Olympics: can Spata cope?

[Jes]

OLYMPIC AIR TRAFFIC

Athens airport unable to handle flights expected in August, union says

Athens International Airport will not be able to handle the volume of incoming air traffic to Athens during the August Olympics, the national union of civil aviation employees warned yesterday in a letter to the chiefs of the Transport Ministry, Civil Aviation Authority and Athens 2004 Organizing Committee. “The volume of aircraft is expected to be larger than that seen at the Barcelona Games, with 70 aircraft per hour at peak times,” the letter read. The union has proposed the use of Athens’s old airport “as long as the runway has been kept intact.” Unionists also called for 100 more civil aviation employee hirings.

[WHBM]

the national union of civil aviation employees ..... The union has proposed the use of Athens’s old airport “as long as the runway has been kept intact.”
Could they not have gone along to see if the runway WAS intact or not before putting out this statement !!

[skyslave]

The old airport could not be used with instrument arrivals as the old ILS is perpendicular with the new airport ILS, and in very close proximity. In my view it is just a letter written by the unions to protect their arse, in case things get out of hand during the Olympics.
Interesting to see what actualy happens

[Avman]

In my view it is just a letter written by the unions to protect their arse,

Quite right too! We often get memos from our management which are designed to cover THEIR arses (we call them "umbrella" memos). It works both ways!