The cabin crew of Ryanair in Spain return to the strike this Tuesday, July 12, a protest that will last until Friday the 15th. Then another eight days of strikes will follow on July 18 to 21 and from July 25 to 28, according to the calendar of protests called by the USO and Sitcpla unions.
On the occasion of the strike this Tuesday, a total of 15 flights nationwide have been canceled until 7:00 p.m. The main airport affected is Barcelona El Prat, with up to 10 flights to or from its terminals -from or to Menorca, Eindhoven, Ibiza, Milan and Rome-. "The workers are supporting this strike despite the fact that between the Ministry and the company they are leaving us with almost no right to strike," she said, referring to the minimum services, Lidia Arasanz, general secretary of USO-Ryanair, from Barcelona.
A Valencia-London, a Palma-Madrid and a Madrid-Palma have also been cancelled, according to data compiled by USO. "It is a success considering that in some Ryanair bases, with the minimum services, it has protected all flights," said Isabel Rubio, secretary of Union Action of the USO-Air Sector.
As for delays, 234 were recorded until 7:00 p.m., 55 of them in Barcelona, the most affected. It is followed by Palma (44), Madrid, Malaga and Alicante.
The status of Ryanair flights can be consulted at this link on the company portal. As an alternative, it can be checked on the Infovuelos portal of Aena.
With these strikes, the workers ask the company to resume the negotiation of a collective agreement that includes decent working conditions and under Spanish law. "The workers do not have fixed wages, vacations or time off," Rubio denounced. According to the union representative, the company has opened more than 90 files to workers due to the protests and has dismissed 4.
One of the demands is that their working conditions be equated to those of other European bases, such as France or Germany. "They prefer to leave thousands of passengers on the ground before talking to the workers," Arasanz seconded.
The strikes are called at the ten bases that the airline has in Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Alicante, Seville, Palma, Valencia, Girona, Santiago de Compostela and Ibiza. The first days of protests, six days between July 24 and 2, caused the cancellation of 215 flights to or from Spain and more than 1,225 delays.
The strike threatens to affect the activity of the main airports, which is added to several problems that are turning the summer into a challenge for travelers due to the mess of delays, cancellations, overbooking and loss of luggage.
In the event that travelers are affected by a cancellation of their flight due to the strike, they can exercise their rights to demand compensation. If the cancellation is the responsibility of the company -in the case of a strike it is- and in that case claim the compensation set out in the 2004 European Regulation on the rights of airline passengers, which in this case provides for compensation between 250 and 600 euros if the cancellation has not been communicated within a minimum of 14 days.
If the airline does not answer or rejects the claim, the second instance before resorting to civil proceedings is to refer the case to the State Aviation Safety Agency, the agency dependent on the Ministry of Transport that ensures compliance with air regulations. European in Spain.
