The strike that the German controllers' union GDF has called for this Tuesday could affect about 70 flights scheduled between this country and the Canary Islands. According to reports from Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (AENA), the islands that could be most affected by the strike would be Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
By airports, the two easternmost islands are the ones with the highest forecast of flights from Germany. Thus, Lanzarote has 13 arrivals and 13 departures scheduled with this country. Fuerteventura, on the other hand, has 12 arrivals and 12 departures scheduled.
Although Germany is the main issuing market for tourists coming to the Canary Islands, in the rest of the airports the impact of the strike could be less. In La Palma, the forecast of flights is five arrivals and five departures; while in Tenerife South it is three arrivals and three departures. Finally, Gran Canaria expects to receive two flights from Germany and another two departures to that country. The airports of El Hierro, La Gomera and Tenerife North do not have any flights scheduled to or from Germany.
The German air safety department has already announced its intention to appeal this strike in court, just as it did the previous week, when the Labor Magistrate prohibited a similar strike that would have paralyzed German airspace on Thursday.
The GDF represents, according to El País, half of the 5,000 air traffic controllers in Germany. The union is requesting a salary increase of 6.5 percent, as well as an improvement in working conditions, service hours and overtime limits. If it materializes, it would be the first national strike in that sector and would affect the country's 16 international airports.
ACN Press
