WARSAW, (Reuters) – If there is no settlement in a dispute regarding the pay and conditions of air traffic controllers, Poland’s Civil Aviation Authority would significantly decrease flights within Polish airspace. This was stated by Eurocontrol on Friday.

The disruption that could impact not only Poland-bound flights, but all others who travel through Poland’s airspace as well, may begin on May 1. This date is the day following the expiration of the notice period by air traffic controllers who chose quit over accepting new work regulations.

“As of 1 May, the Polish CAA will implement a flight cancellation programme to significantly reduce the number of flights into/out of Polish airspace,” Eurocontrol said in an emailed statement.

“It’s expected there will be sufficient controllers to approach Warsaw airports and allow for operation…with a total capacity around 170 flight. In May, the two Warsaw airports handled an average of 510 flights per day.

The Polish union of air traffic controllers claims that 180 of the 206 Warsaw controllers chose to quit rather than accepting the new conditions. The notice period for the remaining 136 is ending on April 30, and forty-four out of 180 of those who were part of this group have left.

In an attempt to resolve the impasse, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency was able to resume talks with the union representing air traffic controllers.

According to the union, proposals for a reduction in pay for air traffic controllers and an increase in hours worked per shift (from eight to twelve) are not acceptable.

The union released a statement Thursday saying that they are fighting safety and for the restoration of a culture work safety. This means a trust environment which can be built and not purchased.

Marcin Horala, the Deputy Infrastructure Minister, has stated that the demands of air traffic controllers are unrealistic given the COVID-19 effects, which have reduced PANSA’s fees to airlines.