Bogotá, Nov 10 (EFE) .- The Colombian airline Avianca announced today that the operational recovery plan after the end of the pilot stoppage will be made "in a gradual manner" and that it will carry out a "disciplinary process" to each aviator.

"The airline recognizes that the return of the pilots is a step in the right direction," Avianca said in a statement.

The company's area He pronounced after the affiliates of the Colombian Association of Civil Aviators (Acdac) announced this morning the suspension of the cessation of activities that they had 51 days ago and their intention to return to work next Monday.

Avianca assured that each pilot of the Acdac will follow "a process to guarantee that his reinstatement is done under the standards of rigor operational "established by the airline and the collective agreement, and that" the operational recovery plan will be carried out gradually. "

He also indicated that, as established in the labor law and internal rules of the organization, will be followed "due disciplinary process to each pilot", as has been done to those who "have returned to work and they are currently flying. "

The strike of 702 pilots, equivalent to half of Avianca's aviation staff, began on September 20 to demand better salaries and other labor benefits.

The conversations of the parties, with the mediation of the Ministry of Labor, broke down days later when the pilots rejected the offer of Avianca for improve their working conditions.

After the strike was declared illegal by the courts and the government failed on several occasions in its attempt to form a court of arbitration to resolve the conflict, the Ombudsman's Office began to act as mediator at the request of the pilots, despite the refusal of the company to reopen the negotiation.

In a voting held last night, pilots affiliated with the Acdac approved the suspension of the cessation of activities that in these 51 days forced the company to cancel 13,699 flights in its majority internal, which affected more than 400,000 passengers.

Avianca considered that the decision is "very positive" for the country, but lamented "the delay" and "the serious impact generated." The airline said that the parties "will use the legal mechanisms in force to resolve this labor dispute", for which he pointed out that aviators "must go to the Mandatory Arbitration Court convened by the Ministry of Labor "and" respect the decisions of the Government and the judges.

In statements quoted in the statement, the president Avianca executive, Hernán Rincón, appreciated the "demonstrations of support" from different sectors during the conflict and recognized the "more than 21,000 employees" who "intensified their efforts, ratifying its commitment with customers and with the airline. "

In a letter addressed to the Minister of Labor, Griselda Restrepo, the legal vice president of Avianca Holdings, Renato Covelo, appreciated the efforts of the Government and other authorities "to get the pilots affiliated to the Acdac to return to their jobs."

"We trust that they will be the legal mechanisms that will allow us to reach a solid agreement between the parties and thus build the next 100 years of Avianca ", highlighted Covelo, and warned that the company lived the cessation of activities "longest in the history of global commercial aviation".