Brazil flights delayed, air traffic snarls

Brasilia (Brazil), Nov 14: Thousands of travelers faced long delays in Brazil's airports, according to Brazil's airport authority Infraero, because of what a source said was a work slow-down by air traffic controllers.

More than 400 of some 1,000 flights were delayed by afternoon, Infraero said yesterday.

The bottleneck was caused by air traffic controllers staging a work slow-down, said an Infraero employee who asked not to be named.

A similar jam occurred two weeks ago when traffic controllers in Brasilia refused to handle more than 14 flights at a time, in line with international standards. Hundreds of flights were delayed and air traffic was backed up for days.

The action started after 10 controllers were put on leave after a plane crash on Sept 29. Two planes clipped in mid-air over the Amazon and one of the aircraft crashed, killing all 154 people on board. The accident is under investigation.

Controllers said their work load increased after the crash, and some said they had been handling as many as 20 flights simultaneously at the peak of their six-hour shifts.

''We are seeking a fast solution,'' said Infraero President Jose Carlos Pereira on his way in to a meeting with the defense minister, who heads civil aviation in Brazil.

The government has called in controllers from the military reserves and said it will hire more than 60 new controllers.

Air traffic is expected to surge later this week as Wednesday is a national holiday.

Reuters