11/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - Airlines highly critical of Spanish airport strikes. On Thursday 10 March, the International Air Carrier Association (IACA) called on the Spanish government to ensure that all Spanish airports remain open despite the wave of strikes called for this month by three Spanish trade unions. IACA called on the Spanish authorities to declare a state of emergency to protect air traffic and tourism in Spain. Madrid has already taken just such a measure to get air traffic flowing again after the strike by air traffic controllers in December. “Airlines and their passengers have been severely hit by the recent multiple air traffic controller strikes in Spain. Now that many tourists have swapped their travel plans in favour of Spain as the result of the unrest in North African destinations, a wave of new industrial actions is planned at peak holiday periods” said IACA Director-General Sylviane Lust in a press release. She added: “Enough is enough. The Spanish economy, passengers and airlines cannot afford to be held ransom by transport workers”. (A.By./transl.rt)