This update of schedule will see Poland’s largest airport (Warsaw Chopin) and the Modlin serving Ryanair, operate only between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., which will provocate the suspension of about around 300 flights a day.
Warsaw flight controllers recently refused to sign up for new pay rules. Poland’s Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) announced in January that the current monthly pay – reaching sometimes even PLN 100,000 (GBP 18,000) – was “impossible” to maintain. The new rules call for top pay levels of 45,000 PLN (GBP 8000) a month.
If an agreement is not quickly found with PANSA, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki already issued an order limiting the airports’ operations because of the risk of threat of additional flight controllers leaving their jobs.
“If there are not enough controllers, flights will have to be limited,” Morawiecki announced on Tuesday.
The Polish Prime Minister also criticised the controllers attitute. “This is a narrow professional group that earns a lot in Warsaw and I think they could compromise here and come to an agreement,” – he said
He added that they have “some of the best work conditions in Europe” and drew attention to the fact they “work only 30 hours per week.”
Affected airlines threatened PANSA to seek damages if they are prevented from flying out of Warsaw.
44 out of 208 air traffic controllers working earlier this year quit in February, with another 131 reportedly getting ready to leave in the following days.
Mateusz Morawiecki’s order gives a priority list of 32 airports with connections to Warsaw, including Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, Frankfurt, New York, Chicago, Paris, Brussels, Istanbul, and Rome.
Image: Twitter @LSASareo
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
