The Bucharest Court ruled on Friday, August 28, that the air flight controllers’ strike announced for September 1 was legal. The court’s decision is not final, however, and can be appealed, reports local Mediafax.

The decision came after the Romanian Administration of Air Traffic Services (ROMATSA) had challenged in court the general strike its employees were planning for Tuesday, September 1.

Romanian air flight controllers announced the possible general strike earlier this week. They said their problems involved “life and death” issues that were also related to the passengers’ safety. The union leaders from Romania’s Air Traffic Services Administration – ROMATSA met on Monday, August 24, with the Transport Minister Iulian Matache, but the discussions had no result.

On July 15 this year, the air flight controllers went on a warning strike for two hours, asking for a collective work contract. This caused delays for several flights on Bucharest’s Henri Coanda International Airport. A general strike would paralyze air traffic on Romania's biggest airports.

The general strike of Romanian air flight controllers will cause losses for travel agencies.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com