Puerto Rico grapples with a new island-wide blackout, again during holidays
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Travel Weekly
4 hours ago
- Travel Weekly
Air Canada flight attendants defy back-to-work order
TORONTO (AP) -- Air Canada said it suspended plans to restart operations on Sunday after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it will defy a return-to-work order. The strike was already affecting about 130,000 travelers per day during the peak summer travel season. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2 p.m. Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening. Canada's largest airline now says it will resume flights Monday evening. Air Canada said in a statement that the union "illegally directed its flight attendant members to defy a direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board." "Our members are not going back to work," Canadian Union of Public Employees national president Mark Hancock said outside Toronto's Pearson International Airport. "We are saying no." Hancock ripped up a copy of the back-to-work order outside the airport's departures terminal, where union members were picketing Sunday morning. He said they won't return Tuesday either. Flight attendants chanted "Don't blame me, blame AC" outside the airport. "Like many Canadians, the minister is monitoring this situation closely. The Canada Industrial Relations Board is an independent tribunal," Jennifer Kozelj, a spokeswoman for federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement. Hancock said the "whole process has been unfair" and said the union will challenge what it called an unconstitutional order. Less than 12 hours after workers walked off the job, Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now is not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada. Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said the CIRB has extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator. Tourist Mel Durston from southern England was trying to make the most of sightseeing in Canada. But she said she doesn't have a way to continue her journey. "We wanted to go see the Rockies, but we might not get there because of this," Durston said. "We might have to head straight back." James Hart and Zahara Virani were visiting Toronto from Calgary for what they thought would be a fun weekend. But they ended up paying $1,880 to fly with another airline on a later day after their Air Canada flight got canceled. "It's a little frustrating and stressful, but at the same time, I don't blame the flight attendants at all," Virani said. "What they're asking for is not unreasonable whatsoever." Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. The bitter contract fight escalated Friday as the union turned down Air Canada's prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Last year, the government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union's leverage in negotiations. Hajdu maintained that her Liberal government is not anti-union, saying it is clear the two sides are at an impasse. Passengers whose flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. Still, it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full "due to the summer travel peak." Air Canada and its flight attendants have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren't in the air.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Pakistan will not restrict mountaineering expeditions despite the recent deaths of climbers
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan has issued no warnings or restrictions for mountaineering expeditions in the north, an official said Sunday, despite the recent deaths of climbers. Climbers were well aware of the harsh weather and all the other risks and challenges, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern region home to some of the world's highest mountains. 'Despite that, they willingly accept these challenges and come here to attempt these summits.' Chinese climber Guan Jing, 37, was the latest person to perish on one of Pakistan's mountains. She died last Tuesday after being hit by falling rocks on K2, the world's second-highest peak known for its treacherous slopes and extreme weather conditions. Rescue teams recovered her body on Saturday. Her body was still in the mortuary of the Combined Military Hospital in Skardu on Sunday. Contact has been made with Chinese authorities in Islamabad, and 'now it is up to them to make further decisions in this regard,' said Faraq. Jing's death occurred several weeks after German mountaineer and Olympic gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier died while attempting Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range. Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families. But if the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died. Faraq said authorities were trying to provide climbers with better infrastructure, rescue facilities, security and a friendly environment. Mountaineering expeditions are the backbone of the local economy, bringing in millions of dollars in direct revenue. A large number of people work on these expeditions from May to September, feeding their families for the whole year with these earnings, he added. Hundreds of climbers try to scale mountains in northern Pakistan every year. Accidents are common because of avalanches and sudden weather changes. Last August, two Russians spent six days stranded on a remote peak before they were rescued. Gilgit-Baltistan, in Kashmir, has been battered by higher-than-normal monsoon rains this year, triggering flash floods and landslides.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
Pakistan will not restrict mountaineering expeditions despite the recent deaths of climbers
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan has issued no warnings or restrictions for mountaineering expeditions in the north, an official said Sunday, despite the recent deaths of climbers. Climbers were well aware of the harsh weather and all the other risks and challenges, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern region home to some of the world's highest mountains. 'Despite that, they willingly accept these challenges and come here to attempt these summits.' Chinese climber Guan Jing, 37, was the latest person to perish on one of Pakistan's mountains. She died last Tuesday after being hit by falling rocks on K2, the world's second-highest peak known for its treacherous slopes and extreme weather conditions. Rescue teams recovered her body on Saturday. Her body was still in the mortuary of the Combined Military Hospital in Skardu on Sunday. Contact has been made with Chinese authorities in Islamabad, and 'now it is up to them to make further decisions in this regard,' said Faraq. Jing's death occurred several weeks after German mountaineer and Olympic gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier died while attempting Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range. Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families. But if the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died. Faraq said authorities were trying to provide climbers with better infrastructure, rescue facilities, security and a friendly environment. Mountaineering expeditions are the backbone of the local economy, bringing in millions of dollars in direct revenue. A large number of people work on these expeditions from May to September, feeding their families for the whole year with these earnings, he added. Hundreds of climbers try to scale mountains in northern Pakistan every year. Accidents are common because of avalanches and sudden weather changes. Last August, two Russians spent six days stranded on a remote peak before they were rescued. Gilgit-Baltistan, in Kashmir, has been battered by higher-than-normal monsoon rains this year, triggering flash floods and landslides.
