BELGIUM: Ryanair Cabin Crew Staff From Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal Plan Strike, Sept 28

Ryanair cabin crew from five European countries will go on strike on September 28, threatening hundreds of flights in the latest round of a bitter tussle between unions and the budget airline’s management.

Staff from Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Portugal announced a 24-hour stoppage that unions say will be the biggest strike in the Irish carrier’s history.

Ryanair workers, pilots, ground staff, and cabin crew are demanding better working conditions and want their contracts to be based on the law in their country of residence rather than in Ireland.

Unfortunately, discussions continue without results, Yves Lambot of Belgium’s CNE union says describing negotiations with Ryanair management.

They have promised to change our contracts into national contracts by 2022. This is too late for us. We want 2019.

A group of unions from the five countries issued a statement after meeting in Brussels, accusing the airline of disregarding the law and promoting a bullying culture, and saying management was incapable of maintaining a meaningful conversation during the talks.

In a letter addressed to European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, the unions urged the EU executive to clarify its position on the dispute, and to help the company and unions reach an agreement.

News of the new walkout comes just a day after the Irish carrier was forced to cancel 150 out of 400 flights to and from Germany because of strike action by pilots and cabin crew there.

Ryanair slammed the German stoppage as unacceptable and unnecessary, and shortly before the announcement of the new action the airline insisted unions would fail in their bid to cause travel chaos.

The overwhelming majority of Ryanair’s flights and services that day will operate as normal, the company’s chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said in a statement.

A key gripe of workers based European countries, is that Ryanair employs them under Irish legislation.

They say this creates huge insecurity, blocking their access to state benefits in their own countries.

Late Thursday, cabin crew unions for Ryanair in Italy said they had reached a preliminary agreement that would allow workers to transition to Italian work contracts, with final details expected in the coming days.

Ryanair’s colourful chief executive Michael O’Leary struck a typically combative tone after the German strike, vowing not to bow to union pressure.

We are not easyJet, we will not roll over every time we are threatened with a strike, O’Leary said in London, mocking a rival low-cost carrier.

Ryanair has been clashing with worker representatives ever since it took the unprecedented step last year to start recognising trade unions in a bid to avert widespread Christmas strikes.

Last month, Ryanair pilots in five European countries, including Germany, held their first-ever simultaneous walkout, causing some 400 flight cancellations and travel chaos for 55,000 passengers.

The airline boasts lower costs per passenger than its competitors and is eyeing profits of about 1.25 billion euros ($1.45 billion) this year, but staff have long complained that they earn less than counterparts at rival carriers.

Ryanair has countered employee complaints by saying it has already offered significant pay increases and more local contracts.


Tourism Observer

BELIGIUM: Brussels Airlines-TAP Portugal Codeshare Under Investigation By European Union

European Union (EU) regulators have formally raised antitrust concerns over a codeshare between Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal, but have dropped a similar probe against Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines.

The EU inquiry into the Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal codeshare on flights between Brussels and Lisbon was started in February 2011. On Oct. 27, the European Commission said it has issued a statement of objections to the airlines.

“We are concerned that in this particular case Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal may have used their codeshare to restrict competition and harm passengers’ interests,” EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager said.

The probe relates to the first three years of a codeshare signed in 2009, under which Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal sold unlimited seats on one another’s flights between Brussels and Lisbon.

Prior to the 2009 agreement, the two airlines were the only competitors on the route. The European Commission said that, under the codeshare, Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal discussed and implemented a capacity reduction and aligned prices on the route.

“The Commission takes the preliminary view that this combination of practices breaches EU rules that prohibit anti-competitive agreements. The Commission’s preliminary conclusion is that these practices eliminated competition on prices and capacity between the two airlines on the Brussels-Lisbon route and led to higher prices and less choice for consumers,” the Commission said.

The statement of objections is a preliminary view and not a final ruling. The airlines will now be given the opportunity to respond.

“TAP has always fully cooperated with the European Commission, providing all documentation and information requested. The statement of objections now submitted constitutes a mere procedural step through which the European Commission communicates the concerns identified to TAP,” the Portuguese carrier said. “TAP will have now a two-month period to present its position to the Commission, which may choose to file the process or to proceed with it. TAP will prepare its response and will continue to fully cooperate with the European Commission.”

Brussels Airlines issued a similar statement, saying it too has been fully cooperating with the European Commission. “We will put all efforts into place to demonstrate that the codeshare agreement with TAP Portugal is fully in line with industry practice and competition law. No further information can be provided at this time as investigations are ongoing.”

At the same time as announcing the TAP ruling, the Commission dismissed a separate codeshare antitrust probe involving Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. “The Commission's investigation found that Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines did not have full marketing rights to each other's seat inventory and that they applied differing pricing strategies. Furthermore, the codeshare accounted for only a marginal share of the parties' sales on the routes of concern,” the Commission said.

European Aviation Safety Agency Strengthens Medical Fitness Requirements For Pilots

EASA published a set of proposals to the European Commission for an update of the rules concerning pilots’ medical fitness, as part of its Action Plan following the Germanwings Flight 9525 accident.

These rules are contained in so-called Part-MED, which covers aviation safety rules related to the medical aspect and fitness of aircrews.

Released in a document known as an Opinion, these proposals introduce the following new requirements, among others:

- strengthening the initial and recurrent medical examination of pilots, by including drugs and alcohol screening, comprehensive mental health assessment, as well as
- improved follow-up in case of medical history of psychiatric conditions;
- increasing the quality of aero-medical examinations, by improving the training, oversight and assessment of aero-medical examiners;
- preventing fraud attempts, by requiring aero-medical centres and AMEs to report all incomplete medical assessments to the competent authority.

These proposals have been subject to consultation with all concerned stakeholders. They address relevant safety recommendations made after the Flight 9525 accident by the EASA-led Task Force, as well as by the French “Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses” (BEA).

The EASA Opinion also includes a broader update of Part-MED, aimed at keeping the rules up-to-date with latest developments in the field of medicine and filling any gaps identified through the operational experience.

The EASA Opinion will serve as the basis for a legislative proposal by the European Commission towards the end of 2016. To support the implementation of the new rules, EASA has prepared draft guidance material (so-called Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material – AMC/GM), annexed to the Opinion. The final AMC/GM will be published when the new rules have been adopted by the Commission. A further set of regulatory proposals in the area of Air Operations will follow before the end of the year.

EUROPE: Europe’s Beaches The Target Of Terrorist Attacks

The Islamic State group is considered to be planning terrorist attacks on the beaches of Europe this summer

Bombs can be placed under the loungers and the attackers can be disguised as street vendors, according to the leaders of the Intelligence Services in Italy, informs Daily Mail.

Italian Intelligence Agency presented to the German BND details of these plans and the terrorists’ strategies to commit bomb attacks in resorts, the German daily newspaper Bild reported.

The Italian Intelligence Agency received information about the terrorist plans from a credible source in Africa. They also announced that the attackers have concrete plans to disguise themselves into tourists and sell drinks, snacks, accessories and T-shirts on the European beaches.

German media reported that SI can send suicide bombers disguised as street vendors and would place bombs under sunbeds in famous resorts in Spain, France and Italy. Beaches resorts that are considered to be specially targeted in southern France, Costa del Sol in Spain and both coasts of Italy, according to the heads of the intelligence services, quoted by Bild.

Build had also informed that plans are involving the use of automatic weapons on crowded beaches, sand burial of explosive devices under beds and commit suicide attacks.

Last year, 38 people died after a man opened the fire on a beach in Tunisia.