pilots

A MAJOR airline is carrying out a two-day strike from today and it will impact Brits travelling to Europe.

Pilots at Lufthansa will be striking today and tomorrow due to pension disputes, leaving hundreds of flights cancelled.

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The cancellations started just after midnight on April 13 and are expected to continue until one minute to midnight on April 14.

Travellers can expect disruption across a number of locations.

For example, over 200 arrivals at Frankfurt Airport in Germany have been cancelled.

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A number of UK flights with Lufthansa are included in this today, such as:

• 9:25am from Glasgow to Frankfurt
• 9:30am from London Heathrow to Frankfurt
• 10:20am from Birmingham to Frankfurt
• 11:55am from Newcastle to Frankfurt
• 12:45pm from Edinburgh to Frankfurt
• 1:35pm London Heathrow to Munich
• 3:30pm from London Heathrow to Frankfurt
• 4:25pm London Heathrow to Munich
• 5:30pm from London Heathrow to Frankfurt
• 5:50pm from Edinburgh to Frankfurt
• 5:50pm London Heathrow to Munich
• 6:05pm from Manchester to Frankfurt
• 6:20pm from Birmingham to Frankfurt
• 7:10pm from London Heathrow to Munich
• 7:30pm from London Heathrow to Frankfurt
• 8:25pm from London Heathrow to Munich

Pilots are also striking at Eurowings, which is a subsidiary of Lufthansa, until 11:59pm tonight.

However, only flights operated by Eurowings Germany are impacted, and not Eurowings Europe.

If you are getting a Eurowings Germany flight, here are the cancellations so far:

• 8:30am from Manchester to Stuttgart
• 12pm from London Gatwick to Cologne
• 12:10pm from London Heathrow to Dusseldorf
• 1:40pm from Edinburgh to Cologne
• 2:45pm from London Heathrow to Dusseldorf
• 2:50pm from London Heathrow to Hamburg
• 3:20pm from Manchester to Dusseldorf
• 3:45pm from Birmingham to Dusseldorf
• 5:35pm from London Heathrow to Dusseldorf
• 7pm from London Heathrow to Berlin
• 7:15pm from Edinburgh to Dusseldorf
• 7:25pm from London Heathrow to Hamburg
• 7:55pm from Manchester to Dusseldorf
• 8pm from London Heathrow to Stuttgart
• 8:05pm from Birmingham to Dusseldorf

A number of flights are also cancelled tomorrow, meaning there will be further disruption for Brits travelling to Europe.

Union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) called the strike following pension disputes, saying that Lufthansa had not presented an acceptable offer, according to Reuters.

The president of Union VC, Andreas Pinheiro said: “The Cockpit union feels compelled to take this step after the employer’s side showed no real willingness to reach a solution in several collective bargaining disputes.

“Despite our deliberate decision not to take strike action over the Easter holidays, no serious offers have been made.”

Lufthansa commented that the union’s announcement was a “new level of escalation” and that the union’s demands are “absurd and unachievable”.

The airline added: “Lufthansa and Eurowings are working intensively to keep the impact on passengers as low as possible.

“We are trying to have as many flights as possible operated by other airlines within the Lufthansa Group and by partner airlines.

“However, despite these efforts, flight cancellations are unavoidable.

“Travelers who are affected by an irregularity will be informed accordingly, provided their contact details are stored in the booking.

“We ask passengers to check the status of their flight before setting out on their journey.

“We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the disproportionate and very short-notice strike announcement.”

If your flight is cancelled, you will be able to rebook once free of charge or have your ticket refunded.

The airline also shared that flights operated by Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS, Air Dolomiti, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss and Lufthansa City Airlines will not be impacted by the strike.

Flights to the Middle East – such as to Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – have also been excluded from the strike action, due to the Iran conflict.

In other flight news, another major airline has axed hundreds of flights until summer due to ongoing fuel crisis.

Plus, easyJet passengers have been ‘left vomiting’ in new border control queues as flight to UK takes off with 100 people left behind.

March 31 (UPI) — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that helicopter pilots who conducted a flyby of musician Kid Rock‘s Nashville estate over the weekend would not be punished, an abrupt reversal of the U.S. Army’s decision to suspend the Apache helicopter crews amid review of their conduct.

“@USArmy pilots suspension LIFTED,” Hegseth said on X. “No punishment. No investigation.

“Carry on, patriots,” he said.

He also thanked Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, a vocal ally of President Donald Trump.

“You’re a disgrace,” Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican House of Representative from Illinois and a retired U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard officer, said in an expletive-laced statement responding to Hegseth’s announcement, in which he called the defense secretary an “unqualified clown.”

Rock published a pair of videos to social media on Saturday showing him cheering on a pair of Apache helicopters flying by and hovering near his Nashville estate, which he has called “The Southern White House.”

“This is a level of respect that [expletive] for brains Governor of California will never know,” Rock wrote in the caption to the videos. “God bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her.”

After the videos went viral, the U.S. Army announced Monday that it was conducting an administrative review of the incident.

Army spokesman Maj. Montrell Russell confirmed Tuesday that two Apache helicopters from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell, Ky., located about 60 miles north of Nashville, had conducted a flight in the Nashville area that has attracted media and the public’s attention.

“The personnel involved have been suspended from flight duties while the Army reviews the circumstances surrounding the mission, including compliance with relevant [Federal Aviation Administration] regulations, aviation safety protocols and approval requirements,” Russell said in a statement.

Hegseth offered no explanation for the reversal, which came not long after Trump told reporters at the White House that he had not seen the video.

Asked what he thought of the crews’ suspension, Trump said, “Well, they probably shouldn’t have been doing it.”

“Yes, you’re not supposed to be playing games, right? I’d take a look at it,” he said.

“They like Kid Rock. I like Kid Rock. Maybe they were trying to defend him. I don’t know.”

Rock has long been a vocal supporter of Trump and has appeared at the White House and in a recent Health and Human Services Department promotional video where he is seen working out bare-chested with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy.

He has also lashed out at Trump’s critics, notably California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

On this episode of TWZ: Special Access, Jamie Hunter visited TacAir to learn about their heavily upgraded F-5AT fighters and how they replicate enemy aircraft to keep U.S. fighter aircrews sharp.

Tactical Air Support, better known as TacAir, is a Reno, Nevada-based private ‘red air’ commercial adversary support contractor that aims to efficiently simulate enemy capabilities to better prepare U.S. and allied aircrews for future conflicts. They support all branches in various training and testing events, but they’re most known for the contract they fulfill out of NAS Fallon in Nevada, where Topgun is based and where air wings spin-up for deployments.

TacAir’s fleet is made up of ex-Jordanian and Saudi F-5E/Fs airframes that have been equipped with tailored upgrades to create a “4th generation adversary platform with 3rd generation economy,” as described by the company. The latest configuration includes an AESA radar, datalink, Garmin wide-area display open architecture avionics, Scorpion helmet mounted display, and internal IRST. You can read more about TacAir and their F-5ATs here: https://www.twz.com/category/tac-air

Watch the full video here:

Private F-5 Adversary Jets Taking The Fight To Navy Fighter Pilots

Contact the host: Jamie.Hunter @teamrecurrent.io

Some airports can be very challenging to land at

Jetting off on holiday should be an exciting occasion, however some European holiday hotspots require landing at challenging airports. Four popular European destinations have been ranked among the most dangerous airports in the world.

While many planes take off and land safely at the airports every day, pilots need to be aware of the dangers. It could be tricky runways, weather changes or challenging terrain.

As a result, the pilots undergo specialist training to safely land at these airports. This can be done through ground training, a simulator and in the air.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ensures safety across the entire continent, with high standards at airports. The majority of airports in Europe are category A, which requires standard training.

Category B airports have “slightly out of the ordinary” features, while category C requires specialist training. Here are some of Europe’s most challenging destinations.

Innsbruck Airport, Austria

Many people head to Innsbruck to take in the stunning Austrian Alps, yet the mountains pose a challenge for pilots. It has been reported that only captains are permitted to land planes at Innsbruck Airport, which is deep in a valley.

The challenging manoeuvre to land in the valley is often made harder by low-level wind. Depending on the weather conditions, the pilot may need to make a tight turn during the approach. There’s also a limited possibility for a missed approach due to the mountains surrounding the airport.

Gibraltar International Airport, Gibraltar

Gibraltar has a rather unusual airport setup as a main road crosses the airport. Traffic is stopped around 15 times a day to let planes land and take off.

For pilots, the challenges come due to abnormal wind effects, turbulence and wind due to the famous Rock of Gibraltar. Diversions and go-arounds are common, with some flights even abandoning attempting to land.

Cristiano Ronaldo Airport, Madeira

Madeira’s runway may look rather precarious due to it being a bridge right by the water. However, it has actually helped to improve safety at the airport.

To land at the island, pilots need special training in order to be granted permission. Experienced pilots have to cross mountains and exposed coastlines before lining up perfectly with the narrow runway while often facing high winds.

Sadly, a fatal accident occurred in 1977 when 131 of the 164 people on a plane died when it fell off at the end of the runway. The accident led to the construction of the runway extension bridge.

Courchevel Airport, France

The airport in the French Alps is often ranked as one of the most dangerous in the world. It has the world’s shortest runway and is the highest tarmacked runway in Europe.

Courchevel Airport is 6,588ft (2,008m) above sea level and its runway is just 1,762 ft (537m) long. Only small aircrafts and helicopters are allowed to land there.

To add to the difficulty, the runway doesn’t have lighting systems, and the area is often battered by extreme weather conditions in the autumn and winter.