Brits travelling to Spain are being warned to expect disruption due to strike action at some of the country's busiest airports.
Swissport workers have called for a series of 24-hour walkouts after negotiations ongoing since March of 2022 failed. The strike action will take place every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, starting next Monday, February 27, and continuing until April 13.
The union says staff are prepared to walk out on dozens of occasions having been demanding better working conditions for more than eight years without success. "This is the reality faced by the workers of Swissport Handling and for which it has been decided to say ENOUGH," said a union spokesman.
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"We will not allow workers to have to give up the improvements they have been waiting for for years." Swissport Handling provides services in Spain at the airports of Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Reus, Alicante, Valencia, Murcia, Málaga, Almería, Salamanca, Valladolid, Burgos, Logroño, Zaragoza, Huesca, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife Sur.
It provides services to passengers and ramp assistance, except at the airports of Gran Canaria and Tenerife Sur, where it assists executive aviation companies, reports The Mirror. In Madrid and Malaga Swissport operates air cargo handling services.
Among its clients are the airlines Aegean Airlines, Aer Lingus, Air France, Brussels Airlines, Czech Airlines, Emirates, Finnair, Iberia Express, Icelandair, Iran Air, KLM, Lufthansa, Swiss, Turkish Airlines and Vueling.
By Spanish law, unions have to provide a minimum service set by the government so it remains to be seen what impact the walkouts will have on flights, and for passengers arriving and departing from the airports involved. A spokesperson for Swissport said: "We regret to confirm that the industrial action is scheduled to begin at airports across Spain on 27th February 2023.
"A comprehensive contingency plan is in place to limit disruptions to our airline customers and passengers traveling via Spanish airports. At Swissport, we are convinced that agreements must be found at the negotiating table.
"We remain fully committed to reaching an agreement with union representatives and our staff, that will be acceptable to our colleagues while also preserving the stability and health of the company and offering attractive jobs in the Spanish aviation sector."
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