OSLO, Norway_A dozen Norwegian airports were reopening Wednesday after late night talks ended a five-day strike by more than 400 ground staff, aviation and union officials said.

The airports are expected to return to normal operations by the end of the day as workers return to their posts, they said.

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions initially called the strike for five airports in a dispute over wages and working hours on Friday. It stepped up the dispute to cover a total of 12 airports on Tuesday, stranding more than 30,000 passengers every day.

The union said the strike was settled after the national airport agency Avinor improved its average pay raise offer by 3,000 kroner (US$600, €385) to 19,000 kroner (US$3,800, €2,420) per year.

The reopening airports serve the cities of Bergen, Stavanger, Alta, Leknes, Sandnessjoen, Sogndal, Svolvaer, Harstad, Molde, Mo i Rana, Mosjoen, and Kristiansund.

___

On the Net:

http://www.avinor.no

http://www.lo.no