InBrief
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Europe's travel chaos worsens
BERLIN • Covid-19 cases, strikes and labour shortages are adding to Europe's air travel chaos as summer vacation gets under way.
Germany's flagship airline Lufthansa is cancelling 3,100 domestic and European flights for July and August, after a wave of Covid-19 cases worsened staffing shortages.
Yesterday, some cabin crew at Irish budget airline Ryanair went on strike in Portugal, Belgium and Spain over pay. Dozens of flights were cancelled and hundreds of passengers were stranded.
A pilot union at the French arm of Air France-KLM also called a one-day strike for today. Swiss budget airline EasyJet's Spain-based cabin crew union was planning nine days of strikes next month.
Meanwhile, British Airways workers at London Heathrow airport are set to strike in a dispute over wages.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
US complaints against airlines soar
WASHINGTON • American consumers lodged 5,079 complaints against US airlines in April, an increase of more than 320 per cent over those received in April 2019, before the pandemic. Air passengers are facing long queues, crowded airports and few open seats, as airlines rebuild staff levels after thousands of workers left the industry during the pandemic.
REUTERS
Canada passport queue stretches for days
MONTREAL • Canadians are facing long waits to get a passport, with hundreds camped out for days in Montreal where police were called to calm the crowd.
The authorities said 1,200 new workers, and temporary transfers from other government departments would soon help reduce the backlog.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
