Greece’s Olympic cancels 100 flights due to strike
ATHENS, Oct 6 (Forbes) – Greek state carrier Olympic Airlines will cancel 100 flights on Wednesday as its workers join a 24-hour nationwide strike against the airline’s privatisation, it said in a statement on Monday.
The cancellations will affect flights between Athens and international destinations like London, Paris, Rome and Frankfurt, as well as some domestic flights.
Wednesday’s strike by workers from the transport sector and other state-owned companies will also hit Athens metro service and intercity trains. Unions are angry at the conservative government’s privatisation agenda and reforms of labour and pension benefits.
Union officials have said they would hold talks with union leaders from other European airlines, such as Alitalia, to discuss widening the protest.
Greece’s government last month launched a tender to sell off Olympic, which loses around 1 million euros a day. It has promised to compensate or find new public sector jobs for the workers, but union leaders have pledged to halt the sell-off.