Some 59 flights were canceled at Geneva’s international airport on Friday, it said, after operations were halted for four hours due to a workers’ strike at the start of the busy summer travel season.
“Due to the social action… the management decided a temporary cessation of operations from 6:00 am to 10:00 am (04:00 GMT and 08:00 GMT),” the airport said in a tweet early Friday. “59 flights, arrivals and departures, cancelled.”
An airport spokesman said on Thursday an estimated 8,000 passengers would be affected by the cancellations at Switzerland’s second airport, a key hub for budget airline EasyJet.
The strike was called after the airport board approved a new wage policy on Thursday that was contested by staff.
Some 6.8 million passengers used the airport between January and May, according to official statistics.
The aviation industry has been scrambling to prevent a repeat of the chaos seen at European airports last year.
The sector struggled to cope with a surge in travel as it was severely understaffed after laying off thousands during the Covid pandemic.
Passengers faced huge queues, lost luggage and flight delays.
Other European airports and airlines have also faced staff strikes.
AFP
