The air traffic controllers’ union in West and Central Africa said on Saturday that the strike that had been planned to last for 48 hours had been called off. As a result of the strike, which began on Friday and lasted till Saturday, flights all around the region were affected, and hundreds of people were left stranded at airports.
The wildcat strike was initiated by the Union of Air Traffic Controllers’ Unions (USYCAA), and the USYCAA said in a statement that it has chosen to immediately postpone its strike notice for ten days so that negotiations can take place.
“Air traffic services will be provided in all air spaces and airports managed by ASECNA from today Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 1200 GMT,” the statement said.
According to the air traffic controllers’ union, more than 700 workers participated in the walkout to demand improved working and compensation conditions.
The controllers are employed by the Institution for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), which is a state agency composed of 18 members that is responsible for managing air traffic over a region with an airspace that spans 16 million square kilometers.
As authorities worked to maintain control towers operational for a limited number of planes, airport operations across the region came dangerously close to coming to a complete halt.
According to a report by the country’s main television station, CRTV, hundreds of travelers were left stuck at the Douala International airport in Cameroon on Saturday morning. On Friday, Camair-Co, the country’s national airline, announced that all of its flights would be canceled because of the strike.
According to Nsoh Brinston, a passenger who was stuck in the airport and was supposed to go to Kigali, Rwanda, his flight has been canceled.
“I will have to spend more than I intended due to the cancelled flight. I will have to do another COVID test which costs 30,000 CFA francs ($45),” he said.
In addition to that, he would be responsible for finding somewhere to stay the night. As passengers gathered at the airport departure board in Senegal to determine if their aircraft was still on time, the airport departure board displayed cancellations for flights operated by Brussels Airlines, Kenyan Airways, and Emirates.
A group of students from Brazzaville, in the Republic of Congo, who were supposed to fly back home from Dakar reported that they were stranded at the airport because they could not pay the price to the city, which is approximately 50 kilometers from the airport.
“We were supposed to board at 0900 GMT but were are still here,” one of the students said, requesting to remain anonymous. “We have been told the situation could be resolved by tomorrow.”
“I was supposed to leave at 1400 GMT. The flight was announced as scheduled but we have just been told that it has been cancelled,” said Maxine Compaore, who was supposed to fly to Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
On Saturday, eight aircraft that were supposed to depart from the major financial and commercial center of Abidjan in Ivory Coast were scrapped.
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