Spanish prime minister uses military law to get airports moving again | World news | The Observer

Spanish prime minister uses military law to get airports moving again World news The Observer: "Spanish government declared a 'state of alarm' yesterday for the first time in three decades, assuming sweeping powers that allowed the military to take control of the country's airspace and order Spain's striking air traffic controllers to work or face prison.Easy Spanish Phrase Book: Over 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Easy Phrase) (Spanish and English Edition)
The extraordinary move by the Socialist government of prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was expected to allow some of the thousands of British tourists trapped in Spain to start returning home this morning.
Up to 20,000 were trapped by the sudden closure of local airspace on Friday afternoon after Spain's air traffic controllers walked out in a dispute over working hours. Military law was applied from midday yesterday, allowing them to be arrested and charged if they did not return to work. Spain's military code allows sentences of up to two years for those who disobey an order to work from the defence ministry. 'If they do not go to work, they will be committing a crime of disobedience according to the military penal code,' the deputy prime minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, warned after an emergency cabinet meeting.
The measure appeared to work. By late yesterday evening, Rubalcaba said that more than 90% of the controllers had returned to work. But he added that it could still take up to 48 hours for air traffic to return to normal after Spanish airspace reopened during the afternoon. It was also unclear if strikers would seek fresh ways to continue their protest.
Airlines warned that the chaos would take several days to sort out. Airlines Ryanair and Iberia said that they would not resume flying until this morning."

DISCLAIMER:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.

Posted in: Spanish prime minister uses military law to get airports moving again