Tag: hundreds

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Business

United Airways tells employees it is hiring a whole bunch of pilots for journey restoration

United Airlines tells staff it's hiring hundreds of pilots for travel recovery

A United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft lands at San Francisco International Airport.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

United Airlines announced Thursday that hundreds of pilots will soon be hired – a process the airline had to stop when the coronavirus pandemic destroyed demand for travel last year. This comes from an internal email that has been checked by CNBC.

The Chicago-based airline is the first of the major US carriers to announce that it will resume hiring pilots. This is the latest sign that she is preparing for a recovery. The airline will begin hiring approximately 300 pilots who had contingent vacancies or training scheduled last year before the airline abandoned the hiring.

Over the past year, airlines, including United, have urged thousands of workers to take advantage of buyouts, early retirement packages, and leave of absence in an effort to cut costs during the pandemic. United and its pilots union – the Air Line Pilots Association – reached an agreement last year to avoid vacation with their pilots, including reduced hours for some junior pilots, even though they face lower guarantees due to government aid.

Congress included a third round of federal airline payrolls that bans job cuts through September 30 as part of the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package last month. As of March 2020, lawmakers have provided $ 54 billion in grants and loans to airlines to pay workers during the crisis.

US airlines combined lost $ 35 billion last year, but expect bookings to grow steadily as more people are vaccinated and more comfortable boarding planes.

“With vaccination rates increasing and the demand for travel increasing, I am pleased to announce that United will resume the pilot recruitment process that was halted last year,” wrote Bryan Quigley, United’s senior vice president of flight operations on Thursday in a staff note watched by CNBC. “We’re starting with the 300 or so pilots who either had a new recruitment class appointment that was canceled, or who had a conditional vacancy in 2020.”

The demand for air travel has increased recently. The Transportation Security Administration examined an average of 1.2 million people a day last month, up 15% from last year when the pandemic and stay-at-home orders halted almost all travel.

Last month’s volume is still below half of March 2019 levels, with business and international travel still largely stalling, but demand for recreational activities is starting to rise. Scott Kirby, United CEO, told an industry conference on Wednesday that domestic leisure demand has recovered almost entirely.

“I’m particularly excited that we were able to protect our people during this disaster,” said Todd Insler, chairman of the United Chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association and United captain of the pandemic. He said if the company had been on vacation it would have been much harder to capitalize on the recovery of the trip.

Like United, other airlines see a need for additional staff, especially pilots, whose training is costly and time-consuming.

Spirit Airlines announced last month that the hiring of pilots and flight attendants was resuming, while other low-cost airlines, Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines, are also anticipating hiring this year.

Categories
World News

Indonesia Earthquake Kills Dozens and Injures Lots of

Indonesia Earthquake Kills Dozens and Injures Hundreds

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi early Friday, killing at least 46 people, destroying homes, flattening a hospital and triggering landslides.

Rescuers looked for people trapped in the rubble. More than 600 people are said to have been injured in the quake inland between the coastal cities of Mamuju and Majene. No tsunami warning was issued.

“I’m afraid to say how many deaths there are,” said Ardiansyah, a West Sulawesi province emergency officer who, like many Indonesians, uses a name. “We’re evacuating and we’re still building shelters. Many people are buried under the ruins. “

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency announced on Saturday that at least 46 people were killed in the quake. Most of the deaths occurred in Mamuju, the larger of the two coastal cities.

Disaster officials said they expected the number of deaths and injuries from Friday’s earthquake to increase as they received information from cut off areas. At least one bridge was destroyed, roads damaged and communications restricted. The provincial governor’s office in Mamuju was also damaged.

A video released by the Indonesian Civil Protection Agency shows a girl, identified only as an angel, trapped in the ruins of her family’s home. Only her face is visible through a gap in the rubble. At least three others were trapped in the house with her, officials said.

In the video, she tells the rescue workers that she can hear the voice of another girl who is trapped nearby and cannot move.

A rescuer asks, “Is she still breathing?”

Angel replies, “Still. But it is difficult.”

In Mamuju, Mitra Hospital collapsed in the quake. Officials said at least five nurses and patients were trapped inside. Mamuju Government Hospital was also badly damaged, officials said. It was unclear whether anyone had been killed in any of the hospitals.

The flight control tower at Mamuju Commercial Airport was damaged by the quake, and flight control tasks were taken over from the air traffic control office in Makassar, south of Mamuju.

Authorities warned the public to avoid buildings because of the possibility of another major earthquake. Thousands of people sought refuge in emergency shelters.

Six tremors, magnitude 2.9 and greater, were recorded in the 12 hours prior to the great quake at 2:28 a.m. local time. Nine aftershocks were recorded in the hours that followed.

Indonesia lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a line of seismic and volcanic activity that orbits much of the Pacific Ocean and is very prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. In 2018, hundreds more died in an earthquake on the island of Lombok and hundreds more in the islands of Java and Sumatra in a quake and tsunami caused by the eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano.

Muktita Suhartono contributed to the coverage.

Categories
Business

TSA weighs barring lots of from flights, steps up safety earlier than inauguration

TSA weighs barring hundreds from flights, steps up security before inauguration

A TSA officer checks a man’s ID at a checkpoint at Orlando International Airport.

Paul Hennessy | SOPA pictures | Getty Images

The Transportation Security Administration said Friday it is screening hundreds of people to see if they should be banned from flights as it will increase security ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

“Currently TSA is processing hundreds of names with law enforcement agencies for a thorough risk assessment,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. “Our intelligence and screening professionals are working diligently around the clock to ensure that those who pose a threat to our aviation sector are subjected to enhanced screening or are unable to board a plane.”

TSA said it is also increasing the number of Federal Air Marshals on some flights, random gate screenings, and more law enforcement and canine explosives detection teams. The staff is also being increased at some train stations.

The additional measures come after the deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol last week and a spate of flight disruptions, some of which are politically motivated.

In the aftermath of the uprising, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents around 50,000 flight attendants on more than a dozen airlines, raised safety concerns about “mob mentality” on some flights to Washington DC last week, saying that people should be involved in the riot flying will be banned.

The FAA promised to have a zero-tolerance policy for unruly behavior on flights and to impose a fine of up to $ 35,000.

Airlines and airports also increase security. Major US airlines are banning passengers from checking guns on flights in the Washington DC area for next week starting this weekend. American Airlines stops selling alcohol on flights, while Alaska Airlines limits the number of tickets sold into the city.