Hungarian PM Prohibits Air Traffic Controllers' Strike

According to a government decree published in the official Hungarian Gazette Monday night, "there is no room for a strike (…) at the organization responsible for air traffic control services", and the decree will remain in force until the end of the emergency.

Signed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the decree came out after a newspaper report that one of the three trade unions at the Hungarian air traffic control company HungaroControl did not accept the employer's offer for salary increase (5% for each of the next three years) and was considering strike at the Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest.

The union wanted to limit the number of planes landing between 12 and 15 pm every day between 24 and 28 July in protest, not affecting, among others, military flights and those carrying vaccines.

The strike has been called off, according to EuroControl.

Another regulation relating to air traffic controllers published in the official journal states that air traffic controllers must carry out their duties of on-the-job training and further training and fulfil the conditions for keeping their license.