Jan Gruber

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Jan Gruber

SunExpress starts selling Air Cairo flights

The Turkish holiday airline SunExpress will have Air Cairo operate its Egypt flights from Germany in the 2021 summer flight schedule. The reason for this is that the closure of the German branch means that it is dependent on a partner. The cooperation flights can be booked for the travel period from the end of May to the end of October 2021. While Air Cairo will operate the flights to Hurghada, SunExpress is responsible for all flight planning, revenue management and sales. Together, the two companies are offering an Egypt program from Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the summer season with up to three connections per week depending on the departure location. Egypt holidaymakers can choose from Hurghada connections from Berlin, Bremen, Basel, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hanover, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich. Prices for the routes that can already be booked start at 139,99 euros one-way. "Many have already been vaccinated and can therefore face the tests with confidence - and in many cases there is no need to quarantine on return," commented SunExpress CCO Peter Glade. "We are very pleased that flights to Egypt are now starting and are sure that we will be able to offer many customers a relaxing holiday.

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Finnair concludes new pilot KV

Finnair management and the pilots' union Palta have agreed on a new collective agreement. This is valid until 30 September 2024 and is intended to make it easier for the airline to survive after the corona pandemic. This includes the transition from a salary structure based on years of service to a salary structure based on job vacancies, as well as measures to more effectively compensate for the seasonality of air traffic. "With the new collective agreement, our pilots are showing their willingness to contribute constructively to Finnair's recovery phase in the midst of the biggest crisis in aviation history," says Johanna Karppi, Senior Vice President Human Resources at Finnair. "I am pleased that we have been able to agree on solutions together that support Finnair's competitiveness while ensuring that Finnair continues to be a good employer for Finnish pilots in the future. The long contract period brings us predictability and supports long-term efforts to build Finnair's future." Pasi Vuorio, chief negotiator at Palta, adds: “The agreement is a balanced unit that takes into account the challenging situation the company is facing amid the pandemic. Thanks also go to the pilots’ negotiating team.”

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Austrian Airlines: comeback of flights with a stopover

In May 2021, Austrian Airlines will again operate domestic German flights. These are so-called triangular flights that will be operated on two routes on Saturdays, the company confirmed. According to AUA, the reason for this is the currently "slightly weaker demand". Passengers who want to fly to Hamburg or Stuttgart with Austrian Airlines on Saturdays in May 2021 must be prepared for a stopover. In the direction of the Hanseatic city, this will be carried out at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport. After Stuttgart, there will be a stopover in the Bavarian capital Munich. The flights will be carried out according to the following patterns: Vienna-Munich-Stuttgart-Vienna or Vienna-Berlin-Hamburg-Vienna. "In this way, we can continue to offer our customers a connection to these four destinations on Saturday mornings in May," an Austrian Airlines spokesperson told Aviation.Direct. Point-to-point transport within Germany is not currently planned.

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Merkel emergency brake: legal to the airport by bike?

Large parts of Germany are currently suffering from the "emergency brake" imposed by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). Among other things, this provides for night-time curfews if the seven-day incidence rate is 100 or higher. While cycling remains permitted, all travel is to be avoided. This also includes journeys by car, train or plane. However, due to international agreements, Germany cannot impose a night-time flight ban for all airports. This leads to the curious fact that arriving during the "curfew" is legal, but travelling home by car would then be illegal. But if you walk or use a bicycle, you are at least in a grey area. The industry association BDL is calling on the German government to ensure that arrival and departure remain permitted. However, this has fallen on deaf ears in Angela Merkel's circles for the time being. Lufthansa told various media that it does not currently expect flight operations to have to be restricted due to the "emergency brake". While Austria, for example, has now announced concrete dates for the reopening of sectors that are still closed, German politicians are indicating that there will be no easing of restrictions before the end of May 2021. Further tightening of restrictions is more likely. The benefit of night-time curfews is rather small, as the example of Austria shows.

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Fuel pumps: EASA has A320 checked

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) sees a potential risk of explosion in some Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. This affects aircraft that were produced before June 30, 2015 and use certain fuel pumps. According to the airworthiness directive, a loose locking pin on the impeller shaft could be a source of sparks. According to EASA, this could be dangerous if the pump is not completely filled with kerosene. Airbus presented the authority with a list of serial numbers. The authority ordered that the affected parts must be replaced within ten days, but no later than after 50 flights. The operators are also to be contacted by the manufacturer Airbus. In the unlikely event that an operator fails to make the repairs, the affected aircraft will automatically be banned from flying. This applies until the EASA's instruction is complied with.

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Entry into Austria: high incidence areas only affect commuters

As part of the last extension of the Covid entry regulations, Austria also introduced a new category of "high-incidence area". This primarily affects commuters, because their test results are no longer valid for seven days, but only for a maximum of 72 hours. The listing in Annex B of the regulation has no immediate impact on the "general public". Austria currently only allows entry without quarantine from Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the Vatican. Coming from all other countries - unless you fall under an exception - a ten-day isolation period applies, from which you can test yourself free on the fifth day. In addition, a negative antigen or PCR test must be presented upon entry. Special feature: People residing in Austria can also catch up on this within 48 hours within Austria. As of April 25, 2021, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus are classified as so-called high-incidence areas. Commuters must therefore be tested more frequently. Most recently, the Republic of Malta was removed from the so-called Annex B. Since there are currently no flight connections between Vienna and Luqa, the impact is likely to be very limited. However, there are commuters between the two countries. For example, the airline Lauda is said to have many "commuters" between its offices in Schwechat and Pieta (Malta).

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Laudamotion: Stansted incident now before the ECJ

The European Court of Justice must deal with the Laudamotion engine defect and the subsequent evacuation of the then OE-LOA. The incident occurred on March 1, 2019 at London Stansted Airport. An Austrian woman is suing the company because she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident. The British accident investigators heavily criticized the former Austrian airline in their final report. Among other things, the senior flight attendant in charge was accused of lacking previous experience. She was promoted after less than a year of practice. The authority also believes that evacuating the plane was not necessary and, on top of that, the captain's instructions were ignored. The pilots were even surprised that passengers were suddenly seen around the plane. However, since the still functioning engine was not switched off and the evacuation was initiated, a passenger was "thrown several meters through the air" according to court documents. The woman went to court. A passenger on the OE-LOA suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident and filed a lawsuit with the Schwechat District Court (reference number: 17 C 1014/19z-7). The defendant, Laudamotion GmbH, did not consider it necessary to comply with the court's summons, so the first instance issued a default judgment. Due to the absence, the plaintiff's position was fully upheld. The judgment of the Schwechat District Court is dated November 12, 2019. Laudamotion "skipped" first court hearing Apparently, the management of Laudamotion realized the significance of the default judgment, because the passenger was awarded a large amount of damages. This can also result in costly liability for consequential damages. The former

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Vienna: Free PCR tests for arriving passengers

From now on, arriving passengers at Vienna-Schwechat Airport have the opportunity to take a free RT-PCR test. This does not take place in the airport's test center, but one kit per person can be picked up at the cash desk in the Bipa branch in the arrivals area of ​​Terminal 3. This was confirmed by the head of Rewe Austria's corporate communications to Aviation Direct. In the federal capital Vienna, people who live or work here have had the opportunity to get free RT-PCR tests in Bipa branches for several weeks. The gargle tests are completed independently under the instructions of a web app. The samples can then be handed in inboxes at Rewe Austria's subsidiaries Bipa, Billa, Billa Plus, Penny Markt and at BP gas stations, among others. The results are then sent by email in English and German from the Life Brain laboratory. What is new is that travelers arriving at Vienna Airport can pick up such a kit free of charge in the Bipa branch in the arrivals area of ​​Terminal 3. However, the sample can only be submitted in Vienna. Company spokesman Paul Pöttschacher said: "At the airport, every arrival has the opportunity to pick up 1 pack of free PCR gargle tests from BIPA. They can only be handed in at Rewe Group locations in Vienna." Free test can be used for entry into Austria The current entry regulations generally stipulate that a negative antigen or PCR result must be presented. However, there is a small exception for people who are resident in Austria, as they can catch up on the test within 48 hours. It does not matter whether pharmacy stations and states,

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Adria Airways headquarters is sold

Anyone who has always wanted to buy a former airline headquarters can now buy one of Adria Airways. However, you must have the necessary cash, because the minimum price was set by the insolvency administrator at 4,1 million euros. Interested parties can now submit their bids to him. The property was built in 2009 and is around 4.400 square meters in size. According to the insolvency administrator, the building includes offices, training rooms and areas that can be used as storage. Ljubljana Airport is in the immediate vicinity. The glass front in the entrance area also features an oversized Adria Airways logo.

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Austrian Airlines starts pre-checking documents

Following Lufthansa and Eurowings, group member Austrian Airlines is now also offering passengers the opportunity to submit their travel documents electronically for a preliminary check up to 12 hours before departure. Passengers will then receive feedback on whether or not their documents entitle them to enter the destination country. The Corona pandemic has brought a comeback of bureaucracy and paperwork in travel. Passports and identity cards have long since ceased to be sufficient, as many countries require prior entry registrations, test and/or vaccination certificates, and occasionally other documents. There is also an opaque patchwork within the European Union, which is constantly changing. Austrian Airlines offers passengers traveling to Germany, Greece, and Spain the opportunity to upload their documents in advance. The carrier will then provide feedback on whether or not they comply with the current regulations. Use of the service is voluntary and free of charge. Regardless of the check, passengers must have all original documents with them on the trip.

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