Colombia travel chaos to continue amid Avianca-pilot standoff

Colombian pilots said they’d continue their strike, dashing hopes of an early end to the disruption at Avianca that has grounded 250 flights a day by the airline. The country’s labour ministry had called for mandatory arbitration Thursday, which Avianca said meant the strike would be lifted within 48 hours. Instead, the union said its pilots would continue to protest, saying they had a legal right to a 60-day strike before the tribunal could be called. The case hinges on whether airlines qualify as an “essential public service”, which are prohibited from striking, with a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Avianca has a market share of about 60% in the Andean nation. The labour dispute will only be resolved through negotiations and Avianca should continue the talks it decided to end this week, the union said. <br/>