The San Juan bridge will coincide with the cabin crew strike of Ryanair, the company that transports the most passengers in the Spanish market. The first three days of the strike, called by the USO and SITCPLA unions, will take place from this Friday, June 24, until Sunday, June 26. In addition, there are strikes scheduled for June 30 and July 1 and 2.
The main fear of the Irish airline's customers who have bought tickets to and from Spain, France, Belgium, Portugal and Italy is that their flight will be delayed or, in the worst case, cancelled. The Government estimates that this labor conflict could affect 2,649 operations and about 440,000 passengers in Spain during the six days of strike called.
In total, 2,700 Ryanair crew members are called to strike in the five countries where the strike is called: Spain, Belgium, Portugal, France and Italy. The Belgian unions ACV PULS and CNE, and the Portuguese SNPVAC, have joined the Spanish unions USO and SITCPLA and have called a strike for June 24, 25 and 26. In France, the SNPNC union has called a strike on June 25 and 26, while, from Italy, UILTRASPORTI and FILT-CGIL have done so on June 25.
In Spain, the strike will affect the ten bases that the airline has in the country: Madrid, Malaga, Seville, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Girona, Santiago de Compostela, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca.
The unions denounce that the company fails to comply with the labor legislation in force in each country, ignores court rulings, seeks unions without representation to guarantee "precarious working conditions" and uses coercion and fear in the management of its personnel.
At the same time, the USO union has called a nine-day strike for cabin crew at the EasyJet airline in Spain for the first, third and last weekend of July in protest at the blockade in the negotiation of the agreement that regulates their working conditions, which They want them to be equal to those of their colleagues from other European countries such as France or Germany, whose base salary (not counting flight hours) is about 850 euros higher than those charged in Spain, which are around 950 euros.
The Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) has established the minimum services corresponding to the Ryanair strike call. In the case of domestic routes to or from non-peninsular territories (Balearic and Canary Islands), the minimum services will range between 73% and 82%, depending on the airport. For routes with Spanish peninsular and foreign cities, whose alternative means of public transport means a journey with a travel time equal to or greater than five hours, protected flights will be between 53% and 58%. For flights between mainland Spanish cities whose alternative means of public transport means a journey with a journey time of less than five hours, the minimum services will be 36%. "These essential services aim to reconcile the general interest of citizens, and in particular their mobility needs, with the right to strike of this group of workers," according to the Mitma.
As explained by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU), consumers have the right to compensation in the event that the flight is canceled for extraordinary reasons -for example, weather- or for no reason "depending on the destination, the distance and the delay to reach the destination." The compensation can reach up to 600 euros.
In the event that the airline offers an alternative flight that leads to the destination with less than two hours of delay, the consumer will be able to choose if he wants to reach his destination under the conditions offered or if he prefers to be refunded the amount of the ticket – in a maximum of 7 days. Likewise, you will have the right to assistance, that is, to food, accommodation and transfers.
If the delay or cancellation is not due to extraordinary causes - strikes would be within this assumption - the consumer will have the right to compensation depending on the type of flight and the alternative option offered by the company. On flights with distances of up to 1,500 km, the customer has the right to receive compensation of between 250 and 125 euros if the delay does not exceed two hours. While the compensation amounts to between 400 and 200 euros on flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km if the company offers to travel to the destination with a delay of no more than 3 hours. And you will be entitled to receive between 300 and 600 euros when the route is 3,500 km or more, is outside the European Union (EU) and the airline offers an alternative that involves a delay of no more than 4 hours.
Finally, the airline "is not obliged to pay any financial compensation in the event that it is proven that the cancellation of the flight is due to extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken," the statement details. OCU. Strikes, lack of personnel and aircraft technical failures cannot be considered extraordinary circumstances.
If the flight is delayed for more than two hours, the consumer must receive free assistance - that is, food, accommodation, transfers and hotel. In the event that the delay is greater than three hours, you will also have the right to receive financial compensation, which ranges from 250 to 600 euros depending on the distance and type of flight, except in extraordinary circumstances.
When the delay exceeds five hours, the customer will have the right to choose between traveling -with alternative transport- or having the amount paid for the delayed flight returned -within seven days-. "And also, when appropriate, a flight back to the first point of departure as quickly as possible," says the consumer organization.
