Geneva International Airport, Switzerland’s second busiest, was unusually quiet on Friday, the first day of the summer vacation, due to a historic strike by the company’s employees that resulted in all flights being canceled until mid-2019.
In front of the doors of the airport’s main building, many police and security guards only let in passengers with a late flight and journalists.
The airport is quiet. The fifty or so trade unionists put up their red flags in front of the airport’s main gate to explain their demands.
More than 60 flights have been canceled as airport management decided to temporarily halt operations between 4am and 8am GMT.
A group of young girls, whose flight was scheduled to depart at around 10.15am (8.15am GMT), were happy to be able to go on holiday as planned.
The strike, which is affecting several key services, stems from a salary policy overhaul requested by management.
“Situation 7:20 a.m. Due to a social action by some of the staff at Genève Aéroport (GA), operations will be suspended from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. “64 flights – departures and arrivals – cancelled,” reads a tweet from Genève Aéroport, adding that “the seven long-haul flights are expected between 10:15 and 11:15.”
This includes several flights from North America (New York, Montreal or Newark), but also from Abu Dhabi and Doha, according to the airport’s website.
According to a count on Thursday, around 8,000 passengers departing from Geneva were affected by the four-hour strike.
In particular, Geneva is a very important hub for the low-cost airline EasyJet.
Renewable
The social conflict has been smoldering for several days and the movement has been renewed as a sign of dissatisfaction.
This strike is historic: it is the first in Cointrin’s 104-year history to involve airport staff employed under a public service contract (rather than outside workers who are also vital to operations) , stresses the daily Le Temps.
“One can only understand this movement. “The airport is a profitable company that benefits from a monopoly and is attacking staff conditions,” said Pierre-Yves Maillard, President of the Swiss Trade Union Confederation (USS), who came to support the strikers.
“There are employees who feel so despised that they quit their jobs here in Geneva, Switzerland, too,” he noted, urging Geneva cantonal authorities and airport management to take action to determine the new wage policy.
In a statement released on Thursday, Swiss airline warned that all flights departing from Geneva on Friday morning would be affected.
The strike “also involves ramp control personnel — the air traffic controllers who control and direct planes on the ground,” preventing planes from proceeding to the runway or boarding once they land, the airline said in a statement.
Swiss estimated on Thursday evening that 13 flights would be canceled, eleven more delayed and a total of around 2,000 passengers would be affected.
According to official statistics, almost 6.8 million passengers passed through the airport in the period from January to May.
This summer, 123 destinations will be offered from Geneva and more than 3 million passengers will have to pass through the airport, Genève Aéroport announced a few days ago.