Protest Causes Flight Delays in Brazil
Posted on: Thursday, 23 November 2006, 00:00 CST
SAO PAULO, Brazil - Nearly half of the flights in Brazil were delayed Wednesday because of ongoing protest by air traffic controllers, a day after an air force commander said travelers planning Christmas trips didn't have to worry.
Of the 936 flights scheduled throughout Brazil on Wednesday, 377 were delayed for at least 30 minutes, Brazil's airport authority said, increasing concerns of further slowdowns during the holiday season.
Brig. Gen. Luiz Carlos da Silva Bueno told a Senate committee Tuesday that holiday traveling was not expected to be affected by the flight delays.
"We have enough staff to work at the end of the year," Bueno said. "Passengers don't have to worry."
The delays started last month when air traffic controllers mounted a so-called "work-to-rule" campaign, following regulations to the letter in a protest that significantly slowed operations. Controllers have been refusing to handle more than their legal limit of flights and are strictly observing times between landings and takeoffs.
They were protesting working conditions following a Sept. 29 collision that killed 154 people.
On Monday, nearly 40 passengers briefly invaded the landing strip of a small airport in southern Brazil to protest delays.
Brazil's air force runs the country's air traffic control system.
Source: Associated Press/AP Online
Related Articles
- Air Traffic Controllers Tracking Flights Over Hudson Bay With Sensis ADS-B
- Brazilian Air Traffic Strike Ends
- Brazil's Air Traffic System Again Fails
- Brazil Air Traffic Snarled
- FAA Contract Protest: Air Traffic Controllers Pass Out Leaflets at LVIA, Saying Proposal Would Worsen Staffing Shortages.
- Air Traffic Controllers Protest FAA Plan to Cut Pay Scales
- Air-Traffic Control Communication Problem Causes Delays at O'Hare
- Flight Chaos As Computer Crash Hits Britain's Air Traffic Control
- New Air Traffic Control System in Philly
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds