BEIJING, April 17, 2008 (AFP) - China's civil aviation authority Thursday stripped China Eastern Airlines of some routes and imposed a fine after the carrier's pilots turned around flights in a suspected labour protest.

BEIJING, April 17, 2008 (AFP) - China's civil aviation authority Thursday stripped China Eastern Airlines of some routes and fined them more than 200 million dollars after pilots turned back flights in a suspected work protest.

BEIJING, April 17, 2008 (AFP) - China's civil aviation authority Thursday stripped China Eastern Airlines of some routes and imposed a hefty fine after the carrier's pilots turned back flights in suspected industrial action.

BEIJING, April 8, 2008 (AFP) - China's aviation watchdog has suspended pilots suspected of carrying out rare industrial action that included a refusal to land planes at scheduled destinations, state press said Tuesday.

ROME, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Air France-KLM, negotiating with Alitalia unions on Wednesday over the terms of its takeover deal for the failing Italian carrier, may lay off fewer pilots than initially planned, reports said.

BEIJING, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - China's aviation watchdog has vowed to punish pilots engaged in rare industrial action that allegedly included refusing to land planes, state press said Wednesday.

In a meeting on Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China vowed to strip pilots of their licenses for refusing to land their planes on schedule, the Beijing News reported.

MILAN, March 28, 2008 (AFP) - The union representing Alitalia pilots on Friday rejected Air France-KLM's final plan to take over the near-bankrupt airline, Italian television reported.

'For us pilots the Air France plan is over. It's a closed chapter,' the head of ANPAC, Fabio Berti, told Italy's Canale 5.

PARIS, March 18, 2008 (AFP) - Air France faces a shortage of pilots that could ground future expansion plans for Europe's biggest airline, trade unions warned on Tuesday.

The airline, which is known for offering generous pay and conditions to its 4,000 pilots, will need to recruit and train greater numbers of them in order to avoid a crisis, the unions said.

SYDNEY, Nov 30, 2007 (AFP) - Pilots working at Australian airline Qantas said Friday they have offered to increase their flying time by 10 percent in exchange for a greater share of the carrier's record profits.