Aena stated this afternoon that the "irresponsible decision" of the air traffic controllers - who abandoned their jobs this afternoon due to the lack of communication with the Ministry of Development - is causing "serious disruptions to air traffic" throughout Spain.
"The decision to paralyze air traffic in the country is of extreme seriousness, which, in addition to constituting a very serious offense that may be sanctioned with the disciplinary dismissal of controllers who refuse to work, constitutes a crime according to article 409 of the Penal Code," recalls the airport management entity.
Barely two hours after the start of the afternoon shift, at 5:00 p.m. and coinciding with the press conference of the President of USCA, "air traffic controllers have begun to communicate their inability to continue offering the service, abandoning their jobs," Aena indicates in a statement.
This communication of concerted and massive sick leaves is occurring in all dependencies, "with special incidence in Madrid and the Balearic Islands."
The "intolerable attitude" of the controllers has led to the closure of the airspace of Madrid and the Canary Islands and the airports of Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca. Aena recommends that all passengers do not go to these airports, as air traffic is interrupted, and that they request information from their airlines or through the Aena website www.aena.es
"The attitude of the air traffic controllers, who have cut off all channels of communication and the bridges that have been built, leads them to a dead end, taking with them the right to travel of hundreds of thousands of citizens at the beginning of the Constitution Bridge," they continue.
Aena calls for the "immediate incorporation" of the controllers, restoring the normality of the service and "abandoning the blackmail" to which they subject Spanish society, "taking citizens as hostages."
ACN
