Hundreds of flights cancelled in Greece ahead of strikes

Airlines on Saturday announced the cancellation of hundreds of flights in and out of Greece ahead of a series of strikes by the country’s air traffic controllers.

Aegean, the country’s largest airline, and its subsidiary Olympic Air cancelled all of their flights in or out of the country for Sunday, when the walkout is set to begin.

Irish budget airline Ryanair grounded 110 flights scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, calling on the European Commission to take action “to prevent these repeated ATC strikes from continuously disrupting the travel plans of millions of Europe’s citizens and their families”.

The Greek air traffic controllers union on Wednesday had said the 24-hour rolling strikes will continue on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The controllers called the walkout to protest the proposed restructuring of the Civil Aviation Authority, accusing the Greek government of proceeding with reforms that would deprive them of their administrative role without prior consultation with the union.

Greek Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis has accused the air traffic controllers’ union of calling a “strike without precise demands” and “with political motives”. He stressed though that he is open to discuss with them.