Air traffic controllers strike forces closure of airports in Cusco, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Trujillo and Tacna

The Unified Union of Air Traffic Controllers of Peru (SUCTA) of Corpac began a strike from today until April 16, with the approval of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion, a strike that has caused the closure of five airports in Peru and affected thousands of people who are unable to travel for Easter holidays.

Since the early hours of the day, this strike has forced several airlines to issue announcements of flight delays or to have them rescheduled until further notice, even, in some cases, cancelled.

LATAM Airlines Peru reported that “due to the strike of air traffic controllers some domestic flights are suffering damage. Seeking to mitigate the inconvenience that this may cause in the transportation of our customers and protect their safety, we will offer flexibilities to our affected passengers for exchanges and/or returns without any penalty.”

They also indicate that they “maintain constant monitoring of the situation and ask the competent authorities to immediately resolve this incident” and regret “the inconvenience this situation has caused its passengers”.

Jorge Chávez Airport indicates that it is working with a small number of air traffic controllers due to this stoppage and this situation has caused several of the flights within the country to fail to leave on time.

According to the status of airports in the interior of the country, air terminals in Cusco, Trujillo, Arequipa and Ayacucho are without controllers, while those in Piura and Iquitos are operating normally.

STRIKE

The aviation and tourism associations, such as AETAI, Canatur, Apavit, CCL, Comex, IATA, among others, called on the authorities, especially Corpac, the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC), the Ministry of Transport and Foreign Trade to take the necessary actions to avoid further discomfort among the passengers, who are the most affected.

Several international flights have also been affected and even canceled, affecting tourists from another country, who were waiting inside Jorge Chavez for their connecting flight to take them to their final destination.

In addition, several departures to Santiago de Chile have also been canceled.

FLIGHT STATUS

According to the detailed information on the Jorge Chavez Airport website, several flights have been canceled and rescheduled with a new date