Travellers to Spain this summer have been given a warning by the UK Foreign Office. Visitors to the European country have been alerted from today (August 1) to "consult airlines" as flights may be disrupted.
In the country, there are a number of planned airline strikes. The guidance reads: "Possible strike action may cause some disruption to flights to and from Spain. You should consult your airline for updates prior to travel."
Staff with Ryanair are set to strike on multiple dates stretching across a five-month period, reports the Liverpool Echo. After walk-outs on dates in June and July, two Spanish Ryanair cabin crew unions, Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) and Sitcpla, have called for a strike that will last five months running from August 8 through to January 7, 2023.
The industrial action will take place every week, from Monday to Thursday, and will last 24 hours, sources from USO told Euronews, with - among unions' demands - a call for the 11 staff members sacked during recent strikes to be reinstated. Ryanair itself said it expects minimal disruption in Spain this winter.
Lidia Aransanz, a leader for USO's Ryanair section, said: "As the company has been unable to listen to the workers, we have been forced to call new strike days". She also said the unions are demanding 22 days of holiday and two extra months payment per year to comply with Spanish legislation.
This new action will mainly affect the airports of Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona, Malaga, Alicante, Seville and Palma de Mallorca. Both national and international connections will be disrupted.
In a statement Ryanair said: "Ryanair has recently reached an agreement with the main Spanish CCOO union on pay, rosters and allowances for its Spanish cabin crew. Recent strikes by USO/SITCPLA have been poorly supported with minimal effect.
"Ryanair has operated over 45,000 flights to/from Spain over the last three months with less than 1% affected by crewing and Ryanair expects minimal (if any) disruption this winter."
The budget airline's rival, easyJet, has also announced further strike action. Its pilots based in Spain will walk out for nine days in August amid a bitter row over pay and working conditions.
On Friday, the SEPLA union said on Friday said it is demanding the budget airline re-establish pilots' working conditions from before the pandemic. Union bosses also want the airline to provide its pilots with a new multi-year contract deal.
EasyJet said it was aware of an upcoming pilot strike at its bases in Barcelona, Malaga and Palma in Mallorca, Reuters reports. "We are disappointed with this action at this critical time for the industry," the company said in a statement, adding that negotiations with SEPLA are ongoing."
