British tourists are being warned of strikes across Spanish airports that start today (Friday August 15) and will continue over the busy school summer holiday weekend.
More than 3,000 workers at Azul Handling, part of Ryanair group, are set to walk out following a decision by the General Union of Workers (UGT).
Azul Handling provides full baggage handling services to Ryanair group airlines including Buzz, Lauda Europe, Malta Air, Ryanair DAC and Ryanair UK at several Spanish airports.
Alongside Azul Hangling, Spain’s airport group, Aena has also warned of a strike called by ground handling company Menzies on 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31 August.
For both sets of strikes, Aena has asked passengers to contact their airline to check the status of their flights over this period.
How many passengers and flights could be affected?
Airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Malaga, Alicante, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, Girona, Tenerife South, Lanzarote and Santiago de Compostela are due to be affected.
The initial action is set to take place on 15, 16 and 17 August across three time slots: 5am to 9am, 12pm to 3pm and 9pm to 11.59pm.
Strikes will then continue every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until December 31, 2025. The August bank holiday weekend, just before children return to school in Britain, is among the dates affected.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, the unions said: “UGT regrets having to go to these extremes and all the damages that may occur, for which the direct responsibility will be solely and exclusively the company and its reckless action with the workforce.”
A spokesperson for Ryanair told The Independent ahead of the strikes: “Due to Spain’s minimum service legislation during peak summer months, we do not expect any disruption to our operation as a result of these strikes (by the UGT union who represent less than 20% of Azul staff) in our third-party handler in Spain.”
A record-breaking 18.4 million British tourists travelled to Spain in 2024, despite anti-tourism protests across the country. It remains among the most popular destination for UK holidaymakers, despite a suspected downturn in the number of visitors in Mallorca this year.
Why is the union calling for a strike?
The baggage handlers are protesting against bonus agreements and “the abuse of overtime”, among other…
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