Air traffic in slowdown chaos
Controllers protest the extension of their weekly working hours with industrial action
Significant delays in arrivals and departures were caused by a sudden slowdown called by air traffic controllers at Athens airport on Friday.
Controllers reduced the speed at which they handled aircraft movements in response to the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) alleged intention to increase their working week to 40 hours.
Sources close to the strikers speaking to Kathimerini accused the CAA administration of “unilaterally planning to increase the working week to 40 hours, a change that would lead to the exhaustion of air traffic controllers.” According to the same sources, although recruitment is under way to increase the number of controllers, at least until the new workers are trained, the air traffic management service will remain understaffed, “with controllers unable to work longer hours.”
However, the Civil Aviation Authority has a different take on the issue, saying that “the complaints of the air traffic controllers have nothing to do with reality.” “There are discussions and exercises on paper for the reorganization and sustainability of the CAA that have been taking place for the last three months and air traffic controllers know about them. There was never a unilateral decision nor any decision at all,” it noted.
According to information, an agreement was eventually reached on Friday between the CAA and the controllers, who called off the slowdown, though it is not certain for how long.
Air traffic controllers currently work a 33-hour week, as in most European countries, which is in line with the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), according to controllers. Nevertheless, the list of countries where their working week is set at 40 hours is long. These include the US, the UK, Germany, Canada, Italy, Australia, Singapore, etc.
In any case, delays tend to become the norm. According to data from the Flightradar platform, until noon on Friday at the Athens airport, one in two departures was delayed by an average of 30 minutes.
The average delay in arrivals was 24 minutes, while the number of not-on-time flights was 95.
