Jamaica-labor-industrial action by air traffic controllers disrupts services at main international airports

KINGSTON, Jamaica– The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) Thursday said it is working towards ensuring a return to normalcy after air traffic controllers took industrial action over concerns about a reclassification exercise.

Information Minister, Robert Morgan, speaking on a radio program here, confirmed the industrial action, saying that a meeting involving the Ministry of Finance and the Minister of Transport will be held “very shortly to see how quickly we can resolve the issue.”

But he told listeners that Jamaica’s airspace is not closed.

“The controls are being operated by senior management of the Civil Aviation Authority, so flights continue in and out of the country, but we want to resolve this matter as soon as possible,” he said.

Morgan noted that the air traffic controllers’ concerns are similar to that of the National Water Commission (NWC) workers who walked off the job this week, disrupting the water supply for more than 500,000 customers across the island. The strike by the NWC workers has since ended.

The JCAA said that it is in contact with all concerned parties. It is committed to safe and efficient industrial operations and hopes to resume services in the shortest possible time.

Meanwhile, several international flights into the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, south of here, have been canceled.

Manager, Commercial Development & Marketing at MBJ Airports Limited, Sharon Hislop, told The Gleaner newspaper that an American Airlines flight En route from JFK in New York had to be diverted to Miami, and a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, turned back.

An Air Canada flight En route to the island was also forced to return to Toronto. In contrast, a Frontier flight out of Atlanta, a Sun Wing flight from Toronto, an American Airlines flight from Miami, and a JetBlue flight out of New York were able to land at Sangster before the industrial unrest.

The paper quoted “highly placed sources,” saying that the industrial action would last until Friday.

Services have also been disrupted at the Norman Manley International Airport.

Air traffic controllers have been at odds with the Ministry of Finance for the last three months owing to a fallout in salary negotiations, The Gleaner reported.