Brussels, 22/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - Exasperated by the strike by air traffic controllers in France and elsewhere in Europe, airlines that are members of the newly founded A4E issued a press release on Friday 18 March urging the European Commission to ensure to face up to the situation and help bring the strike to an end so that passengers are not inconvenienced.
“We urge all parties involved to develop and agree on an action plan and A4E will take the lead, seeking urgent working sessions with all stakeholders”, said Thomas Reynaert, director of A4E, which represents Air-France-KLM, Ryanair, IAG, Lufthansa and EasyJet. “We can't just spoil the Easter holiday break of European travellers”, he added.
The organisation does not hide its highly restrictive view of the right to strike, particularly for air traffic controllers, the lynchpin of traffic management. Back at a summit on the strategy for aviation held near Amsterdam (see EUROPE 11473), Michael O'Leary, the head of Ryanair, called for the right to strike to be removed for air traffic controllers.
His appeal has found an echo at the traditional organisation of European airlines, AEA, which said on Monday 21 March: “the Association of European Airlines (AEA) strongly condemns this intolerable situation”. “This has to stop immediately”, says AEA's CEO Athar Husain Khan.
Athar Husain Khan, irritated at the monopoly of air traffic controllers, called on the European Commission and French government to take emergency action.
The right to strike is non-negotiable. It is part of the fundamental rights recognised in the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights and if one wants to improve social dialogue, one has to respect and cooperate with workers, said Eduardo Chagas, secretary general of the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF). In March this year, ETF negotiated a code with CANSO, the body representing the providers of air traffic, to improve social relations, said François Ballestero, head of policy for civil aviation and tourism at ETF. “But the code has to be respected by all parties”, he commented. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)