Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
HOLIDAYMAKERS planning to visit Spain this weekend will be given a boost by a group airport staff who have suspended their strike until next week.
Groundforce airport workers have called for a permanent strike starting Friday, March 27.
This has been postponed to Monday, as part of an interim truce.
From then, staff affiliated to Spain’s three major trade unions – the General Workers’ Union (UGT), the Workers’ Commissions (CCCO) and the Syndicated Workers’ Union (USO) – will walkout on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the select hours of 5am to 7am, 11am to 5pm and 10pm to midnight.
The UGT called for the workers to strike, but the short reprieve will not affect the 3,000 Menzies employees who are scheduled to go on strike March 28 and 29 and April 2, 3, 4 and 5 following the UGT’s call.
The walkout by ground staff and baggage handlers will coincide with the beginning of Semana Santa celebrations – one of the busiest weeks of the year for travel companies with millions of locals and tourists passing through Spain’s airports.
The unions say that workers are furious about the poor conditions of work and the implementation of collective agreements on ground handling services.
The airline warns passengers to expect long queues for check-in and baggage handling, as well as slower boarding. These factors can all lead to frustrating delays.
The government is enforcing minimum service requirements in order to avoid a mass cancellation of flights. This move, however, will not prevent delays.
Check your flight status before you leave, and be sure to arrive early if you have checked-in luggage.
Strikes are expected to have the greatest impact on Spain’s busiest Airports such as Barcelona El-Prat (Sevilla), Palma de Mallorca (Palma de Mallorca), Madrid-Barajas (Madrid-Barajas), Malaga, and Alicante.
Both companies also have operations at smaller airports, including Zaragoza and Santiago de Compostela. They are also present in Bilbao, and other key tourist hubs on the Canary Islands, and Balearic Islands.
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