Here you will find an ever expanding resource covering aviation issues that affect all categories of civil aviation workers including cabin crew, airline ground staff, pilots, airport workers and air traffic management staff. Be sure to return regularly or to register to receive updates as this area will be updated on a daily and weekly basis. Also, please email us at aviation@itf.org.uk if you have any links or material you would like to contribute here, or simply to offer us feedback. The ITF Civil Aviation section.
On 18 August 2016, a Qatar Airways passenger plane has made an emergency landing at Istanbul’s Atatürk airport due to an engine fire believed to have been caused by a bird strike. Thanks to the professionalism of the cockpit and cabin crew as well as the firefighters and the airport’s airside workers, all 298 passengers […]
Seeking improved working conditions, a better quality of life for their families and fairness on the job, approximately 250 SM Freight Cargo workers today became the newest members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The National Mediation Board conducted the election, with 81 percent of employees voting in favor of IAM […]
Trade unions representing workers in Lufthansa Technik (LHT) have established a new global network to build workers’ power in the multinational. Ten leaders from ITF unions met in Berlin, 12 August, to exchange information about their activities in LHT. Around half the workers at LHT are part of ITF unions. LHT is the largest aircraft […]
ITF general secretary Steve Cotton has protested to Turkey’s prime minister, aviation and transport ministers, and aviation authority, over the suspension of two airport workers. He acted after ITF union BTS (United Trade Union of Transport Employees) alerted the Federation that the two appeared to be victims of an opportunistic attack by airport officials using […]
189 of the company’s specialist technicians report A survey answered by 189 maintenance technicians working for LATAM Airlines in Peru, Brazil, Paraguay and Colombia has identified for the first time the potential impact on flight safety of changes in maintenance procedures, reductions in personnel, and the replacement of expert workers by less qualified staff. Trade […]
The TWU-IAM Association today announced it has reached an interim agreement with American Airlines to provide approximately 30,000 ground workers industry-leading wage rates, a lump sum payment and retirement improvements. Both sides will continue joint contract negotiations to resolve outstanding issues. “Association members at American Airlines will receive the industry-best wages they deserve now,” said […]
Given Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary’s boast that “short of committing murder, negative publicity sells more seats than positive publicity”, his airline’s deplorable treatment of a family with a severely disabled child en route to a holiday in Portugal should not come as a shock. But one fellow passenger, a medic, was so outraged he is […]
Every time we fly, we trust our life to a stranger. As well as mechanical failures and disastrous weather, a pilot must be ready to handle stress, terrorism and hours in the air. What kind of person sits inside that locked cockpit? The most striking thing about the conversation was its utter calm. “Mayday, mayday, […]
