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Spain declares 'state of alarm' over air chaos
MADRID (AP) - Spain's government has declared an unprecedented "state of alarm" over an Air Traffic controllers strike that has largely closed the country's air space. Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said this means that the controllers are now under orders to go back to work and can be charged with a crime under the Military penal code if they refuse. If convicted, they could face jail time. He said most Spanish airports were not up and running Saturday. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS...

Spain declares state of emergency over strike
Madrid (Reuters) - Spain declared a State of Emergency on Saturday as a wildcat strike by Air Traffic controllers paralyzed airports for a second day. Planes sat on the tarmac and passengers camped out in airports across the country as the unofficial industrial action threatened to deepen Spain's economic problems. The disruption is set to continue. Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Spanish Airspace would not re-open until Sunday if the situation did not return to normal. Many ...

Spain military takes over air traffic control
Madrid – Spain's Military took control of the nation's Airspace Friday night after Air Traffic controllers staged a massive sickout that stranded at least 330,000 travelers on the eve of a long holiday weekend, forcing the government to shut down Madrid's big international hub and seven other airports. About six hours after the nation descended into total Travel Chaos, Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba announced that the Defense Ministry had "taken control of Air Traffic in a...

Spain Military Takes Control of Airways
MADRID (AP) - Spain's Military took control of the nation's Airspace Friday night after Air Traffic controllers staged a massive sickout that stranded at least 330,000 travelers on the eve of a long holiday weekend, forcing the government to shut down Madrid's big international hub and seven other airports. About six hours after the sickout started, causing total Travel Chaos, Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba announced that the Defense Ministry had "taken control of Air Traffic in a...

Airline halts all flights as Spanish military takes over air traffic control
More than 5,000 flights were scheduled for the nation yesterday, and about 3,000 departed or landed before the mass sick call began in the late afternoon. Iberia cancelled all Spanish flights today as a walk-out by the country's Air Traffic controllers shut down most of its Airspace. The airline said in a statement that passengers should not go to airports and those who are there should return home or go to hotels. All Iberia flights in Spain were cancelled until 6am (0500 GMT) tomorrow. The ...

Spain air travel chaos extends into second day
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Iberia has canceled all Spanish flights until Sunday morning amid a walkout by the country's Air Traffic controllers that has shut down most of its air space. The airline said in a statement Saturday that passengers shouldn't go to airports and those who are there should return home or to hotels. All Iberia flights in Spain were canceled until 6 a.m. (0500 GMT, 12 a.m. EST) Sunday. The controllers abandoned their posts Friday evening amid a lengthy dispute over working con...

Airports reopen but strike chaos continues in Spain
Stranded passengers rest at Madrid's Barajas airport after flights were cancelled due to a walkout of Air Traffic controllers. Photograph: Juan Medina/Reuters Spanish Airspace has reopened following a strike by Air Traffic controllers that has left thousands of British holidaymakers stranded in Europe and North Africa. Airlines cancelled flights in and out of the country after industrial action affecting 330,000 international passengers. The Spanish government declared a State of Emergency a...

Spanish military takes control of airports
Published: Dec. 4, 2010 at 12:30 PM Madrid, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Spanish Military is taking control of the country's Air Control towers as the government ordered striking Air Traffic technicians back to work Saturday. The Spanish cabinet approved the measures by putting the country in a state of alert after a strike that began Friday shut down international and domestic flights, CNN reported. Iberia, Spanair, KLM, Air France, EasyJet and Ryanair had all canceled international flights at least thr...

Spanish air traffic controllers marched back to work as airports reopen
Spain's Air Traffic controllers were forced to return to work – escorted by armed Police – after a walkout caused chaos throughout Europe....

Spain orders air traffic controllers to resume work or military could take control of airspace
MADRID, Spain - Spain orders Air Traffic controllers to resume work or Military would take over control of Airspace. You must login to comment. Drug gangs employing Terrorist tactics?...

Spain declares 'state of alarm' over air chaos
Madrid — Spain’s government has declared an unprecedented "state of alarm" over an Air Traffic controllers strike that has largely closed the country’s air space. Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said this means that the controllers are now under orders to go back to work and can be charged with a crime under the Military penal code if they refuse. If convicted, they could face jail time. He said most Spanish airports were not up and running Saturday. ...

Spain: Military takes over air traffic control
MADRID (AP) — Spain's Military took control of the nation's Airspace Friday night after Air Traffic controllers staged a massive sickout that stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers on the eve of a long holiday weekend, forcing the government to shut down Madrid's big international hub and seven other airports. About six hours after the sickout started, causing total Travel Chaos, Deputy Prime Minister Perez Rubalcaba announced that the Defense Ministry had "taken control of air traffic...

Military takes over air traffic control in Spain
MADRID (AP) - Spain's Military took control of the nation's Airspace Friday night after Air Traffic controllers staged a massive sickout that stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers on the eve of a long holiday weekend, forcing the government to shut down Madrid's big international hub and seven other airports. About six hours after the sickout started, causing total Travel Chaos, Deputy Prime Minister Perez Rubalcaba announced that the Defense Ministry had "taken control of Air Traffic in ...

Spanish air controllers start returning to work
A couple sleep under a blanket at Barajas Airport in Madrid Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010. Spain's air Travel Chaos extended into a second day Saturday as the Prime Minister held an unprecedented Cabinet meeting to decide whether to declare a state of national emergency after Air Traffic controllers staged a mass sickout, stranding more than 330,000 people on a long holiday weekend. Spain placed striking Air Traffic controllers under Military authority Saturday and threatened them with jail terms in a...

Spain military takes over air traffic control
MADRID (AP) - Spain's Military took control of the nation's Airspace Friday night after Air Traffic controllers staged a massive sickout that stranded at least 330,000 travelers on the eve of a long holiday weekend, forcing the government to shut down Madrid's big international hub and seven other airports. About six hours after the sickout started, causing total Travel Chaos, Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba announced that the Defense Ministry had "taken control of Air Traffic in ...

Controller sickout causes Spain travel chaos
MADRID - The Spanish government said late Friday it would allow its Military to take over control of Airspace if Air Traffic controllers did not return to work from a massive sickout that left hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded. The government called on controllers to resume work "immediately" or "defense will assume control of airspace," it said in a statement. The sickout on Friday, on the eve of a long national holiday weekend, caused Travel Chaos throughout the nation, forcing...

Controller Sickout Causes Spain Airport Chaos
Learn about the people, economy and history. (AP) The Spanish government said late Friday it would allow its Military to take over control of Airspace if Air Traffic controllers did not return to work from a massive sickout that left hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded. The sickout on Friday, on the eve of a long national holiday weekend, caused Travel Chaos throughout the nation, forcing Spanish authorities to close eight airports, including the major European hub in Madrid and airspac...

Controller sickout causes Spain travel chaos
MADRID - The Spanish government said late Friday it would allow its Military to take over control of Airspace if Air Traffic controllers did not return to work from a massive sickout that left hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded. The government called on controllers to resume work "immediately" or "defense will assume control of airspace," it said in a statement. The sickout on Friday, on the eve of a long national holiday weekend, caused Travel Chaos throughout the nation, forcing...

Controller sickout causes Spain travel chaos
MADRID (AP) - The Spanish government said late Friday it would allow its Military to take over control of Airspace if Air Traffic controllers did not return to work from a massive sickout that left hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded. The sickout on Friday, on the eve of a long national holiday weekend, caused Travel Chaos throughout the nation, forcing Spanish authorities to close eight airports, including the major European hub in Madrid and Airspace above it. The controllers left th...

Military takes over Spanish airspace from strikers
Spain's Military commanded nationwide Air Traffic Saturday after civilian controllers called in sick en masse in a wildcat holiday-weekend strike over working hours. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero sent in the Military Friday after controllers walked off the job, closing down Airspace on the eve of a long weekend and affecting an estimated 250,000 passengers. The defence ministry will demand that absent civilian Air Traffic controllers return to work, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez ...

Spanish air controllers start returning to work
MADRID (AP) - Spain placed striking Air Traffic controllers under Military authority Saturday in an unprecedented emergency order and threatened jail terms for those who refuse to go back to work in a bid to get the country's air space back to normal. Civil Aviation agency Aena said hours later that some strikers were back on the job. The wildcat stoppage that began Friday has largely closed the country's air space and stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers on a busy holiday weekend. Aena...

Spanish air controllers start returning to work
MADRID (AP) — Spain’s government says the country’s air space has now reopened after a closure prompted by striking Air Traffic controllers. An official with the Civil Aviation agency AENA says it got the all-clear Saturday from Eurocontrol, Europe’s Air Traffic agency. The official said strikers who launched the stoppage Friday afternoon are returning to work in sufficient numbers to make it safe to fly in Spanish air space. The return comes after the government placed t...

Spanish Air Traffic Controllers Return
(NewsCore) - Striking Air Traffic controllers began returning to work in Spain on Saturday after the government declared a state of alert and warned of criminal prosecutions. The strike over working hours hit an estimated 250,000 passengers on a holiday weekend, prompting the government to put the Military in command of the skies and threaten Prison for absent controllers. "Controllers are returning to work at their control stations," said a spokesman for the airport operator AENA. Two-thirds of...

Spain military takes over air traffic control
Source: Associated Press Madrid – Spain's Military took control of the nation's Airspace Friday night after Air Traffic controllers staged a massive sickout that stranded at least 330,000 travelers on the eve of a long holiday weekend, forcing the government to shut down Madrid's big international hub and seven other airports. About six hours after the nation descended into total Travel Chaos, Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba announced that the Defense Ministry had "taken control of...

Air traffic controller strike rattles Spain
Published: Dec. 4, 2010 at 9:42 AM Madrid, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Spanish government declared a State of Emergency Saturday and two major Airlines canceled all international flights due to an Air Traffic controller strike. Carrier Iberia canceled all international flights until 5 p.m., Sunday, Greenwich mean time. Ryanair called off flights through 6:30 p.m. GMT, Sky News Online reported Saturday. About 250,000 travelers found their plans upended by the cancellations, as the Spanish cabinet met in ...