Ryanair Spain strikes: Could my flight to be cancelled?

Spanish cabin crew are planning weekly walkouts until January

In a summer where the travel industry is already plagued by strikes, Ryanair is the latest company to be threatened with industrial action.

The dispute involves Spanish cabin crew, who are demanding higher pay and better working conditions from the airline.

But when will strikes take place and will flights be cancelled as a result? Here’s what we know so far.

Who is striking?

Spanish cabin crew who are members of the USO union. The strike action is also backed by the SITCPLA union.

Why are they striking?

For higher pay and better conditions, but demands also include the immediate reinstatement of 11 workers who were allegedly fired for striking in July, plus for an end to disciplinary proceedings against almost 100 workers who took part in previous stoppages.

The unions are asking for a pay increase to match pre-pandemic wages. Workers say they took a substantial pay cut which still hasn’t been reversed, even as the aviation industry has recovered.

They also want crew to receive a base salary that matches minimum interprofessional wage, rather than being paid for hours flown.

An end to the use of subcontracting via employment agencies is being called for, too.

Finally, crew want the 14 public holiday days that most Spanish employees get, rather than the nine currently offered by Ryanair.

USO and SITCPLA aren’t the only cabin crew unions in Spain. Ryanair this year stopped negotiations with the aforementioned trade union bodies and sat down instead with CCOO.

They brokered a deal, but only workers who are members of CCOO can benefit from it - workers who have joined USO and SITCPLA aren’t subject to the improved terms. Hence the strikes.

When will strikes take place?

Unions have called for for weekly walkouts lasting five months from 8 August 2022 to 7 January 2023.

Strikes will take place four days a week, every week, Monday to Thursday, USO sources told Euronews.

Will my Ryanair flight be cancelled?

Ryanair has played down the strikes, saying it expects “minimal (if any) disruption this winter”.

The budget carrier said in a statement: “Ryanair has recently reached an agreement with the main Spanish CCOO union on pay, rosters and allowances for its Spanish cabin crew.

“Recent strikes by USO/SITCPLA have been poorly supported with minimal effect. Ryanair has operated over 45,000 flights to/from Spain over the last three months with less than 1 per cent affected by crewing and Ryanair expects minimal (if any) disruption this winter.”

However, the union says that the 18 strike days so far this summer have resulted in around 310 cancellations and 3,455 delays at 10 airports in Spain.

The USO spokesperson said that, on 28 July alone, there have been nine cancellations and 42 delays on Spain flights.

Barcelona’s El Prat airport has borne the brunt of the disruption, followed by Madrid and Malaga.

“Even with all the obstacles, there has been between 35 per cent and 40 per cent of the strike follow up,” said the spokesperson.

Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona, Malaga, Alicante, Seville and Palma de Mallorca airports are expected to be most impacted by the fresh round of walkouts.

Spanish regulations dictate that airlines and staff must operate a minimum service level during industrial action, meaning the effect of walkouts is not as dramatic as those seen in some other countries where Ryanair has had disputes with workers.

All that is to say - with less than 1 per cent of flights affected, the odds are in your favour. But if you are one of the unlucky ones who has their flight cancelled, Ryanair is required by law to offer you the choice of a full refund, rebooking option, or to get you to your destination on the same day where possible - even if it means buying you a seat on a rival airline.

If the cancellation occurs less than two weeks before travel, you’re also owed compensation (the amount of which depends on the distance travelled).