Air safety warnings around key African hub during strike

Air traffic officials in East Africa are warning of risky conditions for flights in the region around Ethiopia's international airport after air traffic controllers there went on strike over pay. Addis Ababa is home to state-owned Ethiopian Airlines. The city is a diplomatic hub as the African Union headquarters and a commercial centre in the capital of one of Africa's fastest-growing economies. A Kenya Air Traffic Controllers' Association official, Peter Ang'awa, said that "issues of concern have been raised by professionals in the industry. We have raised those issues." An International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations safety bulletin says air controllers indicate that aircraft are entering the adjacent Nairobi and Khartoum airspaces "in an uncoordinated manner." It says aircraft may not be receiving appropriate instructions. Ethiopia's civil aviation chief, Wosenyeleh Hunegnaw, said that Kenya and Sudan have raised concerns about the safety of inbound and outbound flights in Ethiopia but called the allegations "totally unfounded and an utter lie." All of the claims have been assessed case by case based on radar data, he said.<br/>