Flights in West African countries grounded over air traffic controllers’ strike

Strike by air traffic controllers, under the aegis of the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), grounded flights in and out of West and Central Africa on Friday.

According to Reuters, the development affected passengers travelling to Europe, the United States (US) and inside the continent.

Staff at ASECNA, which regulates air traffic control across 18 countries, stopped working on Friday during a dispute over working conditions and salaries — defying court rulings and government bans barring them from doing so.

On Friday night, flights to and from Europe and the United States (US) were halted, according to Reuters, in Blaise Diagne International Airport, Senegal and in the United States.

Airlines and passengers said flights inside Africa were also impacted even as ASECNA told customers to check airline websites for updates.

Ceubah Guelpina, ASECNA’s head of human resources, in a press conference, said the air traffic controllers commenced the strike as they had exhausted all other options.

“In spite of the prohibition of the strike by all the courts … the Union of Air Traffic Controllers’ Unions (USYCAA) has launched a wildcat strike,” ASECNA said.

“We have already exhausted both administrative and institutional remedies in the management of this crisis, but we have in front of us trade unionists who are stubborn to do whatever they want.”

The USYCAA union, in a statement, said that its members would cease providing services to all but “sensitive” flights until their demands are satisfied.

Paul Francois Gomis, a leader of Senegalese air traffic controllers, who were on strike, said some union members in Cameroon, Congo and Comoros had been arrested for participating in the strike.