New strike severely grounds air traffic

pulse

January 25, 2018 10:06 PM

Air traffic was severely disrupted in Algeria on Thursday due to a strike by Air Algerie crew, grounding the airline's fleet for the second time this week, state media said.

Air traffic was severely disrupted in

The strike caused the cancellation of the majority of the Algerian flag carrier's flights from the capital Algiers, state television reported.

Air Algerie was forced to charter planes from French airline Aigle Azur to ensure some of its flights abroad, it added.

"This new strike has caused disruptions to all domestic and international flights" from the airport, the official APS news agency reported.

The airline announced on Thursday that it had taken "administrative measures" against seven people who had instigated an "illegal" strike on Monday for commercial cabin crew.

An Algerian court declared Monday's strike illegal, prompting the cabin crew trade union SNPNCA to suspend industrial action.

But the next morning the union announced its intention to strike again.

The union is demanding the restoration of a pay rise schedule agreed in January last year but withdrawn the following month after a change of management.

The airline said it had been unable to increase salaries due to financial difficulties which left six planes grounded last month because the company could not afford spare parts.

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