Canada: Air Canada Announces Major Reduction In Flights Due To Unprecedented Travel Chaos

Air Canada announced on Friday that it “is now making meaningful reductions to our schedule in July and August in order to reduce passenger volumes and flows to a level we believe the air transport system can accommodate.” These reductions will significantly impact summer travel in July and August.

The announcement was in response to growing national and international news reports that put Air Canada’s record of flight cancellations and delays among some of the worst on record in the world currently.

Read more at: Air Canada Announces Major Reduction In Flights Due To Unprecedented Travel Chaos

Canada: : WestJet cancels orders for 15 Boeing 737 Max planes as industry struggles

WestJet Airlines Ltd. says it has cancelled orders for 15 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as the industry-wide downturn in aviation continues.

WestJet has 27 Max aircraft remaining on order, the company says. In January, WestJet was the first Canadian airline to return the Max to service, after Transport Canada lifted a nearly two-year grounding order for the aircraft.

Read more at: WestJet cancels orders for 15 Boeing 737 Max planes as industry struggles | CBC News

The Netherlands: Dutch coronavirus cases hits 382; Den Haag King's Day fest canceled

The number of patients in the Netherlands who tested positive for the Covid-19 strain of coronavirus rose to 382, including four people who died. The most recent person to die with the virus was a 78-year-old who had a weakened immune system. Health agency RIVM said 161 of all patients who tested positive were infected abroad, and 156 cases were still under investigation.

Over half of the 61 new patients reside in the province of Noord-Brabant, bringing the total there to 157.

Meanwhile, the uncertainty over the increasing number of infections has led to the cancellation of events even over a month away. One of the biggest event cancellations to date is the Kingsworld festival, scheduled for King's Day, April 27, in The Hague. The 2019 edition drew thousands of people for the event on a date many consider to be the country's biggest annual celebration, the birthday of King Willem-Alexander.

"Due to all developments at the moment regarding the coronavirus and the impossibility to insure our event against this, the uncertainty has become too great for us," organizers said. "What we are especially afraid of is the risk of the government forcing us at a later time to cancel the event," they said, adding, "Or that the government calls on everyone to avoid public events later." The event was to take place at the sprawling park grounds around the Cars Jeans Stadium, home to football club ADO Den Haag.

Read more at: Dutch coronavirus cases hits 382; Den Haag King's Day fest canceled | NL Times

European Air Travel Industry: Ryanair flight cancellation list info, CAA updates, routes, compensation, consumer rights - by Lianna Brinded

Europe’s biggest airline, Ryanair, is facing enforcement action from the the Civil Aviation Authority, Britain’s aviation regulator, for “persistently misleading” (pdf) passengers about their compensation rights following the cancellation of around 20,000 flights.

Yesterday (Sept. 27), Ryanair canceled 18,000 flights, on top of the 2,000 announced last week, because it didn’t properly schedule time off for its pilots. A recent change to the way it organizes vacations left the airline with a backlog of staff who need to take a holiday, leading to a shortage of pilots.

The CAA said in a statement that after both sets of cancellations, Ryanair failed to provide customers with “necessary and accurate” information about the fact that the carrier is obligated to refund all expenses incurred as a result of the flight cancellations.

This includes accommodation and meals as well as transfer costs to re-route passengers on other airlines when no suitable alternative is available.

Read more: Ryanair flight cancellation list info, CAA updates, routes, compensation, consumer rights — Quartz