GEORGETOWN (AP):

Guyana has banned night-time flights because of a strike by air traffic controllers.

Civil aviation chief Zulfikar Mohamed says the South American country's main international airport needs to close at 6 p.m. to relieve the senior managers who are directing air traffic.

Cancellation

The strike began Friday night over union demands for salary increases of five per cent. The government says it cannot grant the pay hikes because it needs to upgrade airport safety equipment.

The new airport schedule has forced Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines to cancel flights in and out of Guyana.

Mohamed said Monday that the airport will close at night until further notice.