A total of 13 Spanish airports are understood to be affected
Strikes are affecting a number of airports in Spain
Simon Calder has issued an update on the strikes affecting a swathe of airports across Spain. A total of 13 airports are currently being affected across the country.
It is part of a strike by Groundforce workers, the ground handling operator that services Air Europa flights. Reports suggest passengers have been returning from Spain without any of their luggage.
Barcelona-El Prat, Madrid-Barajas, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Bilbao, Lanzarote, Alicante, Valencia, and Malaga are the airports affected. The strikes are scheduled for today (April 1) and Good Friday (April 3), with the possibility of becoming indefinite.
Mr Calder touched briefly on the strike. The Independent’s travel expert was speaking about travel disruption over the Easter weekend and said that it could ’cause problems’.
He said: “There’s news of possible strikes by ground handlers at all the most popular Spanish airports. That could also cause problems, but at the moment, all you can do is hope for the best, be prepared for delays and disruption. Good luck everyone.”
The most affected route is Madrid-Gran Canaria, on which Air Europa operates seven flights daily. According to Orlando Robledano, secretary of the aviation sector at the UGT union, the strike’s impact on Canary Island airports has been reduced due to the minimum services imposed by Groundforce on all Lanzarote Airport employees.
Passengers report long queues and checked baggage left on the tarmac during the first day of the strike. Long queues were reported at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport.
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Mr Calder also touched on continued problems with the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES). Brits are being urged to allow extra time at borders as the system is rolled out across 29 countries. The EU has been gradually introducing new EES checks since October last year as it looks to replace physical passport stamps.
From Friday 10 April, EES is set to be fully implemented at all EU airports and ports, but there are suggestions it could be delayed following reports of technical problems and long delays. Mr Calder said: “In the air, there are warnings from the Airports Council Europe and also from Airlines for Europe that we could have queues of up to two or more hours because of the new EU entry-exit system checks.
“Personally, I don’t think it will be that bad because I think we will see those rules temporarily suspended where necessary, but be prepared for a long wait and be fully aware that it’s also going to affect you on your way back from Europe as well.”
