Posted on 06/19/2002 11:30:13 AM PDT by RicocheT
PARIS (AP) - Throughout Europe, airports were deserted and airplanes grounded after air traffic controllers in France and other nations went on strike Wednesday to protest a plan to dramatically reorganize the use of Europe's skies.
The massive strike, which began in France at 6 a.m., was expected to interrupt 7,700 flights there before ending at 11 p.m., the Civil Aviation Authority said. That total includes flights that use French airspace but do not land or take off in France. A small number of French air traffic controllers remained on the job, allowing some flights to proceed.
Apart from the full-day walkout in France, air traffic controllers were to observe less crippling work stoppages in Greece, Portugal, Italy, and Hungary, the authority said. Air traffic controllers are staging the work stoppage to oppose implementation of a continent-wide "single-sky" plan by the European Union that is aimed at reducing congestion and delays by bringing all air traffic controllers under unified supervision so that airlines can fly routes that are not defined by European borders.
Unions fear the proposed system would result in job losses, and smaller carriers could be forced out of business. Air traffic controllers say pressure to reduce costs could result in a privatization of their services, thus increasing safety risks.
On Wednesday, Air France said passengers could count on no more than 10 percent of its domestic and European flights but that 90 percent of its long-haul flights were to fly as scheduled. British Airways said it had canceled all but four of its 126 flights in and out of France, affecting about 15,000 passengers. It also canceled 38 flights to Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.
The European leadership doesn't have the guts to fire them. Unions in Europe are always going on strike for some perceived grievance.
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