AEA says airlines infuriated by Spanish airspace closure

Association of European Airlines condemned (08-Dec-2010) the circumstances which caused the paralysis of air traffic within, to and from Spain last week, as air traffic controllers walked off the job. The association stated carriers were rendered helpless due to a "calculated act" by controllers to bring passengers misery. AEA believes the fact that the Spanish Government had to react in the way it did to re-establish a functioning infrastructure in Spain, is symptomatic for the need for structural reform. [more]

Association of European Airlines: "For a second time this year, we have seen vast numbers of airline passengers prevented, by means entirely beyond the airlines' control, from making their intended journey. Governments used inappropriate procedures to deal with the volcanic eruptions in April/May; this latest disruption is entirely man-made, a calculated act ... The Spanish action demonstrates both the pressing need for an overhaul of the European ATC system, and the disproportionate power of a relatively small number of individuals to block the whole system," Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, Secretary General. Source: AEA, 08-Dec-2010.