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Air Transat Faces Flight Suspensions Amid Pilot Strike Notice

  Air Transat has announced it will gradually suspend flights starting Monday following a 72-hour strike notice issued by its pilots’ union. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), representing roughly 700 pilots, delivered the notice after nearly a year of unsuccessful negotiations with the airline’s parent company, Transat A.T. Inc. Background The union filed the strike notice on Sunday, giving pilots the legal right to walk off the job as early as Wednesday. Last week, pilots voted 99% in favor of strike action , underscoring their frustration over stalled contract talks. ALPA leaders emphasized that pilots do not want to strike but feel compelled to act after management failed to meet demands for a modernized agreement. Airline Response Air Transat confirmed it will begin suspending flights gradually between December 8 and 9 to prepare for a possible full shutdown. The company stated it is working “around the clock” to reach a deal and minimize disruption for trave...
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Investigation into Baltimore Bridge Collapse Picks Up Speed as Divers Search for Missing Workers

 

U.S. federal safety investigators have recovered the black box from the freight ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing its collapse. Rescuers are now searching for the remains of six construction workers who were lost in the tragic incident.

The cargo ship, a 948-foot (289-meter) Singapore-flagged container vessel named Dali, collided with a pillar of the 1.6-mile (2.6 km) bridge in the early morning darkness on Tuesday. The impact caused a trestled section of the bridge to crumple into the water, sending vehicles and workers into the frigid, 50-foot-deep waters at the mouth of the Patapsco River.

Key Details:

  • Black Box Recovery: Investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) retrieved the data recorder after boarding the ship late on Tuesday. They will interview the ship’s crew and other survivors.
  • Closure of Port of Baltimore: The disaster forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, creating a traffic quagmire for Baltimore and the surrounding region.
  • Rescues and Tragedy: Rescuers managed to pull two construction workers from the water alive on Tuesday, but six others are presumed to have perished. Among the missing are immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
  • Bridge Code Compliance: Maryland Governor Wes Moore stated that the bridge was up to code with no known structural issues.
  • Preventing Higher Casualties: The container vessel had reported a loss of propulsion shortly before impact and dropped anchor to slow down, allowing transportation authorities to halt traffic on the bridge before the crash. This likely prevented a higher death toll.

The investigation into this tragic incident will provide a timeline of events, shedding light on how and why the cargo ship collided with the bridge. Meanwhile, divers continue their search for the missing workers, navigating mangled metal in the dark waters where lives were lost.


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