Air traffic controllers in Africa suspend strike

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Air traffic controllers in Africa suspend strike

DAKAR Reuters - A 48 hour strike by air traffic controllers in West and Central Africa has been suspended, their union said on Saturday.

The strike started on Friday and has disrupted flights across the region and left hundreds of passengers stranded at airports on Saturday.

The Union of Air Traffic Controllers' Union, USYCAA, which called the wildcat strike, has decided to suspend its strike notice for 10 days, in order to allow for negotiations.

Air traffic services will be provided in all airspaces and airports managed by ASECNA from today, September 24, 2022 at 1200 GMT, the statement said.

The union said more than 700 air traffic controllers joined the strike to demand better working and pay conditions.

The controllers work under the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar ASECNA, an 18 member state agency that manages air traffic over an area of 16 million square km of airspace.

Airport operations fell to a near halt as authorities tried to keep control towers operational for some flights.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded at the Douala International Airport in Cameroon on Saturday morning, according to national television CRTV. The national carrier Camair-Co said on Friday it had cancelled all its flights due to the strike.

Nsoh Brinston, a passenger who was due to fly to Kigali, Rwanda, said his flight had been cancelled.

Due to the cancellation of the flight, I will have to spend more than I intended. He said that he will have to do another COVID test which costs 30,000 CFA francs $45.

He would have to find a place to spend the night.

In Senegal, the airport departure board showed cancellations for flights operated by Brussels Airlines, Kenyan Airways and Emirates as passengers gathered to check if their flight was still on schedule.

A group of students from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, who were due to fly back home from Dakar, said they were stuck at the airport because they could not afford the fare to the city, about 50 km from the airport.

One of the students said we were due to board at 0900 GMT but were still here, requesting to remain anonymous. We have been told that the situation could be resolved by tomorrow. Maxine Compaore, who was supposed to fly to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, was told that the flight was as scheduled but we were told that it has been cancelled.

Eight flights scheduled to leave the commercial hub of Abidjan on Saturday were cancelled in Ivory Coast.