By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 30 November 2013:
Last-ditch negotiations between air controllers at Tripoli International Airport and the Minister of Transport to avert a strike have been taking place today at the ministry.
The air controllers are threatening to go on strike tomorrow if their demands for a salary increase are not met.
“If the controllers go on strike, the airport is closed”, one airline manager based in Tripoli said today.
The controllers gave the authorities a ten-day deadline to meet their demands on 20th November. Earlier today, Libya Airlines jumped the gun by announcing on its Facebook page that all international and domestic flights would be suspended as of tomorrow because negotiations had failed.
There were negotiations between the two sides on Thursday, but these failed to bridge the divide, a senior ministry official who took part in the talks told the Libya Herald today.
Earlier this week, a spokesman for the air traffic controllers, Ali Zinati, announced that his colleagues had already started delaying domestic flights by 15 minutes in a bid to put pressure on the authorities.
He said that as well as more money the controllers wanted extra training, adding that if the government conceded, everyone would gain because they would be more productive. “We talked to the President of the General National Congress about the issue”, said Zinati but there was no outcome.”
Airlines say that if the traffic controllers go on strike, some a few flights could operate out of Mitiga. However, with its limited check-in capacity, it would only be able to deal with one flight at a time. [/restrict]
