The strike at Ryanair’s ground services subsidiary, Azul Handling, began on Friday at all its bases in Spain “without major incidents,” although there have been delays in operations, particularly in baggage checking, boarding, and disembarking passengers.
Called by UGT, the protest coincides with the August bank holiday and is occurring in different time slots: from 5:00 to 9:00, from 12:00 to 15:00, and from 21:00 to 23:59. It is expected to continue tomorrow and the day after, and then every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday throughout the year.
The strike affects over 20 airports, including Madrid, Málaga, Alicante, Barcelona, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Palma, Sevilla, and Valencia. According to the union, the strike is in response to sanctions imposed on employees who refuse to work non-mandatory hours —with penalties of up to 36 days without job and pay—, the lack of stable job creation and the consolidation of shifts for part-time permanent staff, as well as the non-fulfilment of decisions regarding guarantees and bonuses. They also report illegal restrictions on reinstatements after medical leave and obstacles to adjusting working hours for family reconciliation.
In Barcelona, the average delays are around 20 minutes, according to Chema Pérez, secretary of the air sector of UGT, who anticipates that the delays “will accumulate” throughout the day, although he clarifies that the impact will be limited by the “strong” minimum services established by the Ministry of Transport. These reach between 76% and 87% on domestic routes to or from non-peninsular territories in August, with slightly lower percentages in September and October.
The Azul Handling strike adds to the one called by the ground staff of the Menzies Group —which provides services to airlines such as Emirates, British Airways, EasyJet, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian, and Wizz Air—, planned for this Saturday, August 16, in Barcelona, Alicante, Palma, Málaga, and Tenerife Sur, and which will continue on the 17th, 23rd, 24th, 30th, and 31st of August.
