Spanish air traffic controllers' strike leaves thousands stranded

worldtraveller

Spain is due to declare a State of Alert at an emergency cabinet meeting called for 9am Saturday in the wake of a lightening walkout by Spanish air traffic controllers at 5pm on Friday which has since paralysed Spanish air space.

At 9.30pm on Friday an emergency Royal Decree was signed ordering the Ministry of Defence to take control of Spain's air space. By Saturday the military will have moved into all control centres and control towers in Spain.

But the civilian air traffic controllers refuse to work under them and there are not sufficient military controllers to safely take over.

Ryanair alone has cancelled 74 flights with Spain scheduled for Friday and Saturday. Spain – UK air routes are busiest in Europe, carrying over 35m passengers per year, and thousands of Britons have been hit by the closure of Spanish air space.

The Telegraph

skylight

I know...... Dad had to change his flight due to the snow and now he may not be coming on Monday either. I have a house full of kids who are bitterly disappointed this morning that he may not be able to visit before Christmas at all.

Dad tells me that Spanish media/public are not in support of this strike or the strikers themselves though as the average Spanish wage is around 18k euros and the air traffic controllers earn on average 10 times that.

davidlizard

This page is normally very good at keeping one up to date of whose thinking about striking, or actually on strike, and often with some useful links.

http://www.easytravelreport.com/

One thing I say is essential now is making sure that when travel insurance is booked, make sure that it covers strike action. Many I saw said that losses due to strikes were only covered if the strike started after the holiday started, rather than at time of booking. But plenty do cover from time of booking or taking out policy, so this is something well worth checking.

bagand96

Military Air Traffic Controllers taking over Civil Air traffic control during a strike? Been done before in a European country I believe, and resulted in a large smoking hole in the ground. I'd rather not fly at all.

TwistedPsycho

Can you imagine the chaos if they did the same to british railways!

bagand96

Spain is openeing again. There has been a Royal Decree signing control of the Spanish Air Traffic Control system to the military. However this includes the civilian controllers. So the Spanish controllers are technicaly now military personnel, and there are military personnel at all ATC centres overseeing the operation. They have to go to work, or face charges, and potentially imprisonment for what would essentially be desertion/abandonment of duty.

Kind of solves the problem, but is one hell of a statement on employee relations and rights!