Prague - One day after a British public sector strike affected London's Heathrow airport, almost half of Czech Airlines flights scheduled on today will stay on ground.
The Czech Airlines pilots' union announced this morning a strike against the restructuring of the company.
Some of the pilots will take a sick day off today, they explained. The union estimates that approximately half of the flights scheduled on today will stay on ground.
Czech Airlines have confirmed that some of their pilots have not come to work today. The company's spokesperson Hana Hejsková said that 19 return flights will not depart from Prague, which means in total 38 flights from and to Prague will be canceled.
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Hejsková added that all travelers affected by the "coercive action of some of the employees" may pick a different flight another day for free, or may ask for a refund.
The pilots are protesting against the plan to divide the Czech Airlines fleet into two. The union has said that approximately one third of the company's planes, 11 out of 30, have been transferred to Holidays Czech Airlines, a daughter company of Czech Airlines established within the framework of the company's restructuring.
Yesterday, the union said it was planning a protest, without giving any details on its form and extent. In their press release they said that the Czech Airlines management failed to explain the measure to the employees.
The pilots believe that by registering the planes with the daughter company, the management violated the restructuring plan and in effect decreased the market value of the Czech national carrier for a possibility of its privatization.
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Hejsková reacted by saying that the creation of the Czech airlines holding was sanctioned by the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, and that the division of activities and assets is taking place within this group.
