By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
Members
of the Union of Professional
Controllers of the Air Traffic of
Costa Rica stated that there will be
delays in flights at different
national airports due to problems
with employee working conditions.
The union said that air traffic
controllers have had to face
problems like the lack of
controllers to fill positions,
nonpayment of accumulated vacations,
non-payment of overtime, and lack of
training courses.
Controllers complained that, "for
several years we have no plan to
replace the seats of colleagues who
have retired and others who have
left the system." According to them,
there are not enough trained
controllers to cover services in the
air traffic control tower.
Another complaint is that the
workers of the control tower, "have
more than 1,000 days of accumulated
vacations." The same problem is
happening with workers at the Radar
Control Center, and other service
stations so the operators are
warning that "we have been working
tirelessly," said Union members.
Controllers also complain that they
have not been paid for the overtime
worked in December, January and
February. During those months, air
traffic has increased and they have
“worked extra hours to try to
maintain the system, however, we
have not been paid."
Another issue that worries operators
is the lack of training on updated
systems. The training was promised
but has not been provided.
"Operators should attend a knowledge
refresher at least every 18 months,”
but updates have only been provided
every 24 months, they said.
Air traffic controllers state that
these and other complaints were
discussed with the directors of the
Civil Aviation Directorate General,
but, far from finding a solution,
they claim that "we have received
persecution and ill-intentioned
actions against several members."
For these reasons the operators
announced, as a warning to
passengers, that "until further
notice, air traffic services will
work with the resources and
possibilities that exist, so it is
possible that flights [will]
experience some delay, depending on
the time and day they leave."
Guillermo Hoppe, director of Civil
Aviation, said the number of trained
controllers has been growing smaller
as result of the retirement of “a
significant number of controllers.
That has affected us," he said. Mr.
Hoppe added "It has not been
possible to replace the employees
with the speed that we want."
The director confirmed that the
hiring process for controllers is
slow, so he called on the current
controllers to "continue working as
a team and ensure the highest level
of safety."
Possible solutions to the problems
in air traffic control are expected
in the next few hours.
According to the statistics of the
General Directorate of Civil
Aviation, in 2003 were registered 146,974 flights
in the four main airports in the
country, Juan Santamaría
in Alajuela*, Daniel Oduber in
Guanacaste*, Tobias Bolaños in
Pavas* and International
Airport of Limon*. By 2017
there were 177,593 flights, which is
equivalent to an increase of 20
percent.
Since January, another problem has
been slow lines at Alajuela airport.
As A.M. Costa Rica reported, the
General Directorate of Migration
confirmed that on Saturday, March 3,
there were 52 officers present at
the airport to attend 19,579 people
entering and departing the country.
According to Migration, 137 flights
accounted for 9,892 passengers
leaving Costa Rica and 9,687
passengers arriving on Saturday, all
at Juan Santamaría
International airport.
There was a constant and fluid flow
of passengers at the international
airport, so it was necessary
reinforced the staff with 22 more
officers, going from 30 regular
officers to 52. This is the tourist
high season and Saturday is a busy
day for the airport.
Raquel Vargas, Director General of
Migration said that "with the goal
of reducing the number of passengers
in the line at this airport, actions
were applied, so this Saturday there
were no people in the line to enter
the country."
To cover the 28 arrival counters and
the 16 departure counters,
immigration had to request help from
officials of other departments
including operations,
investigations, and complaints, as
well as other regional police
offices and officers of the Airport
Police.
A similar problem of slow lines at
the airport happened related to a
problem involving access to the
Interpol consulting system.
In that case, the General
Directorate of Migration reported
the problem caused a slow-down of
the routine processing of passports
for both incoming and outgoing
passengers at the airports of Alajuela
and Guanacaste.
Migration reported that a problem
with communication access was
detected because the judicial branch
was carrying out maintenance work
and could not query Interpol.
Interpol access consists of a search
of orders of international captures
and passports stolen or lost
worldwide. This means that
immigration officers have to rely on
national and international arrest
warrants, which were issued by the
court.
According to Raquel Vargas, Director
of Migration "Interpol consultation,
impediments, security systems, and
migration control was fixed, so
there is no impact on airports."
The immigration control system
allows officers to detect any person
who leaves or enters the country who
has arrest warrants for pending
cases with the courts.
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A.M. Costa
Rica wire services
photo
The
operators announced,
as a warning to
passengers, that
"until further notice,
air traffic services
will work with the
resources and
possibilities that
exist, so it is
possible that flights
will experience some
delay.
The government announced
an investment to enlarge
the Juan Santamaría
airport. The investment
of $96 million is to
modernize and increase
the size of the airport
so it can receive more
flights.
On
February 4, President
Carlos Alvarado
inaugurated the new
four-level building
at Alajuela
airport.
The building, which cost
$22.5 million, is part
of a total investment of
$96 million being spent
to modernize the
airport. The renovations
would take two years to
complete.
"This airport, which
represents the main port
of entry and exit of the
country, is receiving a
total investment of more
than $96 million for its
modernization and
expansion," said
President Alvarado.
The new building, called
Block V, has four levels
with more than 6
thousand m2 and expands
the airport to the west.
It will have four
boarding rooms: two with
contact bridges and two
to deal with remote
positions. It also
includes an exit-level
restaurant, a VIP room
and a 45 m2 pet area
with artificial grass,
waste bag dispensers,
drinking fountains, and
sinks. The airport will
have 20 boarding halls
in total.
According to the
Ministry of Tourism, six
out of every 10
international passengers
enter Costa Rica through
Juan Santamaría airport.
From 2017 to 2018, entry
grew 5.9 percent and
more than 14,000
national and foreign
passengers enter and
leave the country daily
through that airport.
The Tourism Ministry is
working to promote the
country and attract more
tourists and close more
agreements with
international airlines.
This weekend Maria
Amalia Revelo, Ministry
of Tourism announced
that European airlines
Lufthansa, KLM, Air
France, Edelweiss and
Condor intend to
increase the number of
direct flights to Costa
Rica.
"In 2006 Costa Rica had
only an indirect flight
to Europe. At present,
there are eight airlines
offering flights between
the old continent and
Costa Rica, seven of
them directly and one
with a scale, which is
evidence of the great
leap that has taken our
country as a result of
its strategy of
attracting airlines,"
said Revelo.
According to the
Ministry of Tourism,
these seven airlines
expressed their total
satisfaction with the
results they have
obtained in recent
months as a result of
their operations to our
country. They also noted
that they were surprised
by the reception that
they have had in the
markets they serve.
The institute also
announced new flights
from Canada. The
institute and the
Canadian airline Air
Transat announced that
there will be two direct
flights from Toronto to
airports in Costa Rica,
one to the Daniel Oduber
Airport in Liberia and
another to the Juan
Santamaría Airport in
Alajuela.
Air Transat operates
weekly flights to San
Jose from the cities of
Montreal (Monday and
Friday) and Toronto
(Tuesday, Thursday and
Sunday). In the case of
Liberia, it flies three
times a week to Toronto
(Monday, Wednesday and
Friday) and two times a
week to Montreal
(Wednesday and Friday).
On Dec. 28, the
institute announced
another agreement this
one with Sunwing
Canadian airline. On
that occasion, Sunwing
announced the first
direct flight between
Vancouver and
Guanacaste. Sunwing's
base of operations is in
Toronto, Canada. It is
initially scheduled to
operate until March 31,
2019, the end of the
high season. Flight
WG129 will operate every
Sunday with a Boeing 737
MAX.
In December, British
Airways announced that
it is increasing the
number of direct
passenger flights
between London Gatwick
and Juan Santamaría
airport. The flights
increased from two to
three a week during the
high season.
The U.S. Jet Blue
Airline announced an
increase of flights
between John F. Kennedy
International Airport in
New York and Daniel
Oduber International
Airport in Liberia,
Guanacaste. The flight
from New York arrives at
Liberia every Saturday
at 2:49 p.m. and 10:14
p.m. during high season
with the aim of giving a
premium service to all
tourists.
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Does the
air traffic controller
problem present a risk
to flights to and from
Costa Rica? If so, what
is a possible solution?
We would like to know
your thoughts on this
story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link to
reach the map.
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