Ryanair flights to Alicante, Ibiza, Mallorca and Tenerife cancelled
The airline have cancelled flights to key Spanish destinations amid prolonged baggage handler strike
The budget airline has already scrapped services to and from Alicante, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, and Tenerife South from its timetables.
(Image: Birmingham Live)
Ryanair has axed flights to beloved Spanish holiday hotspots during the summer holidays as an extended baggage handler strike threatens to wreak havoc on operations through to the year's end. The budget airline has already scrapped services to and from Alicante, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, and Tenerife South from its timetables.
Additional chaos was anticipated throughout Ryanair's entire Spanish operation - despite the carrier insisting disruption would be kept to a minimum. The news follows the airline's cancellation of over 800 flights due to 'conflict' last month.
The industrial dispute has been orchestrated by Spain's UGT union, involving workers from Azul Handling - Ryanair's own ground handling division - who are employed at 12 of the airline's Spanish hubs. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here .
The initial walkout is scheduled for Friday, August 15, with subsequent strikes planned for every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through to Wednesday, December 31.
Three busy periods will be hit by the action - 5am to 9am, noon to 3pm, and 9pm to midnight.
The ongoing stoppages will impact services at Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, Seville, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, Girona, Tenerife South, Lanzarote, and Santiago de Compostela.
The union states the strikes are a response to what it characterises as "exploitative working conditions".
Union representatives alleged that Azul Handling had consistently disregarded their demands.
Jose Manuel Perez Grande, federal secretary of the FeSMC-UGT Air Union, slammed the company for pursuing "a strategy of precariousness and pressure on the workforce that violates basic labour rights and systematically ignores union demands".
Travellers have already begun receiving alerts about alterations to their travel plans.
(Image: Tang Ming Tung via Getty Images)
While Spanish legislation requires minimum service levels during strike action, the practical implications of this requirement remain unclear.
A Ryanair spokesperson insisted: "Ryanair does not expect any disruption to our operation as a result of these third-party handling strikes in Spain."
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However, travellers have already begun receiving alerts about alterations to their travel plans.
The carrier has informed impacted passengers they can choose between full refunds, travel vouchers, or rebooking onto different flights.
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