Spain airport strike – When over Easter weekend is it expected, which airports will be affected and why is there a strike?
FIVE million holidaymakers travelling to Spain this Easter will face flight chaos if an indefinite strike by 60,000 ground handling staff goes ahead.
But when over the Easter weekend is it expected to happen, which airports will be affected and why is there a strike happening?
When is it expected to happen?
The strike will affect all airports in Spain and is expected to start on the Saturday of Easter weekend.
Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) and Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) say they are still willing to negotiate over pay and conditions but if no agreement is reached they are calling for a walkout from April 20.
On April 9, 2019, the unions announced that negotiation talks had failed,
As a result the walkout by 60,000 ground handling staff was expected to go ahead from Sunday, April 21.
The action could continue until April 24.
Which airports will be affected?
The strike would affect all Spanish airports, the unions have confirmed.
A strike by this group of workers would likely cause long queues and delays to flights, which could lead to a large number of cancellations.
The peak Easter week is expected to see around five million passengers travelling, and 32,500 flights scheduled to operate across the Aena-managed airports.
Why are they striking?
The unions are not happy about specific clauses in their collective agreement affecting workers who are transferred from one company to another.
The USO’s air sector branch said in a statement: “It is fundamental that reallocated workers can maintain, and where appropriate, claim their rights.
“The purpose of this convention is to prevent companies from carrying out malicious interpretations that undermine the rights of workers.”
What should you do if your flight is cancelled?
If your flight is cancelled passengers flying with an EU airline or a non-EU airline flying from a EU airport are protected by the Denied Boarding regulations.
This means that the airline must offer you the option of either being reimbursed for a cancelled flight or rerouted on either the next possible flight or on an agreed date.
: “Due to ground handling strike action taking place in Spanish airports from 21st to 24th April, easyJet, like all airlines, is expecting some disruption to its flying programme."
All passengers flying to and from Spain could be affected and should check with their flight operator.
EasyJet added: “Although this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to all our customers for any inconvenience and would like to reassure them we are doing all possible to minimise any disruption as a result of the industrial action."
Ryanair and Iberia flights could also be affected.