Oslo Airport Closed for Five Hours Due to Strike; More Travelers to Be Affected

A five-hour closure of Oslo Airport on Sunday, due to an ongoing air traffic controller strike, resulted in the cancellation of 147 flights. Avinor Flysikring, one of the parties in the dispute, has issued a warning that the strike's impact will broaden on Monday, affecting not only tourists but also commuters and patients requiring air travel.

The strike, which began Friday morning, stems from a failure to reach an agreement between the Norwegian Air Traffic Controllers' Association (NFF) and Spekter/Avinor Flysikring during mediation. Initially, 12 air traffic controllers at Oslo and Bergen airports were involved. If no resolution is found, further escalation is planned for Tuesday.

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I hope we get an end to this quite soon.

Avinor Director Jan Gunnar Pedersen expressed hope for a quick end to the industrial action, describing the controllers' demands as a "rehash" of a previous legal process where Avinor prevailed. He stated that the current situation is difficult to comprehend and hopes it will not be repeated.

Discussions between Spekter and the Norwegian Air Traffic Controllers' Association are scheduled for Monday morning. Pedersen emphasized that while weekend traffic and tourists have been primarily affected so far, the upcoming week will see a "new" type of traveler impacted, including those traveling for work, essential medical appointments, and critical logistical movements, such as to the North Sea or military bases.

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It is people who are going to work. People who commute, it is patient travel on normal scheduled flights that are affected, and it is, for example, people going to the North Sea or to Alta military base. So it will have another type of consequence during the week, and we have to handle that.