A Ryanair plane carrying Belarusian blogger and opposition activist Roman Protasevich and diverted to Belarus, where authorities detained him, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania on May 23, 2021.
Andrius Sytas | Reuters
The crew is based in Spain at Ryanair plans to strike for 12 days this month to demand better working conditions, unions USO and SICTPLA said on Saturday, raising the prospect of travel chaos as the summer travel season gets underway.
The announcement comes on the final day of the current crews strike, which began on Thursday and forced Ryanair to cancel 10 flights in Spain on Saturday.
Cabin crew will go on strike July 12-15, 18-21 and 25-28 at 10 Spanish airports where Ryanair operates, the unions said in a statement.
“Ryanair unions and cabin crew … demand that the airline change its attitude,” they said in a statement, calling on Ryanair to resume negotiations on issues including the minimum wage.
Unions also called on the government to “not allow Ryanair to violate labor laws and constitutional rights such as the right to strike”.
In a statement on Saturday, Ryanair said it expected “minimum disruption (if any) to its flight schedule in July due to labor strikes in Spain that were triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. small and poor support”.
It added that “Air Traffic Control (ATC) strikes and airport staff shortages across Europe (out of Ryanair’s control) could nevertheless cause some disruptions,” it added. small and passengers whose flights have been disrupted… will be notified via email/SMS.”
Ryanair flight attendant unions in Belgium, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy have gone on strike action in recent days but the low-cost carrier says less than 2% of its flights are boarded Last weekend’s schedule was affected.
Airline workers across Europe staged walkouts as the sector adapted to travel again after pandemic bans were lifted. Staff shortages are blamed for delays and long queues.
The crew is based in Spain at easyJet are featured for nine days this month for higher pay. The airline canceled five flights from Spain on Saturday.
Workers at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport went on strike on Friday and into Saturday, forcing the cancellation of about 10% of flights.
In Portugal, also a top holiday destination, there are no strikes going on but 65 flights to and from Lisbon are expected to be cancelled, airport management company ANA said. Saturday due to “a series of restrictions at European airports”.
The Portuguese situation has primarily affected TAP airline services, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Long lines form at TAP’s helpdesk in Lisbon as frustrated passengers try to rebook or receive refunds.
