PALMA
THE Majorcan Hoteliers' Federation (FEHM) confirmed yesterday that it would be taking legal steps against the air traffic controllers and demanding compensation from the government for losses sustained as a result of last weekend's wildcat strike.
The Board of the FEHM announced during the morning that it would be seeking satisfaction from those responsible for the air chaos that ruined the holiday journeys of hundreds of thousands of travellers, many of them heading for the Balearics and the Canary Islands.
The FEHM also said that it would be supporting any criminal proceedings which both the central and regional governments saw fit to take against what was in essence an illegal strike by the controllers.
Hoteliers in Majorca agreed that the closing of Spanish air space last weekend, and the ensuing chaos will give a very poor image of Spain as a trustworthy holiday destination to both key client and emerging markets.
The hoteliers claimed that the public is not going to forget the massive inconvenience they suffered overnight. The wildcat strike is going to have short and medium-term consequences for Spain's holiday destinations, said an FEHM spokesperson yesterday.
Those which were most affected, he continued, were the Balearics and the Canary Islands because of their dependence on air transport.
The hoteliers have rejected claims by the controllers that they did not in fact leave their work stations and were not the cause of Spanish air space being closed. Instead, they have made it plain that they will be pursuing the matter through the courts.