Air traffic controllers’ strike disrupts Norwegian airports

Norwegian airports are facing major disruptions on Sunday, August 23, due to an air traffic controllers’ strike, NRK reports, citing airport operator Avinor.

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, has been hit the hardest, with 75 departures and 47 arrivals canceled. A total of 147 flights have been canceled nationwide. Airspace around Oslo was closed to scheduled air traffic from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., prompting Norwegian to cancel 72 flights and affecting around 9,000 passengers.

The strike began on the morning of August 21, when 12 controllers from the Norwegian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NFF) walked off the job after negotiations with the Spekter employers’ organization failed. The situation could worsen, as another eight air traffic controllers are expected to join the strike on August 25.

Spekter’s head called the strike “completely incomprehensible,” noting that air traffic controllers are among the highest-paid workers in the country.

The NFF union, meanwhile, maintains that the dispute is not about salaries but concerns the duration and organization of breaks, career progression policies and rules governing the work of instructors.

By Jeyhun Aghazada