As the Telekom strike enters its seventh day today, the Civil Aviation Authority warns that if the strike drags on much longer, there is a real possibility of serious disruptions to both domestic and international flights.

The Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation, Benjamin Kere, in an interview with the National Express on Friday, stated that the Aviation operations are not yet affected by the strike.

"Despite that we have put all our clients, both domestic and overseas, on alert in the event that the Telekom strike prolongs," said Mr. Kere.

The Solomon Airlines CEO, Ron Sumsum, also told the Express that Solomon Airlines is continuing its normal operations but "if it gets to a point that there is a total communications shut down then obviously there would be no flights."

Sumsum however confirmed that because of the strike simple faults on their system, which are crucial to airline business, have already been affected. "The main telephone line, 20031 at our main sales office in Honiara, is not operating due to a fault that cannot be fixed because of the current strike...it is affecting reservations and sales at our main office," said Mr. Sumsum.

Mr. Sumsum also said that Solomon Airlines have had to resort to manual checking in at the Henderson International due a fault in its computerized check-in system which Telekom could not fix due to the current dispute.