EU says it won’t block air traffic control’s right to strike

THE European Commission has said it won’t block the right of the bloc’s air traffic controllers to go on strike, as Aer Lingus owner IAG and Ryanair gear up for a legalshowdowntoavoidgrounding thousands of flights and inconveniencing passengers and businesses.

IAG chief executive Willie WalshandRyanairbossMichael O’Leary said this week that they will submit a complaint to the European Commission in relation to strikes by air traffic controllers (ATC), which they said “represent the biggest challenge for our industry”.

“They are destroying European air traffic and having a huge impact on consumers,” said Mr Walsh.

He added: “It’s a really frustrating cause of disruption that affects all airlines but in par- ticular has a significant negative impact on Spain’s tourism and economy.

“Continuous strikes by ATC staff in Marseille have a disproportionate impact on those airlines flying from Barcelona because they control flights over most of the Mediterranean airspace.”

Mr O’Leary said the disruptions were “unacceptable”, and called on governments and the European Commission to take “urgent and decisive action” to ensure ATC providers are fully staffed and that overflights are not affected when national strikes take place.

A European Commission spokesman said that workers have a “fundamental right” to strike, and further added that the executive arm of the EU hopes that “non-binding and non-legislative” guidelines will prove sufficient to address the issue.

Complaint: Willie Walsh