A WEEK of air-traffic control strikes starts today (Monday) in Spain and will continue every other day until Sunday, potentially affecting up to 5,300 flights daily to and from the country.
Staff will down tools for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening today, Wednesday (June 10), Friday (June 12) and Sunday (June 14), but in keeping with industry rules is obliged to ensure at least minimum services, meaning 70% of flights will be running normally.
Affected times are between 10.00hrs and noon, and from 18.00hrs to 20.00hrs.
Flights not due to take off or land between these hours may still be affected because of the knock-on effect of delays and cancellations.
The pickets have been called by the air-traffic controllers' union, USCA, over the State's decision to sanction 61 of these workers for having ignored the government's implementing a state of emergency in December 2010 and going ahead with a strike they had planned.
All those who joined in the 2010 strike will be suspended from their jobs for a month without pay.
When they threatened to down tools four-and-a-half years ago, the then socialist president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, called a state of emergency, a situation rarely seen except in times of armed conflict and in which all members of the public and authorities are required to follow the government's instructions.
The idea was to stop the strike, but 61 air-traffic controllers went ahead, forcing Spain to close its air-space.
Between 2,500 and 2,800 air-traffic controllers are expected to join this week's strikes, which will affect around 5,330 flights today, 5,200 on Wednesday, 6,100 on Friday and 5,600 on Sunday.
Anything from 560 to 800 flights, twice daily on the strike days, are likely to be directly affected through cancellations or long delays.
