Fri, Nov 11, 2005
ATC Strike Gives Greek Carrier 24 Hours Off
If you were flying on
Olympic Airlines Thursday, you didn't.
The former Greek flag carrier (as Olympic Airways) -- which has
already been beaten up by bad press -- got another punch from an
unlikely source: public sector employee unions. This follows on the
heels of bankruptcy rumors, and last year's nasty Supreme Court
loss in which forerunner Olympic Airways was held liable for a
passenger's wrongful death in 1997.
Greek ATC workers are staging a one-day strike, which has
completely shut down air traffic in Olympic's Hellenic homeland,
along with other public employees who have shut down hospitals and
other functions for 24 hours.
In all, over 200,000 Greek public servants are idled by the
strike. The teachers' unions have extended their strike to 48
hours, but providers of essential services are just taking one day.
The purpose of the strike is to protest the economic and social
policies of the conservative government in Greece.
The Athens airport was closed
Thursday, but it was scheduled to reopen at midnight when the ATC
workers and other government-employed airport staff returned to
duty. With so many of Olympic's flights beginning or terminating at
Athens, the airport closure hits the airline, too.
Of course, passengers on the cancelled flights probably won't
know about Greek labor strife or party politics. They're more
likely to blame the company, and tee off on Olympic's gate
agents.
The company could certainly do a better job of communication. At
press time, Olympic's website had no information about the strike
or the shutdown.
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