After strikes caused disruption during the February school holidays, more industrial action is planned by transport workers in the run-up to Easter.
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The walkouts will affect 17 airports including tourist hotspots like Madrid, Barcelona, Tenerife and Lanzarote in Spain and some destinations in France.
London Heathrow and UK Border Force workers will add to the disruption.
Airport strikes in Spain
Some of Spain’s busiest airports are facing strikes by unionised workers at ground services and cargo handling company Swissport between now and Easter.
From 27 February to 13 April, they called for a series of 24-hour walkouts every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday after negotiations ongoing since March of 2022 failed.
The unions say they are prepared to walk out on dozens of occasions and have been demanding better working conditions for more than eight years without success.
Swissport Handling provides services at Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Reus, Alicante, Valencia, Murcia, Málaga, Almería, Salamanca, Valladolid, Burgos, Logroño, Zaragoza, Huesca, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife Sur airports.
By Spanish law, unions have to provide a minimum service set by the government so it remains to be seen what impact the walkouts will have on flights, and passengers arriving and departing from the airports involved.
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Ongoing pension strikes in France
In the ongoing battle between unions and the government over pension reforms, industrial action has been planned for March in France. Unions battle against plans to increase the legal retirement age from 62 to 64.
The industrial action has previously included railway workers and airport staff with 30% of flights from Paris’s Orly airport cancelled on the last day of strikes.
On 7 March, unions are planning the biggest day of action yet and are promising to bring France to a complete standstill.
After that, they are debating whether to switch to rolling strikes. Paris Metro workers are one group in favour of swapping to industrial action that can start and finish any time during a specific time period.
Industrial walkouts over Easter break in the UK
More than 3,000 security guards, engineers and firefighters who work at Heathrow Airport are currently voting on whether to strike over low pay.
If the workers, who are members of the Unite union, vote in favour of the industrial action, it could coincide with the busy Easter holiday period.
A series of targeted strikes is being organised by the Public and Commercial Services union in the UK. This includes Border Force staff who will be taking part in a day of mass action where 100,000 civil service workers plan to walk out on 15 March.
The walkout will coincide with the government’s Spring Budget and could affect airports and seaports across the country.
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Sources used:
- Euronews Travel: 'Where are airport and transport strikes happening between now and Easter?'
- Mirror: 'Spain holidays could be hit as 17 airports set to face months of strikes'
