A strike by ground crews at several airports in Northern Norway finally ended over the weekend when airport employers and the ground crews’ union came to terms on a new pay deal.
Some of the workers had been on strike since March 12 and the strike later spread to effectively halt airline traffic at Brønnøysund, Svolvær, Vardø, Vadsø, Mehamn and Honningsvåg. The crew provided ground services for Norway’s regional domestic airline Widerøe, which ultimately had been forced to suspend its airline service for the duration of the conflict.
It was between the union LFF (Luftfartens funskjonærforbund) and the local firm providing the ground services for Widerøe, Air Service. A few issues remained unresolved, but LFF members went back to work on Monday anyway.
Widerøe said it would take some time to get its flights back on schedule after the strike, which had begun to pose serious health and transport concerns for sick and elderly residents who can’t tolerate long bus travel needed to get to hospitals for routine treatments. Widerøe aimed to have its flights back in the air as soon as possible.
newsinenglish.no staff