Major international airlines were forced to cancel hundreds of flights in and out of the USA on Wednesday 18th January due to the country's ongoing 5G mobile network rollout and its potential interference with airport safety equipment. Whilst similar telecommunication rollouts have been occurring worldwide for the last 2 years, it is believed that the bandwidth by the 5G network masts being activated across North America will interfere with navigational equipment used around most airports to help aircraft land in bad visibility conditions. Whilst American carriers would have been aware of these developments for a while, international carriers like Emirates, ANA All Nippon Airways, British Airways and many more were only made aware of the need to cancel flights operating the Boeing 777 after the aircraft manufacturer released a safety directive forcing the affected flights to be grounded until further notice. Other aircraft models were also affected.
Whilst the FAA has now cleared over 50% of the affected flights for operation and carriers like Emirates went back to full operations several days after. This has been a debacle for the aviation industry as telecommunication giants AT&T and Verizon, responsible for the rollout of the technology placed the blame solely on the US aviation authorities, stating that all concerns had been raised over 2 years ago and nothing had been done about this. AT&T later went on to voluntarily delay the rollout of the technology across affected sensitive areas to give the authorities more time to perform the changes needed in affected areas. .
Flight tickets between Dubai and Doha have seen a 900% price increase in anticipation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. With the first match tickets having gone on sale and sold our within hours last week. Demand for flight tickets rose with Middle Eastern carriers immediately trying to capitalise on these events. Whilst most Football tournaments see an increase in demand for flights, hotels and hospitality. Qatar finds itself in a unique situation as most venues have multiple points of entry.
For example, the 2018 World Cup held in Russia allowed travellers to enter the country through land, sea and air and with multiple venues spread around the country, it allowed supporters multiple entry points and therefore more competition between companies trying to lure customers to use their services. With the strict entry requirements in neighbouring Saudi not allowing for easy land entrance to the country and only one hosting city in Qatar, it has allowed a handful of companies to capitalise on the increased demand. Only time will tell if these prices will go down but as it stands, this has led to an ongoing recruitment drive by Middle Eastern airlines to try and employ over 10000 hospitality workers in the next 6 months. Click here to find out about our services to help you land your dream job.
Emirates Cabin Crew were recently greeted with a surprise bonus for the month of January. The bonus (which consists of the equivalent to 4 weeks of basic salary for most crew) is the airline's way of thanking its staff for their performance during the pandemic.
The Dubai based carrier was one of the most affected airlines during the pandemic, with no domestic flights within the United Arab Emirates, the airline largely relies on connecting international traffic through its hub in Dubai International Airport, making it the busiest international airport in the world. With no international travel being allowed by most countries, the airline was forced to let over 30% of its staff go. It also introduced temporary pay and benefits cuts, most of which have now been reintroduced.
Airbus has cancelled an order for over 50 Airbus A321s from Qatar Airways following a maintenance dispute raised by the airline over some of its aircraft. The Doha based carrier complained to the aircraft manufacturer that the paint on some of its Airbus A350's had been peeling and creating safety concerns, with the airline seeking compensation for having to take the aircraft out of service for maintenance. The carrier responded that the airline had already taken the aircraft out of service due to the pandemic and lower demand and accusing the airline of wanting Airbus to foot the bill.
This battle is set to go to court in April this year so keep make sure you sign up to our newsletter to keep up with the latest news on this case.
Ongoing Recruitment!
Qatar Airways currently has openings in over 40 worldwide destinations, please visit their careers site through this link.
The airline is looking for staff in Bangkok, Goa, Athens, Istanbul, Nur-Sultan, Brisbane, Lisbon, Cambodia, Belgrade, Paris, Kolkata, Mumbai, Rabat, Buenos Aires, Kiev, Slovenia, Cebu, Tunis, Quito, Hyderabad, Brussels, Algiers, Ahmedabad, Karachi, Cairo, Yerevan, Chiang Mai, Bucharest, Seoul, Prague, San Salvador, Doha, Mexico City, Amritsar, Sarajevo, San Salvador, Colombo, Warsaw, Chennai, Kuala Lumpur and Vietnam,
Emirates are currently accepting applications worldwide but have not announced any assessment day locations or dates. Please apply directly through the Emirates Careers Portal here.
All applications are currently being taken online only.
Etihad have also announced several recruitment locations worldwide. All applications must be made directly through the Etihad Careers Portal.
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