Public anxiety heightens over possible airport staff strike

By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-AIR traffic control officers of the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport have not yet had their demands met in a standoff with the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA), which could lead to flight closures at the country’s gateway.

In an exclusive interview Wednesday morning (Sept. 24), SCASPA Public Relations spokesperson Delcia Bradley-King told SKNVibes.com that they were “closely monitoring the situation and considering all options at this time”.

The air traffic control officers made threats earlier this month that they would walk out by September 30 if SCASPA management failed to consider pay and equipment upgrades they feel are long overdue and causing them to be some of the worst treated airport staff in all of the OECS.

Talks between SCASPA and the employees had essentially ground to a halt by last week, with the latter complaining that their concerns, lodged since June 10, were not being taken seriously. However, King informed SKNVibes that “the talks have now been making more progress and are still ongoing”.     ~~Adz:Right~~

Despite the ground made toward a resolution, King did admit that some of the air traffic controllers had taken their protests to the next level over the allegedly out-of-date equipment they use.

“Some workers have taken sick days and not shown up to work, but there have been no disruptions in any of the airports services,” she said.

These “disruptions” are exactly what have the local public on edge over the talks, as many individuals are still reeling from the stress and inconvenience caused by recent flight cancellations due to the closure of XL Airways and Carib Aviation. Persons with flights scheduled to depart St. Kitts around the September 30 deadline have expressed reasonable concerns about the possibility of an airport ‘shut-down’ while others have told SKNVibes that friends and family overseas due to travel at the end of the month have made repeated inquiries.

“My aunt is due to come home on that day and she keeps calling to find out the status ever since the talk came up about a strike. She is just coming home for a few days and cannot afford to get stuck and miss work. She is also worried that she would get as far as San Juan and have to go back if the strike took place and no flights could land or take off,” one individual related to this media house.

King said however, that she was quite certain there would be no stoppage of services to and from St. Kitts’ airport.

“We are currently looking at any and all available options to make sure that there are no disruptions that would harm our travel industry and make the nation look bad.”

Attempts to reach a member of the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport’s air traffic control staff proved unsuccessful at the time of this publication.