Article from BTNews 11 JULY 2016
A4E attacks ATC strikes
Andrew Sharp reports from Brussels.
More strikes by air traffic controllers in France and Italy disrupted flights in Europe again last week, a few days after the A4E (Airlines for Europe) group convened a conference in Brussels to address the situation.
The meeting – officially a “Summit on Air Mobility and Prosperity” – brought together the chief executives of easyJet, IAG, Ryanair, Lufthansa, Air France/KLM, Finnair and Norwegian, plus executives from the EU and European Travel Commission.
Speakers agreed strikes should be a last resort, following arbitration, and that 15,000 controllers should not be able to disrupt 900m air passengers.
Suggested counter-measures included protection for overflights, a 21-day notice period for strikes and a 72hr notification of the likely impact of a strike.
Compensation for flight delays was another discussion point, with IAG head Willie Walsh saying airlines need to be able to recoup it from ATC organisations in a way which did not affect charges.
Henrik Hololei of DG Move agreed there was a need for action on compensation while suggesting airspace above a certain level could be declared “EU airspace” to protect overflights.
Walsh said he was confident some of the issues could be resolved but noted this year he had lost the equivalent of a day’s capacity through strikes.
If a flight operated by an A380 was cancelled, BA had to book four hotels for the delayed passengers, he added.
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