Air traffic controllers' strikes in Iceland: thousands of passengers affected before Christmas

Icelandic air traffic controllers have joined strikes that are taking place around the world, causing disruptions to local airlines ahead of the busiest season, Christmas and New Year. Passengers of major companies Icelandair and PLAY faced massive delays and cancellations.

The strikers boycotted work on Monday and Thursday of last week at Keflavik (KEF) and Reykjavik (RKV) international airports. The controllers did not work for two days from 4 to 10 am local Icelandic time, Simple Flying reports.

However, two 6-hour strikes were enough to cause huge losses to airlines and wreak havoc.

The reason for the strike was that airport workers were dissatisfied with their salaries. Negotiations on raising wages have reached a deadlock. This week, work will be boycotted on Monday and Wednesday.

According to the local carrier, the strikes by airport staff could affect the flights of tens of thousands of people. According to Icelandair, 13,000 of its passengers have already been affected and another 23,000 could potentially miss their flights.

According to the airline's estimates, the total cost of the strike could be between $5 and $7 million.

In a letter to journalists, PLAY assured that it is trying to keep the situation under control, although delays are still expected.

The airline wrote: "We want to ensure that the financial impact on PLAY is as small as possible, but more importantly, we want to keep Christmas alive for our passengers."