The Spanish military has taken over the country’s air traffic control after civilian air traffic controllers called in sick en masse and will maintain control over planning, supervision and control of the country’s airspace unless the controllers called off their unsanctioned strike.
The move, which was sanctioned by the government, came after several airports across Spain were shut as a result the action by the air traffic controllers.
The controllers are involved in a dispute with Spanish airport authority Aena over hours and conditions and early on Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s office warned that the military would take over planning, supervision and control of the country’s airspace unless the controllers called off the unsanctioned strike.
The controllers’ action began at 17:00 on Friday afternoon, resulting in the shutdown of about 90% of Spain’s airspace, with the exception of Andalucia.
Madrid’s Barajas airport was one of the first to be affected, along with airports on Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca in the Balearic Islands.