Hundreds of holidaymakers have seen their plans ruined after EasyJet cancelled flights to and from Portugal because of a cabin crew strike.
The airline cancelled 232 of its planned 1,138 flights to and from the popular tourist destination over a three day period from Thursday affected by industrial action.
The budget airline's cabin staff in the country announced late last month they would strike from August 15 to August 17.
Reasons for the action include a lack of roster stability, insufficient staffing and pressure to work overtime for commercial purposes, according to the civil aviation flight personnel union SNPVAC.
EasyJet Portugal told Reuters it had scheduled 1,138 flights for those dates, but had to cancel about a fifth of them due to the strike.
"We regret that, due to the unnecessary strike action planned by the SNPVAC union and in order to minimise the impact of the disruption on the day of travel for our customers, we have had to cancel some of the flights planned to operate during the period of the collective action," the company said.
The Portuguese government has decreed the need for minimum services during the strike, which should include flights to the island of Madeira, Geneva, Luxembourg and London.
EasyJet has 19 aircraft based in Portugal, as well as more than 800 employees there.
