People flying to Portugal have been warned of an extensive three-day strike this month. Ten Portuguese airports will be hit when workers from two unions take action from August 19 to 21.
The action will fall during a busy summer holiday weekend at airports operated by ANA, including the bustling hubs in Lisbon, Porto and Faro. Thousands of fliers could see travel chaos as cabin crew, ground handlers, security staff and more workers walk out.
The dispute between the airport authority and two civil aviation unions is over higher wages and better worker conditions. Portugal Resident reports Civil Aviation Workers' Union (SINTAC) has rejected a 30 percent salary reduction by airport operator ANA.
ANA operates Lisbon airport, Portugal's largest hub, as well as Faro, Flores, Horta, Ponta Delgada, Porto, Santa Maria, and Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (formerly known as Madeira Airport).
SINTAC and the Commercial Aviation Staff Union (SQAC) have demanded ANA and Vinci, its parent company, to enact "urgent" measures that guarantee the safety of workers.
The unions said: "Only by doing this [the strike] can we achieve what the company has been missing for a long time: social stability, respect for the rights of workers and, fundamentally, for people."
It comes as Ryanair staff in Spain kicked off a f ive-month strike on August 8. Workers are walking out from Monday to Thursday every week until January 7, 2023 next year in a dispute over pay and working conditions. The unions are also demanding the reinstatement of 11 workers who were fired following the strikes in June and July.
The budget airline has downplayed any disruptions the industrial action would cause in an update that promised "zero impact" on Spanish flights and travel in August or September.
A spokesperson for the carrier said: "A tiny number of Ryanair flights in Spain were cancelled or delayed in July, but this was mostly due to air traffic control strikes and flight delays. Ryanair expects that these latest threatened strikes will have zero impact on our Spanish flights or schedules in August or September."
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