Pristina Airport hit by industrial action
The union of air traffic controllers at Pristina Airport has been staging industrial action over the past few days, leading to numerous flight cancellations and disruptions. The strike, which began on Wednesday, continued into Thursday and Friday. Although the union said it would suspend the walkout on Friday afternoon to allow for talks with the government to take place, numerous flights were cancelled on Saturday, including those by Adria Airways, Turkish Airlines and Eurowings, amongst others. The strike hours have been extended each day since the protest began, lasting for up to twelve hours. The strike action will not take place today due to a national holiday, but the union has threatened with further work stoppages next week.
Air traffic controllers are demanding higher wages, in line with European standards, while opposing a new law on salaries. Over the past few weeks, almost the entire public sector in Kosovo has experienced industrial action. Early this month, Kosovo’s parliament passed a public wage law that would raise salaries for teachers, doctors and other state workers, from November. However, under the law, other sectors such as air traffic controllers could sustain pay cuts. “We are already paid half of what other air traffic controllers are getting in other regional countries such as Albania or Macedonia”, Artan Hasani, the head of the Trade Union of Air Traffic Controllers, said.
Mr Hasani noted that the strike by 23 controllers would continue next week on February 22, 23 and 24, lasting twelve hours at a time. Previously, the union threatened to stop all work on Monday for an entire 24 hours, however, these plans are unlikely to materialise. Kosovo's Infrastructure Ministry, as well as the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo, have appealed for the air traffic controllers to suspend their strike. It comes at what is traditionally a busy week for Pristina Airport due to the national holiday and the influx of diaspora travellers. Earlier this month, Pristina Airport's busiest airline, Germania, suspended all operations, however, the majority of its Pristina flights have now been taken over by other carriers, most notably Orange2Fly.
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