Ryanair staff will strike later this month
(Picture: PA Wire)Travellers could face further disruption later this month after Spanish Ryanair cabin crew staff voted for six days of strike action.
The USO union said staff would walk out on June 24, 25, 26 and 30 and on July 1 and 2 amid a dispute over working conditions and pay.
“We have to resume mobilisation so that the reality of our situation is known and Ryanair is forced to abide by basic labour laws,” said Lidia Arasanz, the general secretary of USO’s Ryanair section, in a statement.
Staff of Dublin-based Ryanair, the largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger numbers, have walked out in other European countries such as Belgium and Italy.
It follows weeks of travel misery for Britons jetting to Europe, with thousands of flights cancelled and long queues at UK airports.
Airlines have struggled to cope with a surge in demand prompted by the end of Covid travel restrictions, with many forced to rapidly recruit staff after laying off large numbers of employees during the pandemic.
Ryanair staff in Britain have not announced a strike, though the industrial action could impact those flying to Spain this summer.
The Standard has contacted Ryanair for comment.
Reports suggested the airline called off talks in Spain earlier this month after the unions threatened industrial action, according to Bloomberg.
Airline director Darrell Hughes allegedly sent a letter saying there had been “almost no progress” in negotiations as a result of the union’s “unrealistic demands and refusal to meaningfully engage”, the channel reported.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “Ryanair has negotiated collective agreements covering 90% of our people across Europe. In recent months we have been negotiating improvements to those agreements as we work through the Covid recovery phase. Those negotiations are going well and we do not expect widespread disruption this summer.
“In Spain, we are pleased to have reached a collective agreement with CCOO, Spain’s largest and most representative union, delivering improvements for Spanish-based cabin crew and reinforcing Ryanair’s commitment to the welfare of its cabin crew.
“Recent announcements by the much smaller USO and SITCPLA unions are a distraction from their own failures to deliver agreements after three years of negotiations and we believe that their strike calls will not be supported by our Spanish crews.”
Last week, a strike by Italian aviation workers caused misery for British travellers and forced Easyjet to axe 20 flights from Gatwick.
This included departures to Bologna, Milan, Naples, Rome and Venice.
Some 14 flights between London airports and Milan were cancelled by British Airways, while Ryanair scrapped a handful of flights between Italy and Stansted.
The strike, organised by two Italian unions, came as part of a dispute over pay, sick pay, time off and refreshments.
One of the unions, the Italian Union of Transport Workers (UILT), said if an agreement is not reached, “this will be only the first of a series of protest actions”.
Elsewhere, Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi warned price tickets could jump by close to 10 per cent this summer as European travellers try to get away after two years of heavy travel restrictions.
“Shortages of staff in air traffic control, security and other parts of the supply chain are impacting airlines, our employees and our customers directly,” Mr Varadi said.
