Belgian ATC 24h strike 28/09/2010 12:00 UTC

[Zorba]

From:28 SEP 10 12:00 Till:29 SEP 10 12:00

DUE TO INDUSTRIAL ACTIONS OF ATC STAFF IN BELGIUM FOLLOWING AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES ARE SUSPENDED 1A/EN ROUTE ATC IN EBUR UIR BELOW FL245 1B/EN ROUTE ATC IN EBBU FIR BELOW FL195 2/FIS IN EBBU FIR 3/APP/TWR ATC IN EBBR TMA AND CTR ATS ARE AVBL IN ELLX TMA UP TO FL135 AND CTR ALL ALLOCATED DEP SLOTS ARE CNL,EXC THE ELLX DEP SLOTS EMERGENCY FREQ ARE WATCHED

[Filip146]

What is your source?

[Zorba]

What is your source?

NOTAM

[Filip146]

Ok.... from what site? I cannot find this particular notam....

[Zorba]

http://www.belgocontrol.be/belgoweb/pub ... perational
Choose "Preflight briefing"

[luchtzak]

What does it mean ? Only 1 route suspended ? how much % of flights affected ? Delay expected ?

[Filip146]

It means....SHIT!

[Zorba]

What does it mean ? Only 1 route suspended ? how much % of flights affected ? Delay expected ?

DUE TO INDUSTRIAL ACTIONS OF ATC STAFF IN BELGIUM FOLLOWING AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES ARE SUSPENDED:

* EN ROUTE ATC IN EBUR UIR BELOW FL245
* EN ROUTE ATC IN EBBU FIR BELOW FL195
* FIS IN EBBU FIR
* /APP/TWR ATC IN EBBR TMA AND CTR
* ATS ARE AVBL IN ELLX TMA UP TO FL135 AND CTR ALL ALLOCATED DEP SLOTS ARE CNL,EXC THE ELLX DEP SLOTS EMERGENCY FREQ ARE WATCHED


As from what I can tell, no en route traffic below FL245 and 195, means no traffic at all.

[Filip146]

SN231 Abidjan/Cotonou STD 1405LT herzien 1335LT ....

Looks like it is for real then.....

[Propwash]

The ATCOs finally woke up.

BTW they have my full support

[sn26567]

There will be a last chance meeting this morning at 10:00 between Belgocontrol management and the ATC unions in order to try and avoid a strike. The reasons for the wildcat strike have not been published.

Safety will be insured e.g. for an emergency landing, even in case of a strike.

Brussels Airport just tweeted on Twitter: "Industrial action with air traffic control provider Belgocontrol as from 2 pm today, may lead to flights being cancelled or delayed. Passengers who travel after 2 pm today are advised to check the media & flight information for more details about the Belgocontrol action."

[regi]

When we read the statement by Ryanair about the Spanish ATC strike, I have somewhere double feelings.
This company just bluntly demands that every European government changes its legislation.
Ryanair wants to play it on the European front. But is this not the company that was condemned before by...the EU ?
At a certain moment some companies can become so big that they have too much economical, political power.
I have a moral question: if you are a member of a labour union , would you still fly Ryanair, despite Ryanair wants to abolish the right to strike ?
This is not hypothetical: in Belgium some labour unions forbid their members to be a active member of 1 specific political party ( because this party is against free labour unions) . So, following the same logic, those same labour unions should forbid their members to work for,fly Ryanair or even advertise it.
Tough matters.

[Stij]

The ATCOs finally woke up.

BTW they have my full support

Oh yeah, really great! Woeha!

Well I'm flying tomorrow! I'm also just trying to do my job as any other person and get home to my family.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against unions or anything, but when you work in this business and you strike, it's something else then when you go on strike in, say, the coca cola plant. Can't you guys be a little bit more creative? Some suggestions:

- Order every plane in approach to make a few circles before landing, MOL will be on the phone of Belgocontrol management in a minute or so.
- Block government planes! They own Belgocontrol and decide who manages them and how they manage it, not us the pax. One Crembo flight cancelled, one minute later a phonecall to Belgocontrol management.
- Politicians flying on commercial planes: Order them of the plane, or the plane doesn't get permission to take-off. His/her fellow pax will be more then delighted to kick him of. I repeat, politicians have influence on Belgocontrol management, we don't!

Probably these can;t work ;egaly or something, but there have to be good creative protests targetting the people that can influence the decisionmakers of your problem, not just a few 10.000 people who have nothing to do with your problems.

Brainstorm and don't just immediatly play your ultimate card!!!

Stij

[EBBU]

Be creative...?, well ....

At the opening of the new control centre there was a demonstration in front of the Belgocontrol gates, nobody remembers or cared.
In the ops room there were banners and t-shirts spelling out the message to everybody who wanted to know, nobody remembers or cared
There was a two hour period when controllers worked for free, nobody remembers or cared,

please don't say there were no actions before this one...

The bottom line is that NOBODY CARES unless they are touched by the action on a personal level. It's unfortunate but that's just the way people are.

I can understand why it came to this...

[sn26567]

The bottom line is that NOBODY CARES unless they are touched by the action on a personal level. It's unfortunate but that's just the way people are.

Intervening here on a personal level, and not in my admin/moderator function, I agree with you. But then why do you start actions that affect people who have nothing to do with your claims and cannot do anything to help and support you? Your actions should be directed to the people who have some influence your working conditions, people who take decisions: your management, politicians, the press, etc.

[VEX802]

Only in dutch:
http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/996/Econom ... vens.dhtml

Thomas Cook Airlines has taken preventive measures against this potential strike: if the strike actually takes place at 14H00, the tour operator will move all its operations of today to nearby foreign airports.The tour operator will base their own aircrafts and those of partner airlines at the nearby airports of Lille, Maastricht and Cologne.

[danieln]

If these air traffic people are unhappy with their working conditions (which is possible), they have to quit and look for another job. It's that simple.

These people on strike should be fired immediately, and taken to court afterwards by the passengers.

[Mirror]

Divertions to Cologne
ET055 Abu Dhabi
FQ 2417 Kos
FQ 2857 Rhodes
JAF2628 Sharm el Sheikh

Divertions to Lille
FHY2579 Bodrum
JAF2704 Monastir
JAF2942 Istanbul(Saw)
FQ2999 Jerez
JAF2392 Santorini
FQ2643 Almeria
FQ2579 Lourdes
FHY2573 Izmir

Divertions to Maastricht
JAF2632 Zakinthos
FQ2197 Corfu
JAF2454 Marsa Alam
JAF2272 Mallorca
JAF2658 Enfidha
JAF2944 Jerez/faro

[Bralo20]

If these air traffic people are unhappy with their working conditions (which is possible), they have to quit and look for another job. It's that simple.

These people on strike should be fired immediately, and taken to court afterwards by the passengers.

While I don't agree with the strike you'll have to know that everyone has the right to strike... You cannot fire someone because one strikes... That will send us back to the dark ages

[Stij]

Well, the newspaper "De Morgen" claims that the action isn't backed by the unions... Apparently, according to "De Standaard", the action is about a transfer of some staff from BRU to CRL.
http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/996/Econom ... -lam.dhtml
http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail. ... 100927_134

Yes, everybody has the right to strike, but maybe, just maybe, isn't a strike and the consequent hijacking of 10.000's of pax a bit exagerated for a transfer of max 45min by car? Even the unions (according to "De Morgen") tend to agree, and one can't say they don't support the right to strike.

Cheers,

Stij