Aeromexico Pilots Going on Strike in October

Pilots working for Mexico’s largest airline Aeromexico announced Tuesday they plan to go on strike October 1 due to the carrier’s decision to suspend some employee benefits following a crash in July.

According to Reuters.com, Mexico’s civil aviation agency revealed last week that bad weather was likely the cause of the Aeromexico Embraer 190’s crash shortly after takeoff on July 31. All 103 passengers and crew members survived.

While the agency found no evidence of human error or mechanical failures, it did discover that an unauthorized pilot-in-training served as co-pilot at one point during the takeoff. As a result, airlines/delta-and-aeromexico-celebrate-first-year-of-joint-cooperation-agreement.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow”>Aeromexico fired the three pilots who were in the cabin and instituted new rules.

One of the changes made by the Mexican airline that doesn’t sit well with pilots was the decision to not allow them to fly in the cabin for free. Aeromexico officials said pilots can still fly in passenger seats outside the cabin.

The ASPA pilots’ union said the provision was “critical for pilots who use it to travel from their homes to the airline’s base.” Union officials said Aeromexico’s decision is a violation of the collective contract.

Aeromexico operates more than 600 daily flights, including routes to the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, as well as domestic service across Mexico.