pilots

UPS pilots ask for more precautions to slow COVID cases

A white UPS jet with brown tail sits on ramp on sunny day.

The union representing 3,000 UPS pilots says the number of members testing positive for COVID has significantly increased and complained the express carrier is not doing enough to protect air crews or bring them home when sick or hospitalized abroad.

More than 100 pilots are currently in quarantine compared to between 30 and 70 at any given time since the coronavirus pandemic began early this year, Brian Gaudet, spokesman for the Independent Pilots Association, told FreightWaves.

IPA President...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/ups-pilots-ask-for-more-precautions-to-slow-covid-cases

American Club Member Alert (October 26, 2020) – Re- USCG recommendations for Pilot Transfer arrangements

American Club Member Alert (October 26, 2020) – Re- USCG recommendations for Pilot Transfer arrangements

OCTOBER 26, 2020
UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (USCG) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PILOT TRANSFER ARRANGEMENTS
The USCG has issued Marine Safety Bulletin 21-20, Change 1, Recommendations for Pilot Transfer Arrangements, highlighting Coast Guard concerns regarding the safety of maritime pilots, some of whom have recently lost their lives while embarking commercial vessels. To ensure the safety of all...

https://www.allaboutshipping.co.uk/2020/10/26/american-club-member-alert-october-26-2020-re-uscg-recommendations-for-pilot-transfer-arrangements/

American Airlines to chop 19,000 jobs amid travel slump

A silver American Airlines plane with red, white and blue striped tail rolls down taxiway. American plans to cut 19,000 jobs.

American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) notified employees in a memo Tuesday that it plans to eliminate 19,000 jobs on Oct. 1, unless Congress renews the emergency coronavirus assistance that helped airlines retain staff for the past six months.

The news comes a day after Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) indicated involuntary separations are coming for 1,941 pilots, according to Reuters.

Airlines, struggling to survive, are transforming into much smaller organizations with passenger travel not expected to...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/american-airlines-to-chop-19000-jobs

Air Transport Services Group starts business to train pilots

A light blue Amazon Prime Air plane on the runway. ABX Air flies for Amazon.

Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ: ATSG) has added another business line to its portfolio of aircraft leasing and outsourced transport services: pilot training.

Wilmington, Ohio-based ATSG said Monday it has formed a new venture, Airborne Training Services, to train commercial airline pilots on Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft through class and simulator-based instruction. The company is essentially consolidating in-house training for its own cargo and passenger airlines, and offering the service...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-transport-services-group-starts-business-to-train-pilots

Pilots urge FedEx to suspend Hong Kong flights over COVID mandates

Close up of blue FedEx jet tails. FedEx pilots are upset about COVID health measures in Hong Kong.

Pilots at FedEx Express (NYSE: FDX) are urging the express carrier to suspend flight operations in Hong Kong over concerns about requirements that airline crews submit to mandatory hospital quarantines under what they describe as dangerous conditions.

The FedEx unit of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said late Tuesday that three pilots who tested positive for COVID-19, but were asymptomatic, were forced by Hong Kong authorities to spend up to 10 days in government-selected hospital...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/pilots-urge-fedex-to-suspend-hong-kong-flights-over-covid-mandates

Pilots blame Atlas Air, FAA for 2019 freighter crash

Debris of an Amazon Air cargo plane scattered in a swamp in Trinity Bay, Texas. The plane was operated by Atlas Air and investigators say the probable cause is pilot error.

The union representing pilots at all-cargo carrier Atlas Air (NASDAQ: AAWW) strenuously objected to investigators’ findings that mistakes by the captain contributed to a deadly crash last year, blaming the company and aviation regulators for allegedly letting an unqualified co-pilot fly commercial aircraft.

A National Transportation Safety Board draft report this week attributed the accident’s probable cause to errors by the first officer in response to inadvertent activation of a switch that...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/pilots-blame-atlas-air-faa-for-2019-freighter-crash

Investigators blame pilot error for 2019 Atlas Air crash

A white Amazon Air plane with light-blue lettering on runway.

Quick Take:

  • Inadvertent activation of landing abort mode and the co-pilot’s inappropriate response to being disoriented sent the plane straight into the ground, the National Transportation Board said..
  • The captain’s delayed awareness of the situation led to an ineffective response.
  • Cockpit imaging recording devices would help in crash investigations.
  • FAA should set up a database for airlines to share employment histories and performance records for pilots.

The co-pilot of an Atlas Air cargo...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/investigators-blame-pilot-error-for-2019-atlas-air-crash

U.S. airlines cancel Hong Kong flights over crew testing

Big United plane on tarmac, side view close up.

United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) and American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) have temporarily suspended flights to Hong Kong after the city imposed invasive COVID-19 testing on all arriving crew members.

The first round of mandatory aircrew tests found four cases of infection, including three pilots working for Hong Kong Air Cargo, a unit of Hong Kong Airlines, who had just returned from Almaty in Kazakhstan, according to the South China Morning Post. 

Hong Kong health authorities tightened testing rules...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/u-s-airlines-cancel-hong-kong-flights-over-crew-testing

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