Brazil airports in chaos after strike
Monday, April 2, 2007
BRAZIL struggled to get its air transport running again after making a deal with air traffic controllers whose strike left the South American giant's airports in chaos.
Thousands of passengers remained stranded at airports on Saturday a half-day after government ministers and unions for the controllers reached an agreement to end the hours-old walkout in an emergency meeting late on Friday.
Long queues snaked outside airport halls, particularly in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, after nearly 100 domestic and international flights were scrubbed and many more were hit by lengthy delays.
Infraero, the state airport authority, said that of the 704 scheduled flights between midnight Friday and 10.30am Saturday, 91 flights had been cancelled and 148 were delayed more than one hour.
Brazilian carrier GOL asked its passengers not to turn up at terminals after the strike effectively closed down 49 of the country's 67 airports, according to Infraero.
"The situation will not return to normal before three days," Infraero head Jose Carlos Pereira told reporters as he arrived in Brasilia for an emergency meeting on Saturday afternoon with Defence Secretary Waldir Pires. He called on passengers to "be patient".
Under the accord ending the strike, the government agreed to suspend planned transfers of workers from the airport of Brasilia, the capital, to other parts of the country; to raise salaries and to start talks on "demilitarising" the industry.
The Brazilian military has strong control over traffic in the country's airspace, and most air traffic controllers technically work for it.
The conflict reached a boiling point late Friday when the controllers walked off the job, forcing Infraero to cancel all takeoffs across the country of 190 million.
Pereira acknowledged the government's response to problems in the air transport sector had been slow. He also blamed a shortage of aircraft for problems in Brazil's air network.
"Brazil still lacks airplanes. There is a shortage of 40 to 50 Boeing airplanes in the country," he said.
Brazil's air transport system has been in crisis for six months, since controllers started working to rule over demands for more controllers to be hired and for the entire flight management system to be upgraded.
These calls were prompted last September by the worst air tragedy in Brazilian history. On September 29 a GOL airlines Boeing 737 collided with a private jet and plunged to the ground, killing all 154 people aboard.
Controllers threatened to go on a hunger strike and stop work to press their latest demands. When some started following through, authorities demanded the controllers get back to work or face penalties.
Eighteen controllers were ordered arrested for walking off the job and holed up at their workplaces, Globo television reported.
One passenger died during the strike, at an airport in Curitiba in southern Brazil, airport authorities said. Ferrero Mosca, had been due to fly on Friday evening but his flight was delayed. He died early Saturday morning of unknown causes.
The strike took place while Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva was visiting the United States for talks Saturday with President George W Bush. But according to a television report, Lula called top defence and airline industry officials and urged them to step back.
AFP
Thousands of passengers remained stranded at airports on Saturday a half-day after government ministers and unions for the controllers reached an agreement to end the hours-old walkout in an emergency meeting late on Friday.
Long queues snaked outside airport halls, particularly in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, after nearly 100 domestic and international flights were scrubbed and many more were hit by lengthy delays.
Infraero, the state airport authority, said that of the 704 scheduled flights between midnight Friday and 10.30am Saturday, 91 flights had been cancelled and 148 were delayed more than one hour.
Brazilian carrier GOL asked its passengers not to turn up at terminals after the strike effectively closed down 49 of the country's 67 airports, according to Infraero.
"The situation will not return to normal before three days," Infraero head Jose Carlos Pereira told reporters as he arrived in Brasilia for an emergency meeting on Saturday afternoon with Defence Secretary Waldir Pires. He called on passengers to "be patient".
Under the accord ending the strike, the government agreed to suspend planned transfers of workers from the airport of Brasilia, the capital, to other parts of the country; to raise salaries and to start talks on "demilitarising" the industry.
The Brazilian military has strong control over traffic in the country's airspace, and most air traffic controllers technically work for it.
The conflict reached a boiling point late Friday when the controllers walked off the job, forcing Infraero to cancel all takeoffs across the country of 190 million.
Pereira acknowledged the government's response to problems in the air transport sector had been slow. He also blamed a shortage of aircraft for problems in Brazil's air network.
"Brazil still lacks airplanes. There is a shortage of 40 to 50 Boeing airplanes in the country," he said.
Brazil's air transport system has been in crisis for six months, since controllers started working to rule over demands for more controllers to be hired and for the entire flight management system to be upgraded.
These calls were prompted last September by the worst air tragedy in Brazilian history. On September 29 a GOL airlines Boeing 737 collided with a private jet and plunged to the ground, killing all 154 people aboard.
Controllers threatened to go on a hunger strike and stop work to press their latest demands. When some started following through, authorities demanded the controllers get back to work or face penalties.
Eighteen controllers were ordered arrested for walking off the job and holed up at their workplaces, Globo television reported.
One passenger died during the strike, at an airport in Curitiba in southern Brazil, airport authorities said. Ferrero Mosca, had been due to fly on Friday evening but his flight was delayed. He died early Saturday morning of unknown causes.
The strike took place while Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva was visiting the United States for talks Saturday with President George W Bush. But according to a television report, Lula called top defence and airline industry officials and urged them to step back.
AFP
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