Hundreds stranded at airports as air traffic controllers’ strike grounds aircraft

Graphic Reporters / Daily Graphic / Ghana Mar - 05 - 2014 , 03:46

Hundreds of travellers got stranded at the various airports in the country yesterday when all domestic flights were cancelled due to a sit-down strike by air traffic controllers.

The striking workers, however, resumed work after a more than 10-hour hold-up, following a series of consultations between the Minister of Transport and the management and the board of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), on the one hand, and the air traffic controllers, on the other, to resolve the impasse.

From the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra through to the Kumasi, Sunyani, Tamale and Takoradi airports, dejected passengers were left to their fate from the morning and as of the time of filing this report, most of them had left the airports for their respective places of abode, as there was no word as to when the flights would resume.

The action of the controllers, however, did not apply to international flights.

The strike came off after a month-long threat by the Ghana Air Traffic Controllers Association to lay down their tools if their demands were not met.

The Director-General of the GCAA, Air Commodore Kwame Mamphey, however, declined to disclose the grievances of the air controllers that resulted in the strike, explaining that divulging such information could affect ongoing negotiations with the strikers.

The Minister of Transport, Madam Dzifa Ativor, confirmed to the Daily Graphic that after the meeting, the striking workers agreed to resume work while efforts were made to meet their demands.

She said the concerns of the striking workers had nothing to do with their conditions of service or salaries but with some appointments.

Air Traffic Controllers

Air traffic controllers are people trained to maintain the safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system.

They apply separation rules to keep aircraft at a safe distance from one another in their areas of responsibility and move all aircraft safely and efficiently through their assigned sector of airspace, as well as on the ground.

Travellers

Severious Kale-Dery reports from the KIA that domestic travellers got to the airport in the morning only to be informed that there were no flights because air controllers had laid down their tools.

While some of them opted to go to their destinations by road, others adopted a wait-and-see attitude, with the hope that the demands of the strikers would be met for work to resume.

Assurance

Although the GCAA could not tell how long the strike would last, Air Commodore Mamphey assured patrons of domestic flights that the authority had a contingency plan to restore normalcy.

Addressing journalists, Air Commodore Mamphey, on behalf of the GCAA, apologised to the passengers for the inconvenience caused by the strike.

As to why the GCAA had not formally conveyed the development to the stranded passengers, he explained that although the GCAA had responsibility towards the passengers, that was done through the airlines.

Background

Giving background information on the strike, Air Commodore Mamphey said a couple of weeks ago, the air traffic controllers wrote to the sector minister expressing certain concerns and copied the board of the authority.

According to him, the workers threatened that if their concerns were not met, they would embark on the strike by the end of February.

He said the minister intervened and appealed to them not to strike and directed the board of the GCAA to set up a committee to look into the concerns raised.

Air Commodore Mamphey said the committee was yet to conclude its investigations, “only for us to get up this morning to find ourselves in a situation where some domestic carriers are locked up in Kumasi and other airports. I wish to render my sincere apology to all passengers and assure them that we, as an organisation, will do our best to ensure that flights resume as quickly as possible”.

Kumasi

Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor reports from Kumasi that the situation at the Kumasi Airport yesterday was a bit messy, as many of the passengers did not know what to do.

As some made alternative arrangements to go by road, others hoped that the impasse between the air traffic controllers and the management of the GCAA would be resolved so that flights could resume.

Though most of them were disappointed at the cancellation of their flights, they did not blame the airline operators, as they understood that the issue was beyond their control.

Pederson Stephen, an Antrak Air passenger, said he got to the airport at 7 a.m. with the intention of boarding the first flight to Accra.

He said after going through departure formalities, the passengers were told that the plane could not fly because of the strike by the air traffic controllers.

Sunyani

When Kwame Asiedu Marfo visited the Sunyani Airport, some of the travellers were still waiting for their flights, while others had left.

The manager of the airport, Mr Maxwell Yeboah, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said it was true that the air traffic controllers were on strike and the issue was being resolved in Accra.

He expressed the hope that there would be a meeting in Accra to resolve the issue, since the strike had an impact on activities at the airport.

Tamale

Zakaria Alhassan reports from Tamale that the only aircraft parked at the airport in the morning was an Antrak carrier which had checked in the luggage of its passengers.

Other airlines such as Starbow and Africa World were yet to arrive from Accra.

A 42-year-old passenger, Abdulai Issah, said, “At the moment I am just confused because I do not know when we will take off. I have a programme to attend on Wednesday morning and I simply do not know what next step to take, since I cannot travel by road due to the long distance involved.”

A frail-looking septuagenarian, Alhaji Muhammad Ussif, indicated how disappointed he was because of his health condition.

“I was supposed to be in Accra by 12:30 p.m. for a review of my sickness. It is 2 p.m. and I am still here waiting for a flight whose take-off time I do not know,” he said.

Another passenger, Hajia Fulera Hassan, expressed how “frustrated I am today. What the striking workers have done is unfair. They should not have visited their problems with their managers on us poor passengers whose crime is to travel by air to transact our respective businesses and programmes”.

Managers of the airport, however, declined to talk to the Daily Graphic, explaining that their superiors in Accra were dealing with the situation.

Takoradi

From Takoradi, Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu reports that as early as 6 a.m., the offices of two airlines, Starbow and Antrak, were open for business and briskly attending to passengers for the 8:30 a.m. and 9:40 a.m. flights to Accra.

The passengers were shocked when the announcement came that all domestic flights had been cancelled due to the strike by the air controllers.

The only air service in Takoradi was the helicopter services between the Takoradi Airport and offshore oil fields.

Some of the frustrated passengers told the Daily Graphic that the cancellation of flights would seriously affect their businesses, since some had to attend urgent meetings as early as 9 a.m., while others said they would be connecting international flights at the KIA.