “geographically positioned at a crossroads between continents”. Eurocontrol states that Iceland is already “well-integrated” with Europe, through membership of the European Economic Area as well as other pacts and trade agreements.<br/>
The extraction of flight data from the Brazilian-made Azerbaijan Airlines in Kazakhstan last month was completed at a lab run by Brazil's air force, according to a statement released by the entity on Monday. The data from the Embraer plane was sent to the Kazakhstan authority investigating the crash.<br/>
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on Monday excoriated Russia for trying to duck responsibility in the downing of an Azerbaijani passenger jet last month, doubling down on a rare confrontation with the Kremlin that has highlighted Russia’s loss of influence in much of the former Soviet Union. Meeting with the two surviving flight attendants and with relatives of the crew members who died in the crash, Aliyev said Russian efforts “to hush up this incident” caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation” in Azerbaijan. The preliminary investigation into the Dec. 25 crash that killed 38 people made it clear, he said, that had the Russian military and civilian authorities coordinated properly, “this tragedy could have been prevented.” He reiterated his assertion, which has been backed up by footage from the scene and Western assessments, that the plane crashed after being hit by Russian air defenses. “I can say with confidence that the blame for the fact that Azerbaijani citizens died in this disaster lies with representatives of the Russian Federation,” Mr. Aliyev said. “We demand justice, we demand the punishment of the guilty, we demand complete transparency and decent behavior.” In a departure from protocol, Aliyev made those televised comments in Russian, rather than in Azerbaijani; analysts described that decision as both a nod of respect to the Russian-speaking relatives of the deceased pilots, as well as a sign that Aliyev wanted to be heard in Moscow. While President Vladimir V. Putin apologized to Aliyev on Dec. 28 for “the tragic incident” that “took place in Russian airspace,” he stopped short of accepting Russian responsibility for it. In the aftermath of the crash, pro-government voices in Azerbaijan unleashed rare and withering criticism of Russia, despite the close relationship between Aliyev and Putin, two authoritarian leaders who had increasingly found common ground in confronting the West.<br/>
An investigation team launched an in-depth examination of key components from the wreckage of the Jeju Air disaster, including the engines and cockpit panel, following efforts to recover victims' remains. The investigation team at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on Monday that as of noon, all 179 deceased victims had been transported to funeral homes, where procedures are ongoing. Investigators have retrieved major parts of the aircraft, including two engines and the upper cockpit panel, for detailed analysis. They will also examine the remaining parts of the wreckage, such as the wings. A transcript of the cockpit voice recorder was created on Saturday. Later the same day, two investigators departed for the United States with the flight data recorder (FDR) to collaborate with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which will assess the extent of damage to the FDR and determine whether data can be extracted. A special inspection of six airlines operating the same aircraft model (B737-800) has been extended to Friday. The inspection includes a review of maintenance history, pre- and post-flight checks, operational and maintenance records and workforce management. Additionally, navigation safety facilities, such as localizers installed at 13 airports across the country — including Incheon, Gimpo and Jeju — will undergo inspection until Wednesday. An official from the ministry said, "The government is currently formulating plans for a joint memorial service and is coordinating with local governments for support if necessary."<br/>
A Jeju Air crash in South Korea last week, the deadliest plane accident in years, has stunned the global aviation industry. The country is regarded as a model for how to turn poor air safety practices into some of the world’s best. Three decades ago, South Korea had a dismal record of air safety. Its flagship airline, Korean Air, experienced several deadly crashes in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2001, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded South Korea’s air safety rating for failing to meet international standards. Around the turn of the century, South Korea began an immense project to overhaul its aviation safety practices, drawing on the experiences of other countries including the United States. By 2008, South Korea had earned one of the world’s highest scores in a safety audit conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization. At the time of the crash, it was considered one of the safest countries for flying. Air safety experts cautioned that it was premature to speculate about what caused the crash on Dec. 29 of Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, in which 179 of the 181 people on board died. It was Jeju Air’s first fatal crash in its two-decade history, and the worst ever on South Korean soil. Jeju Air has said it is “fully cooperating” with investigations into the cause. With an extensive multinational investigation underway, the experts noted South Korea’s experience in successfully upgrading its safety practices, and said the authorities might ultimately be able to draw similar lessons from the Jeju Air disaster. “Over the past few decades, Korea and its airlines and government authorities have done very well in terms of implementing safety management systems,” said Hassan Shahidi, president of the Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit that provides safety guidance to the aviation industry. In trying to determine what caused the Dec. 29 crash, officials have said they would look into multiple factors, including damage to the plane from a possible bird strike. <br/>
T'way Air said Monday it will build the country's first low-cost carrier (LCC)-dedicated aircraft maintenance facility at Incheon International Airport by 2028. The 150b-won ($102.1m) facility will be built inside a high-tech aviation complex inside the airport, the main gateway to South Korea, in Incheon, west of Seoul, according to the airline. The facility will house a 15,000 square-meter two-bay hangar, along with a 20,000-square-meter workspace. It will have the capacity to simultaneously service one E-class aircraft and four medium-sized C-class aircraft. Construction is slated to commence in the first half of 2025. The announcement follows an agreement signed last week between Incheon International Airport Corp. and T'way Air regarding the construction of the facility. The facility is expected to alleviate the dependence of domestic LCCs on overseas companies for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services, the company said. <br/>
HK Express, the budget arm of Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways, has been crowned the world’s “fastest-growing airline of 2024” after recording a 40% increase in passenger numbers over 2023, taking the total to 6m. The number of flights operated by the carrier last year also increased by 46% from 2023 to 35,015, partly due to the expansion of the airline’s network and fleet, global travel data provider OAG said. Some experts said they expected low-cost airlines to enjoy a boost in business throughout the year as the strength of the Hong Kong dollar could encourage more residents to travel abroad. In aviation analyst Cirium’s recent On-Time Performance Review, HK Express dropped out of the top 10 most punctual low-cost carriers. Dr Andrew Yuen Chi-lok, executive director of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Aviation Policy Research Centre, said a strong rebound in outbound travel after the Covid-19 pandemic had helped the airline rapidly recover. “HK Express has established a comprehensive network in Japan, making it a favoured choice for travellers seeking leisure opportunities,” he said.<br/>