Spain's Controllers Could Face 8 Years Prison

 

Spain's state prosecutor intends to charge the countries air traffic controller who took action over the holiday weekend with sedition, an offence that can result in a jail term of up to eight years, Attorney General Cándido Conde-Pumpido reported earlier today.

Speaking before attending a meeting of prosecutors in Zaragoza, Conde-Pumpido said the case against the controllers would be a priority. The chief prosecutor said the attitude of controllers who called in sick or claimed they had already fulfilled their workload for the year constituted a "very serious" offence that could result in a prison sentence of three to eight years.

The meeting was called to coordinate the different aspects of legal action to be initiated against the controllers, who are due to appear before the Madrid prosecutors office later today.

The wildcat strike resulted in excess of 5,000 flights being cancelled, leaving over 700,000 travelers stranded. On Friday evening the government eventually declared a state of alert, ordering the military to take control of airspace and get air traffic moving again.