By Jean Christou
A FOUR-HOUR strike by 200 civil aviation workers went ahead yesterday causing flight delays and inconveniencing passengers at Larnaca and Paphos Airports.
Thirty-seven flights were affected, some leaving before the beginning of the strike at 2pm and others when it ended at 6pm.
Cyprus Airways (CY) reported delays ranging from 30 minutes to two and a half hours, while some like Gulf Air left at 12.30pm instead of 3pm.
CY spokesman Tassos Angelis said the airline had not been too badly affected by the strike and had managed to reschedule with a minimum of fuss.
Seven arrivals and 10 departures at Larnaca Airport and nine arrivals and 11 departures at Paphos Airport were affected.
Passengers from most of the affected airlines had been informed of the changes to the schedule, but reports from Larnaca said dozens of tourists showed up for flights knowing nothing about the strike.
Renewed efforts early yesterday morning to avert the strike failed, according to civil aviation official Stelios Vassiliou.
“We had a number of meetings, but we have not managed to bridge the gap,” he said. “There are no flights and there are delays. Some have left earlier and some will leave later.”
Vassiliou said efforts would continue to try to resolve the differences with the union to avoid any further measures.
Savvas Alexandrou, a representative of the civil aviation branch of public servants union Pasidy said they were ready to escalate the measures if necessary.
Pasidy called the strike over the government’s plans to privatise the airports. The union is also complaining that the government has been stalling for years over the restructuring of the civil aviation department.
Alexandrou said the workers’ demands had been pending since 1987. “We have been 200 employees since 1970, and this has stayed the same event though tourism has increased tenfold since then,” he said. “Our demand is for more personnel but the other side doesn’t want to know.”
He said that nothing had happened despite a two-hour warning strike on the issue in May this year.
Privatisation is also a thorny issue. “This is a profitable business and we don’t know of any other business selling off a profitable concern,” he said.
The Ministry of Communications and Works has already tabled a proposal to the House of Representatives to bring in consultants at a cost of £900,000 to draw up a plan to attract strategic investors for the restructuring and management of the two airports.
Communications and Works Minister Averof Neophytou yesterday said he had asked Pasidy to postpone their action until the Finance Minister returned from abroad, but the union had refused.
