Air Canada flight crews who flew to several cities in Europe last week were relocated to secondary hotel locations due to civil unrest related to widespread protests, a source with knowledge on the situation confirmed with CTVNews.ca.
Air Canada crews arriving in Paris, Nice, Lyon, Nantes and Milan between Oct. 23 and 25 were sent to different locations to avoid potential disruption of crew rest.
The Air Canada Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), said in an email to CTVNews.ca that they work closely with airline security teams and government contacts to monitor global threats and co-ordinate crew member safety during critical events.
“With safety as our top priority, relocations are common practice in the industry whenever there is a potential safety concern or possibility for disruption to our rest,” the email said.
It added that crews on layover are always told to follow the Canadian government’s travel advisory information.
Air Canada spokesperson Sean Davidson did not confirm the location change, but said in an email with CTVNews.ca that safety is always the airline’s top priority.
“As a global airline, we continuously monitor events worldwide, follow government guidance and conduct our own security assessments in consultation with industry partners,” he said in email. “When warranted, we may temporarily relocate crew accommodations closer to the airport to ensure the on-time operation of flights to Canada.”
Protest movement spread across Europe
Students in France began protesting school conditions last September. As the demonstrations grew in size, so did the issues that were being protested, including the cost of living. Protesters in Spain joined in shortly after, focusing on housing costs, along with Italy, Belgium, Albania, Austria, Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Over the weekend, more than 400,000 people across France took to the streets, and nearly 1,000 people were arrested.
In Italy, hundreds of troops were sent in to monitor the protests in Rome, Milan and Turin, over the weekend. which were mostly peaceful.
Many luxury boutiques in Milan’s fashion district including Omega, Tiffany and Gucci, boarded up their front windows to deter possible looters.
With files from rom CTV News’ Daniel Otis and The Associated Press.
