Airport workers plan to walk off the job for five days in September
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)British travellers heading to Spain are being warned of planned strikes among airport workers between September and December.
Union members have voted to strike across 25 days in total, meaning car park staff, baggage handlers, security, IT, retail and catering staff will walk off the job.
Industrial action is scheduled for five days in September, seven in October, two in November and 11 in December.
Strike dates in September have been set down for the 15th, 17th, 22nd, 24th, and 29th.
December dates include five days from December 26-30, designed to cause maximum disruption over Christmas and New Year.
Unions representing cabin crew said, from August 8 until January 7, there will be 24-hour strikes from Monday to Thursday, weekly.
It comes after Spanish Ryanair cabin crew union members announced that strikes will take place every week until January.
The ongoing strikes add to what has already proved to be a chaotic summer for travel.
Ryanair said the strikes will have “zero impact” to its 3,000 daily flights in August or September as a result of “poorly supported” strikes by two “minority” cabin crew unions in Spain.
The airline said it has already concluded a labour agreement with the main Spanish cabin crew union (the CCOO).
“These two tiny unions who represent only a handful of our Spanish cabin crew have held a number of poorly supported strikes in June and July which have had little or no impact on Ryanair’s flights to or from Spain,” a spokesperson said.
“Ryanair expects that these latest threatened strikes, which involve only a handful of our Spanish cabin crew, will have zero impact on our Spanish flights or schedules in August or September.”
Ryanair said while some flights in Spain were cancelled or delayed in July, this was mostly due to ATC strikes and flight delays.
“No flights were cancelled in July due to these unsuccessful and poorly supported strikes by these two minority unions (USO & SITCPLA). The vast majority of Ryanair’s Spanish cabin crew are represented by the CCOO union who have already reached a labour agreement with Ryanair.”
Airports and airlines have failed to keep up with demand in the UK and across Europe, meawhile rail, Tube, bus and Overground strikes have disrupted commuters in England in recent weeks.
More rail strikes are to be expected, union bosses warn.
Heathrow announced an extension to its current daily cap on passenger numbers, until October 29.
As a result, British Airways plans to axe an additional 10,000 flights from its schedule to and from Heathrow this winter, Travel Weekly reports.
BA services will be cut between the end of October and late March when the summer 2023 schedule will commence.
Meanwhile Gatwick airport is showing no signs of extending its passenger cap beyond August.
Gatwick revealed that 400 new security staff have been recruited, accordingto Travel Weekly.
