Poland will cut the number of flights from and to Warsaw as of Sunday, following a row between air traffic controllers.
1. Air traffic controllers
Social conflict between Polish air traffic controllers and the country’s Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) is threatening the limitation of flights to and from Warsaw. Starting on Sunday, Poland will limit the operating hours of Warsaw’s two airports. Warsaw Chopin, Poland’s largest airport, and the smaller Modlin airport, which serves low-cost carriers, will operate only between 9:30 AM and 5 PM, leading to the suspension of about 300 flights a day.
Half of these flights will be made in our airspace, half of these flights… will be redirected to neighbouring countries, but flights over Poland will not be cancelled.
Piotr Samson, head of Civil Aviation Authority told journalists
At stake is the refusal of Warsaw flight controllers to sign up to new pay rules. Back in January, PANSA said that monthly pay — reaching in rare cases 100,000 złoty (€21,500) — was “impossible” to maintain. The Polish Agency are determining top pay levels of 45,000 złoty a month, which is seen as a massive cut by air traffic controllers.
According to POLITICO, out of 208 air traffic controllers working earlier this year, 44 quit in February with another 131 reportedly preparing to leave by the end of April.
2. Crisis management
Justifying its decision, PANSA said that the new pay rules are an element of its post-pandemic adaptation plan, “implemented in response to the unprecedented crisis in the aviation industry and the difficult financial situation of the agency.”
Airlines affected would include LOT Polish Airlines, Wizz Air and Lufthansa, which all operate out of Chopin airport, and Ryanair, which flies out of Modlin. The low-cost carrier Ryanair said on 26 April it had complained to the European Commission about the legislation because it believes the list of prioritised destinations unfairly favours LOT.
The Polish government has first mismanaged the pay dispute with Warsaw air traffic controllers and has now shown complete disregard for Ryanair passengers, choosing to protect non-essential LOT routes… at the expense of key Ryanair routes such as Stockholm and Milan.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair chief executive
The EU executive addressed the issue during a press conference saying that the Commission is working together with Eurocontrol to monitor the “serious situation which may severely impact the connectivity across the EU”.
