Air traffic strike averted

THE Labour Court has successfully staved off strike action by air traffic controllers, which would have stopped any flights taking off or landing at Cork, Dublin and Shannon on Thursday.

However, while 80,000 passengers scheduled to fly on that day will breathe a sigh of relief, there was still no guarantee last night that future disruption will not be back on the cards.

The Irish Aviation Authority and IMPACT trade union, which represents the country’s air traffic controllers, have been at odds for a number of weeks over staff shortages and overtime and standby terms.