Unions To Strike At Spanish Airports

Unions will hold a one-hour strike across Spain's 47 state-owned airports on Wednesday to protest at government plans to to sell part of its stake in AENA, the world's largest airport operator, organizers said on Tuesday.

The strike, between 9 am and 10 am local time (0800 GMT to 0900 GMT), would include air traffic controllers, firemen, maintenance workers, administrative staff and other workers, trade union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) said in a statement.

An AENA spokeswoman said minimum services would be maintained, but added the strike's impact would depend on the proportion of unionized staff who heeded the strike call.

"It's not everyone at AENA so there will still be people working to ensure that airports continue to operate," the spokeswoman said.

The stoppage, which includes workers from Spain's other big trade union, the UGT, comes after the government unveiled plans last August to privatize 30 percent of AENA.

Under its part-privatization plan, the government will split air traffic services from airport management, keeping the former in state hands, while part-privatizing the latter.

"Those taking action express their rejection of the privatization of AENA, although partial, announced by the Spanish government and ask why they want to privatize a public entity that is the most efficient in Europe," CCOO said.

"It is the 'first warning' to (Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez) Zapatero's government that he 'withdraw' his proposal to privatize this public entity".

210 million passengers passed through AENA airports in 2007.