Fifty-five flights cancelled as result of controllers’ walkout

The problems began at midday on Friday when, following more than five years of unsuccessful negotiations over the working hours and pay of air traffic controllers, the Spanish Government passed an act containing economic measures for airports and setting a limit on the hours worked by the controllers.

This led to a mass walkout in the afternoon by air traffic controllers across the country and AENA (the body that manages Spanish airports) announced the closure of Spanish airspace. The Government then issued an ultimatum to the controllers to return to work, which was ignored, prompting the President to hand air control to the military, and subjecting the air traffic controllers to military law.

State of Alert declared

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the State Government announced that a state of alert would be declared if the situation was not resolved and that legal action would be taken against air traffic controllers who refused to work. A state of alert was declared later in the morning and the air traffic controllers began to return to the control towers shortly after midday, under military command. Spanish airspace was reopened in the afternoon and flights began operating once more, Menorca airport seeing its first arrival at 2000 hrs., after 28 hours with no flights.

The control tower at Menorca airport came under military command at 0900 hrs. on Saturday when two lieutenants from the Spanish Air Force, who were flown in by helicopter from their base at Son Sant Joan in Palma, took control. Two civilian controllers were at their posts at the time but were unable to do their work due to the general chaos throughout Spain. It was not until the next shift was on duty that flights restarted.

Cancellations

The vast majority of the fifty-five cancelled flights were to or from Palma, Barcelona and Madrid but the only direct link with the U.K., Monarch's weekly Friday flight, was also a victim, the aircraft being turned back to Luton whilst en route to the island.

The airline was unavailable for comment by telephone but, according to its website, passengers "can arrange a refund of their scheduled flight online". Although the company has laid on extra flights to and from Lanzarote and Tenerife, there is no mention of a replacement flight for Menorca, so unless passengers can arrange an alternative route via another Spanish airport they will have to wait a week until the next scheduled connection to the U.K.