Walkout at Chile airports strands 70,000 passengers

Airport workers in Chile have staged a 24-hour strike, grounding flights throughout the South American country and disrupting travel plans for some 70,000 passengers.

During the Tuesday walkout, ahead of the travel-intensive national independence day on September 18, nearly 4,000 civil aviation employees stopped working to demand improved labor conditions and retirement benefits.

A large number of Chilean and foreign passengers were stranded at the international airport in the capital, Santiago, and other airports across the country.

"Our flight was scheduled for today, but it has been changed for September 17. So, we're stuck here for two days," said Iuri Farias, a Brazilian tourist trying to return to Rio de Janeiro, one of Brazil's largest cities.

Director of Chile’s Civil Aviation Maximiliano Larraechea said the strike affected “100 percent” of the country’s airports, and that flights would not take off during the industrial action.

Hours before the strike, airline companies began rescheduling flights, and only landings and emergency air traffic were being allowed.

Economy Minister Felipe Cespedes described the walkout as illegal, calling on workers to begin negotiations.

Workers "have all the opportunities to strike a constructive, positive dialog, that doesn't affect the functioning of a critical service affecting thousands of tourists and Chileans who were unable to fly," Cespedes said.

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