THE labour ministry moved last evening to have air traffic controllers prosecuted for defying a court order to return to work yesterday and end a strike that has severely affected travel to and from Jamaica.
"I have requested the solicitor general to start proceedings in court against those air traffic controllers who were rostered to work but who did not turn up," Labour Minister Pearnel Charles told the Observer just after 7:00 pm.
"I am outraged by the action of the workers who so blatantly defied the court order," he said, adding that he has never seen this type of behaviour from other public sector groups, especially those in the essential services who, by law, are not permitted to go on strike.
Up to press time the defiant air traffic controllers — who have been pushing for increased wages — had not returned to work, despite the Supreme Court order issued on Sunday for them to return to work immediately and barring them from taking any further industrial action within a 28-day period.
Their action resulted in the cancellation of seven flights into the tourist resort town of Montego Bay and a backlog of hundreds of passengers trying to get in and out of the island's two major international airports.
The cancellations have also resulted in a number of hotels scrambling at the last minute to reschedule guests who could not get into the island, and making contingency plans for those unable to get out.
The towers at both the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston and Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay were being manned by supervisors.
Elizabeth Scotton, chief commercial officer for MBJ Airports Limited, operator of the Sangster Airport, told the Observer that a number of airlines took the decision not to send in flights to Jamaica earlier in the day because the NMIA was not fully staffed at that time. The affected airlines, she said, were American, Delta, US Airways, Air Jamaica and Cayman Airways.
According to Scotton, Delta and American had to send in extra flights to clear the backlog later in the day.
"As of now the flight schedule is normal, but it will take a couple of days to clear the backlog of passengers whose flights were cancelled," the MBJ spokeswoman told the Observer.
"Passengers are being urged to call the airlines to see if their flights are still on before showing up at the airport," she added.
Last night, an obviously angry Charles pointed out the effect of the strike on air travel, saying that it has prevented the country from honouring its international obligations.
He also said that the Ministry of Labour "will not accommodate any meeting with these workers until there is a return to normalcy".
President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association Wayne Cummings said several hotels have been impacted by the strike.
"A number of them are now working on rescheduling the bookings and so there will be a lot of empty rooms here tonight," Cummings told the Observer.
Cummings, who was caught up in the backlog of persons trying to get into the island out of Miami, said there was a pile up of American Airlines passengers who were trying to get on a flight.
Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) spokeswoman Nicole Hutchinson told the Observer that yesterday's delays were caused by a changeover in shifts as supervisors continued to fill in for the striking workers.
"Air traffic controllers did not report for work, so contingency measures are remaining in place. Jamaica's air space remains open," said Hutchinson. "There may be possible cancellations as some airlines may not be confident enough to come into the airspace, but the matter should be rectified."
She noted, however, that the JCAA will continue to provide air traffic control services at the Norman Manley and Sangster airports and that air traffic services were also being provided over the Kingston Flight Information Region, through the Kingston Air Traffic Control Centre at Winchester Road.
The JCAA, she said, is making every effort to provide air traffic control services from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm in the event the industrial action continues into today.
The labour ministry was forced to obtain the court order after the 100-plus air traffic controllers walked off the job when wage talks broke down on Saturday.
Yesterday, hundreds of confused passengers waited inside the airport terminal at the NMIA for information about their flights. Some looked on helplessly, others occupied their time fiddling with cellular phones and other gadgets, while others used the opportunity to sleep.
Many expressed disappointment in the way the matter was being handled, especially the lack of information they received from airport officials.
"These things cause people to get fired when they go back home and these (airport) people just don't understand that," said a female passenger, who declined to be named.
"The sad part is that nobody has the decency to even come and say something to us," the frustrated passenger said, adding that she had no choice but to sleep inside the airport if she was unable to leave the island yesterday.
Another female passenger, Kerry-Ann Aragon, was equally frustrated that her 10:00 am flight to New York on JetBlue Airways was cancelled.
"This has been going on since yesterday and it is very sad. I am very frustrated and concerned about my family; everyone has to be sitting here waiting to see what is going to happen with me," said the woman, whose mother waited next to her from their arrival at the airport's departure concourse at 8:30 am until late into the afternoon.
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