Controllers ‘Sick’; Big Dutch Airports Close

All major Dutch airports were shut down Friday when air traffic controllers called in sick, an airport official said.

A skeleton crew of traffic controllers diverted flights through Dusseldorf, West Germany, and Brussels, according to an airport spokesman.

Dutch air traffic controllers, who are government employees and may not strike, have been seeking a pay scale similar to that given controllers working for an international network set up by Western European countries.

So far, the Dutch government has rejected their demands.