Airplane mechanics for Icelandair delcared their strike in effect as of 1:00 this morning. Negotiations with government authorities had been long and arduous, but in the end, neither side was willing to compromise enough to avoid the strike.
This means that Icelandair will not be flying to Oslo, Stockholm, Paris, Copenahgen, London, Manchester or Glasgow, effective immediately.
Flights back to Iceland from abroad are starting to return slowly to normal, as flight authorities work around the volcanic eruption that occured in the south of Iceland over the weekend.
The negotiations have been fairly intense and protracted, and the public dialogue has been fairly divided between “settle with the mechanics” and “fire the bastards”. Our American readers may remember the infamous air traffic controllers’ strike from the 80s, where president Ronald Reagan simply fired the striking workers and replaced them. In Iceland, government employees can still go on strike. The benefits and downsides to this are still apparent.
Employees of Iceland Express are not on strike, however, and flights to and from Iceland on that airline will continue as planned.