Disruption at Pittsburgh as staff walk out

Staff of PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of US Airways, staged a work stoppage at Pittsburgh International Airport yesterday (Wednesday, April 26).

More than 70 gate and ramp workers left their posts for nearly four hours, causing disruption at the airport and delaying 11 flights, according to the airline.

The dispute is over pay negotiations with PSA Airlines, which operates 130 daily flights from Pittsburgh.

The airline and the workers' union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, both agreed that the walkout was impromptu, but differed when declaring the number of staff who had left work – US Airways claimed 72, whereas the union cited 75 to 95.

"I've looked at flight delays before but never something that looked like an abandonment of the airport," passenger Loren Bishop told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Bishop was on his way back from a business trip in Georgia, and was still waiting for his connecting flight almost two hours after it was scheduled. He said up to 12 gates were unmanned, while mechanics or supervisors, rather than gate agents, staffed those that were in operation.

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