MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Chile announces end of airport strike: Lan promises additional flights but does not discard delays
“We deeply regret this situation, that we will go the extra mile together with the airlines and staff to reverse the situation”, said Defense Minister Jose A Gomez. 
LAN had said earlier on Sunday that domestically, it was only flying from Chile's capital Santiago to Punta Arenas, Temuco and Calama, affecting 80% of its flights. 
As part of the contingency plan LAN will add 16 domestic flights to its normal itinerary between December 20-22 Chile's Defense Minister announced the government and workers tied to the civil aviation authority reached an agreement Sunday, ending a four-day strike that forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights and left thousands of passengers stranded.
”We want say to all the Chileans who were affected (by the strike) that we deeply regret this situation, that we will go the extra mile together with the airlines, with all of our staff and also with workers from the civil aviation authority to reverse this situation,“ said Defense Minister Jose Antonio Gomez.
LAN, Chile's flagship airline and part of LATAM Airlines, had said earlier on Sunday that domestically, it was only flying from Chile's capital Santiago to Punta Arenas, Temuco and Calama, affecting 80% of its flights.
”Due to the end of the strike, LAN will resume operation of all its flights within Chile in the coming hours,” the carrier said.
LAN said that as part of its contingency plan it will add 16 domestic flights to its normal itinerary between December 20-22, but warned that considering the high occupancy rates in the run-up to the Christmas holiday, relocating passengers affected by the strike could take several days.
The regional carrier's chief executive, Enrique Cueto, told local newspaper La Tercera, that the strike was likely to cost LAN between US$10 million and US$15 million. The work stoppage was initially set to only last 48 hours.
In September, a 24-hour strike stranded thousands of travelers and created long lines at airports after a majority of workers affiliated with the DGAC, or civil aviation authority, went on strike to demand improved benefits and working conditions.
After two months of negotiations, DGAC workers, which includes air traffic controllers, said this week that they had rejected the government's proposal for a state subsidy to improve their pensions and went on strike again.
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Read all commentsThe Unions Suck as to strike of an airline should be unlawful as it provides a service for all the people. The Union leaders & their members are useless; fire them and replace them with people who want to work!
Dec 21st, 2015 - 12:22 pm 0@1 My thoughts exactly
Dec 21st, 2015 - 04:29 pm 0If you don't like your job or pay, go find another one!
#1
Dec 21st, 2015 - 05:00 pm 0Sound good until you examine it. So you can go out in the street and recruit qualified air traffic controllers ..... a job that takes about 3 years of intensive training and then you have to be licenced like a ship's master .
If you sack them, then no civil aircraft can fly in or out of Chile until suitably qualified staff are found to replace them OR are trained . The trainers will have been sacked so who trains the new recruits ?
What you are saying is that any worker providing a public service (define) - should be forbidden to strike. In effect, their employer can do anything they want with them, lower their salaries, pensions, increase their working hours and over-ride health and safety issues. The employees have no redress other than to except it. Workers out side this group can do what ever they want to disrupt business.
This smacks of a dictatorship.
I have no idea of the legitimacy of the grievance but no one strikes for the fun of it.
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