BEIRUT: Air traffic controllers at Lebanon’s only civilian airport announced on Thursday they would go on strike next month over severe staffing shortages, partially closing the Beirut hub.
The announcement by the team of 13 air traffic controllers at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport follows a report last week by the European Union’s aviation safety watchdog that raised concerns after inspecting the airport, just south of the Lebanese capital.
The airport is supposed to have a staff of 87 air traffic controllers, the controllers said.
Lebanon’s has been in the grip of a devastating economic crisis since late 2019 after decades of corruption and mismanagement. Public sector and state institutions have steadily deteriorated as the cash-strapped government struggles to provide adequate funding.
The Beirut airport has faced power cuts and equipment shortages for months during the busy tourism season. Over 4 million people flew into Lebanon since the beginning of the year.
The strike would begin Sept. 5 and the controllers would not work overnight, between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency and International Civil Aviation Organization said in a report carried by Lebanese media last week that its inspection of Beirut’s airport earlier this summer detailed multiple safety concerns, including a severe shortage of air traffic controllers.
The controllers said in their statement that the government has ignored their repeated proposals to resolve the issue, including bringing in experts from abroad to help, and dismissed their safety concerns. They said that they work roughly 300 hours a month, and “most of us are above 50 years old.”
Government officials have not responded to the announcement. The country’s General Directorate of Civil Aviation last week said that the airport staff shortage is part of a global issue impacted by the coronavirus pandemic restrictions. It said authorities were training new staff with ICAO’s support.
Air traffic controllers at Lebanon’s only civilian airport to go on strike over staffing shortages
https://arab.news/gq5da
Air traffic controllers at Lebanon’s only civilian airport to go on strike over staffing shortages
- The airport is supposed to have a staff of 87 air traffic controllers
- The Beirut airport has faced power cuts and equipment shortages for months during the busy tourism season
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
