EasyJet strikes: Summer holiday chaos looms as cabin crew to strike in Spain affecting flights at popular airports Barcelona, Alicante, Malaga, and Majorca
Summer holiday chaos is looming as easyJet cabin crew have announced three days of strike action.
The strikes are set to impact thousands of travellers flying to and from Spain and other European destinations this summer. Around 657 members of cabin crew are set to walk out during the strike action, which is set to affect 21 aircraft in the fleet.
According to the Unión Sindical Obrera (USO), a Spanish trade union, airports affected by the action are set to include Barcelona, Alicante, Malaga, and Majorca will be hit by the walkout, following a negotiation for higher wages. The USO confirmed the three days of strike action will take place on June 25, June 26 and June 27.
Thousands of passengers are set to be affected, with the budget carrier, with Easyjet aircrafts hold as many as 235 passengers per flight. A USO spokesperson said on Monday: "The objective of this strike is to achieve equal working and salary conditions for cabin crew in Spain with those at other European bases where the company operates, with differences between 30 per cent and 200 per cent.
"The workforce is demanding decent, fair, and equitable working conditions, in line with the European standards that easyJet maintains in other countries, given the exorbitant increase in the cost of living in Spain, which has been brought into line with Europe." According to data and travel website AirAdvisor, similar strike action spanning a 72-hour period in 2022 saw up to 50 per cent of flights cancelled across Spanish bases housing the fleet.
The airline intends to operate normally during those days, a spokesperson said, adding the company would do everything possible to minimise the impact. It is not yet clear what kind of problems passengers will face during the strikes later this month, but Spanish labour laws suggest that a 'minimum service' has to be provided, despite strikes being called.