The labor conflict between the air traffic controllers of the private concession company Saerco and the company's management is causing delays since the night of November fourth at the César Manrique-Lanzarote airport.
According to Eurocontrol records, at the moment only two European aerodromes are experiencing serious delays: Athens (due to local causes) and Lanzarote. In the case of Lanzarote, 2,225 minutes of accumulated delay have been recorded due to air traffic control strikes, a figure that represents nearly 5% of the total delays in the European airport network.
The national spokesperson for the Air Traffic Controllers' Union (USCA), Susana Romero, in statements to Ekonomus, recalls that the indefinite strike—jointly called with Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) for the nine towers managed by Saerco in the country—began in April.
However, until now, the protest had been described as an "invisible strike" due to minimum service resolutions that obliged practically all available staff to work, which led the unions to file lawsuits against these decrees in court for violation of the right to strike.
For the Lanzarote aerodrome, the resolutions of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MITRAMS) established protections for island flights of 76% in October and 73% in November, as well as 57% and 53%, respectively, for peninsular and international connections of more than five hours. USCA denounces that Saerco resorts to an "abusive interpretation of the rule" aiming to guarantee 100% of operations.
High season makes the strike visible
However, the increase in flights due to the winter high season has changed the scenario: while in single-controller towers (like El Hierro) the only controller on duty is bound by decree to the minimum service, in larger airports like Lanzarote, the schedules require several staff members per shift during high season.
Now there are more often "two controllers in Lanzarote due to the volume of flights in the winter season, and sometimes, one can exercise their right to strike, which is why delays are starting to be seen now," explains Romero.
USCA insists that the demands do not seek pay increases but more staff: "We are not asking for salary improvements. There are towers where there is only one controller during 8-hour shifts, meaning problems even with going to the bathroom."
According to data from the strike committee, the César Manrique tower currently operates with 14 active controllers, compared to the staffing of 22 professionals technically required to handle the volume of island traffic with full guarantees.
Recovering public management of the towers
The unions denounce that the lack of staff eliminates the room for maneuver in case of medical leave or traffic peaks, compromising regulatory breaks, work-life balance, and service stability. This shortfall contrasts with the era when the towers operated under the public entity ENAIRE, even though air traffic has increased significantly since the pandemic.
The spokesperson for USCA has dissociated the workload and the strike from two incidents recently recorded on Canary Islands runways. The incursion onto the runway in Lanzarote was due to an error in interpretation by the crew itself, "an oversight by the aircraft that believed it was authorized to enter the runway when it was not," an event that was reported for its corresponding technical analysis without compromising safety.
Given the progressive deterioration of operational conditions in the nine airports concessioned at the state level, USCA and CCOO demand a comprehensive review of the privatization framework. If the concessionaire does not guarantee stable and sustainable staffing, the trade unions warn that they will formally request the Government to revoke the contracts and revert the towers to the direct public management of ENAIRE.
In the Canary Islands, Saerco manages the control towers of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and La Palma, in addition to the Aerodrome Flight Information Service (AFIS) in El Hierro and La Gomera.
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