The Norwegian Air Pilots Association and NHO Luftfart enter their second day of mediation on Friday.
The mediation deadline is midnight, and if the parties do not agree, five air traffic controllers will go on strike.
It could affect traffic on Kjevik in Kristiansand and Vigra in Ålesund.
– If the mediation does not succeed, two air traffic controllers at Vigra and three at Kjevik will go on strike from Saturday at 9 o’clock. And then it will be seen what kind of consequences it will have in that case, said leader Robert Gjønnes of the Air Traffic Controllers’ Association to NTB on Thursday.
Saturday is the start of the autumn holidays for many.
Vigra can close
If two air traffic controllers at Vigra are taken out on strike, the airport will have to be closed at the weekend. This is what airport manager Bent Sjursen tells TV 2.
– For Saturday and Sunday it will be closed all day, he says.
He says that it is about the duty and rotation arrangement for air traffic controllers. In total, there are eight air traffic controllers employed at Vigra.
If a strike were to persist, Vigra may have to remain closed at various times next week as well.
– We hope for the best and prepare for the worst, says Sjursten.
Airport manager at Kjevik, Arne Johan Johnsen, asks people to pay attention to messages from the airlines if the airport is affected by a strike.
– Avinor also has its own app, where travelers will find information about departures, he says.
VIGRA: In the worst case, the airport in Ålesund may be closed if there is a strike. Photo: Martin Giskegjerde / TV2
– On speaking terms
TV 2 has been in contact with the parties. They will not comment on the status of the mediation on Friday morning.
– We always have a goal of finding a solution. Mediation is an ordinary part of a negotiation process, says CEO of NHO Luftfart Torbjørn Lothe.
Mediator Nils-Henrik M. von der Fehr says that initially there is considerable distance between the parties.
The mediation concerns the air traffic controller agreement, i.e. the collective agreement.
However, the mediation appears to be progressing.
– The parties are on speaking terms. It’s a good atmosphere, he says.
MEDIATOR: Nils-Henrik M. Von der Fehr is among those conducting the mediation between the parties. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
– Limited effect
Air traffic controllers are responsible for traffic at an airport. They are the ones who give aircraft permission to take off and land.
If no air traffic controllers are on duty, the airport must close.
Even if it were to end in a strike, it will probably not lead to serious consequences for travellers.
Flight analyst Hans Jørgen Elnæs thinks so.
– The effect will be very limited as it is now, he says.
He explains that it is about the number of air traffic controllers who can be taken out.
Air traffic controllers work in shifts, and it is unclear what times of the day the strike could possibly strike.
RESPONSIBILITY: An air traffic controller monitors and directs air traffic in and around Norway. They have a particular responsibility for outgoing and incoming flights. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB.
If you are going to travel from Kjevik or Vigra on Saturday, you should therefore follow along.
– In the worst case, it can lead to delays and cancellations, says Elnæs.
Tags: air traffic controller strike tomorrow airports affected
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