Source::Xinhuanet
TIRANA,
Operation of regular flights resumed on Friday at Albania's only international airport, Tirana International Airport (TIA), after 48-hour suspension due to air traffic controllers' strike. The news was announced by the country's Infrastructure and Energy Minister Belinda Balluku via a Twitter post on Friday.
According to Balluku, work has returned to normal in Albcontrol, the company in charge of the management and control of the airspace of Albania. According to TIA, the first commercial flight with passengers left the airport for Italy on Friday morning. Twenty-five flights are scheduled to fly from and to the airport during the day.
Only "essential" flights were allowed to land or depart from the airport on Thursday. A total of 68 air traffic controllers at Albcontrol company said they were "incapable of working due to stress" and went on strike on Wednesday over working conditions and pay cut, blocking operations of TIA.
Local air traffic controllers have been replaced temporarily with Turkish and Greek counterparts, according to Prime Minister Edi Rama, so that flights could resume at the airport. The Albanian government called the strike of air traffic controllers illegal and Tirana Prosecutor's Office has started an investigation into the case involving 24 controllers.
On Thursday, three air traffic controllers accused of abuse of post were detained.
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