With travellers heading home or setting off on winter holidays, Europe is facing a series of planned strikes at airports and on flights that could disrupt travel during the busiest period of the year. Affected airports include London Heathrow and Barcelona El-Prat amongst others.
Walk outs in several airports
Airport and airline staff are walking out in protest of pay and working conditions. The industrial action comes as European air travel surges: over 309 million passengers are expected to fly between mid-December and early January, a record for the holiday period.
In the United Kingdom, London Heathrow is bracing for disruption. Cabin crew employed by Scandinavian Airlines Services are set to strike from Dec. 22 to Dec. 24 and again on Dec. 26, affecting routes to hubs including Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo.
In Spain, ground-handling staff working for Ryanair’s contractor Azul Handling have been staging walkouts throughout December at major airports, including Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Malaga, Tenerife South, Valencia and others. Strikes occur in multiple daily windows and are planned to go on until Dec. 31with passengers already facing longer queues and baggage delays at affected airports.
In addition, targeted ground-handling strikes at Madrid-Barajas are planned on Dec. 23, 26 and 30, and on Jan. 2 and 7. These stoppages, scheduled in morning and evening blocks, could affect flights operated by Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Vueling and other carriers sharing the same handler.
In Italy, the ground handling staff at Linate airport, Milan, plans to walk out for 24 hours on Jan.9, while the trade union CUB Transporti has announced a 4 hour strike taking place on the same day that will likely affect most airports across the country with delays and cancellation.
Travellers should allow extra time at check-in and security, and closely monitor flight status before departing for the airport. If flights are cancelled or delayed due to industrial action, passengers may be entitled to rebooking or compensation under EU passenger rights rules.
As Europe’s busiest travel days approach, widespread walkouts by airport, airline and ground workers underscore tensions over wages and conditions, and point to continued disruption in the skies and on the ground well into the New Year.
Will your plans be affected by the disruptions? Let us know in the comments.
