12.03.06
Hundreds of passengers were left stranded after Cyprus Airways pilots staged a wildcat, 24-hour strike over fears of deep wage cuts under a restructuring plan for the state-owned airline. Management scrambled to find accommodation for the passengers caught on the Mediterranean resort island by the stoppage, which was not due to end before midnight.
Cyprus Airways General Manager Christos Kyriakides said the strike forced management to cancel a total of 17 flights, stranding some 2700 passengers. He said most passengers would depart on re-scheduled flights either Saturday night or Sunday aboard other carriers. Some passengers would be flown to their destinations aboard two jets from Cyprus Airways' subsidiary Eurocypria.
Pilots had only announced their wildcat action late Friday saying they had lost patience with management's failure to address their concerns over the restructuring plan. But Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos weighed in with scathing criticism aimed at pilots he accused of threatening the airline's very survival.
