Spain air travel chaos extends into second day

By HAROLD HECKLE

MADRID

Hundreds of thousands of angry travelers stranded by an air traffic controllers strike were awaiting a decision by Spain's government Saturday on what action it would take to get the country's air space running again.

The controllers abandoned their posts Friday evening amid a lengthy dispute over working conditions and after Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and his ministers approved a package of austerity measures -- including a move to partially privatize airports and hand over management of the Madrid and Barcelona airports to the private sector.

One major sticking point may be linked to new rules about how working hours in the air traffic control sector are calculated.

Spain's military has already taken control of air traffic control towers, but soldiers aren't trained on how to operate civilian airport equipment. They are in place to give orders to the few air traffic controllers who turned up for work at Spain's major airports.

Madrid's international hub remained shut as only around 15 of 77 controllers who had been scheduled to begin a morning shift turned up for work, the national air traffic controller agency Aena said.

What is clear is that flights won't be getting back to normal anytime soon, with a major backlog developing. Iberia, the country's largest airline, said all of its flights would be canceled until 6 a.m. (0500 GMT, 12 a.m. EST) Sunday. Hundreds of flights were already canceled Friday and Saturday.

Spain's air traffic controllers have been in bitter negotiations for a year with state-owned Aena over wages, working conditions and privileges. The dispute intensified in February after the government restricted overtime, cutting the average annual pay of controllers from about euro350,000 ($463,610) to around euro200,000 ($264,920).

Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the government would decide Saturday whether to declare a "state of alarm" if controllers did not return to work. If the state of alarm is imposed, controllers who fail to show up for work and get planes moving could be charged with crimes punishable by jail terms, he said.

"This means that all of the controllers are going to be mobilized and if they do not go to work, they will immediately be handed over for judicial process accused of a crime that could imply grave prison sentences," said Rubalcaba.

It wasn't clear if Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero would take the drastic measure of firing all air traffic controllers as U.S. President Ronald Reagan did in 1981 during a similar strike.

Aena called on passengers due to fly Saturday not to turn up to Spanish airports unless advised otherwise by the web sites of airlines.

During the early hours of Saturday police handed out blankets at Madrid's Barajas airport to many travelers who had not been able to find or afford hotel rooms for the night.

Among the measures included in the government's package was a new set of rules governing working hours in the air traffic control sector.

The sickout also closed four airports in the Canary islands off Africa's coast, a favorite winter destination for sun-seeking Europeans, and airports in prime Mediterranean tourism spots of Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca and Menorca.

The sickout also closed four airports in the Canary islands off Africa's coast, a favorite winter destination for sun-seeking Europeans, and airports in prime Mediterranean tourism spots of Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca and Menorca.

Aena said the Canary Islands airports had begun operating Saturday morning and some flights were landing and taking off at Barcelona airport as well as at some Andalucian airports.