AirAsia cancels flights from Australia

Budget airline AirAsia has announced a decision to suspend services between Melbourne and Adelaide and Denpasar in Bali.

Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman, general manager of Indonesia AirAsia, said the current operating environment has made these routes "no longer viable".

“This decision has been made in response to the sustained increase in global jet fuel prices caused by the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East," he said.

"This operating environment has led to the need to re-focus our network on routes that remain operationally viable at this time.

“AirAsia understands the suspension impacts long-made travel plans and we apologise for the inconvenience this decision has caused, and we want to thank our guests for their support and understanding.”

The airline's teams are contacting affected customers directly, detailing the options available.

Where possible, AirAsia is committed to getting guests to their destination either through date changes, or via its Kuala Lumpur hub.

The last flights operating between Melbourne to Denpasar and Adelaide to Denpasar will be on June 18. The impacted services are operated by Indonesia AirAsia.

What you should do if you are booked to fly internationally

Cancelling a flight because of the volatile situation in the Middle East could be a big mistake, Australians have been warned.

The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) is urging travellers not to cancel travel arrangements due to the Middle East situation without first seeking professional advice.

They are also being urged not to contact their travel agent unless they are travelling in the next 48 hours - to allow passengers who are immediately impacted to be supported.

ATIA says it is closely monitoring the airspace situation across the Middle East, which is having a direct impact on international flight operations and passenger itineraries.

Several countries in the Gulf region have closed or significantly restricted their airspace following an escalation in regional hostilities. Major hubs - including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha - are affected, with cancellations, delays and rerouting already underway across multiple carriers.

“The situation across the Middle East is evolving rapidly and is already disrupting international flight operations for Australians travelling via major hubs including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha,” says ATIA CEO Dean Long.

“Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways are the most directly impacted at this stage, but European and other international carriers routing through Gulf airspace are also experiencing delays and rerouting. The impact is broader than many travellers may expect.

“Smartraveller has updated its advice for the UAE and Qatar at www.smarttraveller.gov.au/news-and-updates/middle-east-conflict and travellers should be aware this may affect travel insurance provisions. We strongly encourage Australians to check DFAT’s Middle East conflict page and speak with their insurer if they have concerns.

"Our members are actively supporting impacted clients, managing re-bookings, securing alternative routes and providing up-to-date advice in what is a highly fluid environment.

“Our message to travellers is simple 1) do not cancel arrangements without first seeking professional advice; 2) please unless you are travelling in the next 48 hours and have not been contacted, hold off contacting your travel agent right not to allow them to support those currently caught up in, and who are stranded, delayed and dealing with cancellations. The situation is evolving rapidly, and experienced travel professionals are best placed to provide up-to-date guidance tailored to each traveller’s circumstances.”

Image: Jan Niepel, Scop.io

Pilots ready to strike over pay claim

Bad news for anyone booked to fly on Irish airline Aer Lingus over the next couple of weeks.

It seems Aer Lingus has not been employing enough pilots - and has been relying on them to do overtime to keep planes in the air.

Now, as part of proposed strike action, Aer Lingus pilots will start work-to-rule action from Wednesday, meaning they will decline overtime work or any out-of-hours duties.

As a result, the airline expects to cancel up to 20% of flights, news portal Travel Mole reports.

The work-to-rule action could potentially represent over 40 flights a day scrapped.

The airline operates an average of 220 flights a day during the summer season.

Donal Moriarty, chief corporate affairs officer for Aer Lingus, said: “Impacted passengers will be contacted and advised of cancellations and given their options in terms of refund, re-accommodation or voucher.”

Pilots are taking action over a requested pay increase of nearly 24%.

The airline has offered just over half of this.

The pilots’ union say their demand is the equivalent of real terms inflation since they last had a pay rise in 2019.

The airline’s short-haul Europe schedule is likely to be most at risk, Travel Mole reported.

Debt-ridden airline "on the brink"

If you have flights booked with Pakistan International Airways then you'd better keep your fingers, and toes, crossed.

The Pakistan flag carrier could be on the verge of ‘total collapse’, travel industry website TravelMole reports.

PIA has been cancelling dozens of flights daily for several days due to its lack of funds to purchase aviation fuel.

Some media reports said Pakistan State Oil has suspended fuel deliveries due to unpaid bills, although this has been denied.

PIA, which has been flying internationally since 1955, has been looking for another government bailout, but the Asian nation has serious debt issues.

Political and economic uncertainty has sparked inflation and fuel prices have surged.

This has in turn led to widespread protests, causing more turmoil.

PIA is currently on the market for privatisation but the fact it has cancelled over 300 flights over the past 10 days is unlikely to encourage potential buyers.

Airlines cancel flights to and from Tel Aviv

With Israel now saying it is "at war", many international airlines have cancelled scheduled flights to Tel Aviv.

US carriers United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have all temporarily suspended flights with the US Federal Aviation Administration issuing an "extreme caution" warning for airlines flying in Israeli airspace.

“Future operations at TLV will be suspended until conditions allow them to resume,” United Airlines said in a statement.

Both Delta and AA said in statements that operations to Israel had been suspended until at least Sunday, Travel Mole reported.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and will adjust our operation as needed,” American Airlines said.

Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, Iberia Express. LOT and Aegean Airlines have also cancelled Tel Aviv flights but some flights are still operating to the Red Sea tourist destination of Eilat.

Tel Aviv’s main international Airport, Ben Gurion (top image), was still operating on Tuesday afternoon (Australian time) "as usual’ despite hundreds of cancelled flights, website AirlineRatings reported.

Most of the flights coming in and out of Tel Aviv were re operated by Israeli carriers El Al, Israir and Arkia, with many Israelis looking either to leave the country, or to return home. 

These airlines have added extra flights, which are also called “rescue flights.” 

These flights are usually carried out when an empty plane takes off from Tel Aviv to a destination where Israelis are stranded. 

Airline cancels thousands of flights

If you have booked northern summer flights with budget airline easyjet then you might want to check your ticket is still valid.

Thousands of holidaymakers’ plans are up in the air after easyjet cancelled 1,700 flights with an eye on possible strikes across Europe.

The airline scrapped flights for July, August and September, most of them to and from London's Gatwick Airport, Travel Mole reported.

The carrier cited potential air traffic control issues caused by mooted strikes, as canvassed here a few days ago.

Most of the thousands of affected customers have already been re-booked onto other flights, the airline said.

Easyjet noted the "challenging conditions this summer" with rail strikes at home, airspace constraints and the planned strikes by air traffic controllers in Europe.

“We have made some pre-emptive adjustments consolidating a small number of flights at Gatwick,” the airline said.

“All customers are provided with the option to rebook or receive a refund.”

Apparently, around 180,000 flyers in total are affected.