Ryanair staff in Spain have begun strike action and Scottish holiday-makers heading to Spain have been warned to expect disruption.
Ryanair cabin crew are walking out across a number of days for the rest of the year in demand for better pay and working conditions, USO union has said.
This comes after Ryanair saw 310 cancellations and about 3,455 delays at 10 in Spain during the last block of strike action in July that stretched across 18 days.
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Lidia Aransanz, a leader for USO's Ryanair section said: "As the company has been unable to listen to the workers, we have been forced to call new strike days."
UK tourists heading to Spain have been warned by the Foreign Travel Advice to be prepared.
In a statement gov.uk states: "Possible strike action may cause some disruption to flights to and from Spain. You should consult your airline for updates prior to travel."
However, Ryanair have insisted they expect 'no disruption' to flights in August and September.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “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.
In July alone Ryanair operated over 3,000 daily flights and carried a record 16.8m passengers – many of them to/from Spain.
"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.
"On a point of correction, while a tiny number of Ryanair 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) who represent only a small handful of Ryanair Spanish cabin crew.
"The vast majority of Ryanair’s Spanish cabin crew are represented by the CCOO union who have already reached a labour agreement with Ryanair which covers most of our Spanish cabin crew.”
Ryanair Spain strike dates
Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) and Sitcpla announced in July that Ryanair staff covering 10 airports will be striking from Monday to Thursday every week from Monday August 8 until January 7, 2023.
Airports impacted by Ryanair strike action
The strikes are expected to affected domestic flights in Spain and international journeys.
The new action will mainly impact the following airports in Spain:
- Madrid-Barajas
- Barcelona
- Malaga
- Alicante
- Girona
- Valencia
- Santiago de Compostela
- Seville
- Palma de Mallorca
- Ibiza
Why are Ryanair staff in Spain striking?
Since 2019, Ms Arasanz said Ryanair cabin crew in Spain have been calling on the company to honour contract agreements.
The union is asking the airline to align workers’ contracts with Spanish law, including giving employees 30 days of annual leave, 14 bank holidays per year and two extra payments most Spanish workers receive annually.
According to the union, 11 employees were dismissed and around 100 are facing disciplinary action for their involvement in the previous strikes that were seen in July.
Your rights if a flight is cancelled by strikes
If your flight is cancelled by Ryanair, the airline must offer you either a full refund or an alternative flight to get you to your destination.
Depending on the wait time between your original flight and the alternative one, the airline must offer food and drink, access to phone calls and emails and accommodation if you're delayed overnight, as well as journeys between the airport and the hotel.
If they don't offer this straight away, keep the receipts and claim it back from the airline.
It's worth noting at what you're entitled to depends on the length of delay and the length of the flight.
| Flight distance | How long the delay has to be |
|---|---|
| Less than 1,500km | two hours |
| Between 1,500km and 3,500km | three hours |
| More than 3,500km | four hours |
If your flight is delayed by more than five hours, you are legally entitled to a full refund for the flight, a full refund for other flights from the airline that you won't use in the same booking and if you are part-way through a journey - a flight back to the airport you originally departed from.
You can see more information at Citizens Advice Scotland.
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