WYD pilgrims delayed by flight cancellations
An AAP report says that Catholic pilgrims bound for World Youth Day (WYD) events in Sydney have been held up in Brisbane by flight cancellations.
A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline had cancelled 34 flights across Australia on Monday as a result of ongoing industrial action by maintenance workers.
“They are part of the continuing industrial relation action by the ALAEA (Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association) and the backlog of maintenance schedule that we have,” she said.
“As part of our contingency we cancelled 34 services for today.”
However, the airline had contacted most passengers and moved them onto different services, she said.
Further talks between the ALAEA and Qantas were scheduled in a bid to end an eight-week stand-off as the engineers hold out for a five per cent pay rise. Qantas has offered three per cent.
World Youth Day organisers say up to 225,000 registered pilgrims – including 125,000 international visitors – will take part in the Sydney event, which begins officially tomorrow, Tuesday.
A Report by The Mole from AAP
John Alwyn-Jones
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