Air traffic controllers in the north on Thursday night announced their intention to go on strike for ten and a half hours on Monday.

HTKS, the union representing the workers, has three demands, that the “minimum requirements” for aviation services are reached and it is no longer controversial to ask for them, that the ‘government’ offer more stimulus payments to aid with the cost-of-living crisis, and that the north’s tax brackets be redesigned with the high rate of inflation in mind.

The union’s chairman Cem Kapisiz said they had “issued many warnings, and now we are warning them again”, but that “no change has happened”.

“The minimum standards required when providing aviation services are there in writing and they must be strictly adhered to. Every service provided in aviation must be uninterrupted and have redundancy built in,” he said.

However, the strike will likely not go ahead given that the ‘government’ has the power to order that air traffic control strikes be suspended.

They did this most recently in March, when air traffic controllers announced a 13-hour overnight strike to show their dissatisfaction with the state of the Ercan (Tymbou) airport, but the ‘government’ ordered a 60-day suspension.