Spanish Airport Strikes - General information and updates
French Air Traffic Control Strikes which could affect travel to Spain
Industrial strike action is taking place from 17:00 GMT on Tuesday 14th March until 06:00 GMT on Saturday 1st April 2023, supported by the Air Traffic Service in France. This means that flights operating to or through French airspace may be delayed.
21st February - Swissport, one of the main handling companies at the Alicante-Elche airport, have been called to strike from February 27th
The strike will begin on February 27th with a 24-hour stoppage, to continue on Tuesday, 28th and Thursday, March 2nd then Monday, Tuesday and Thursday until April13th
Swissport is one of the companies in charge of handling services, baggage check-in and airport services, and at the Alicante terminal work for Lufthansa, Transavia, Volotea and Wizz Air, among other companies.
29th January - OFFICIAL: AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL STRIKES WILL GO AHEAD FROM MONDAY 30th JANUARY
After a meeting held by relevant parties, the union, announced that the meeting had been "unsuccessful" and the strike will continue.
Strike dates are January 30th and February 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th, 162 air traffic controllers are taking part.
Staff will be brought in to cover and try and alleviate the situation, but it is inevitable that there will be some delays and some cancellations, but to what extent, at the moment no one really knows.
Find live flight information to and from Alicante Airport here.
19th January Spanish Airport Strikes - The USCA and CCOO unions have decided to call a strike of air traffic controllers in the privatized control towers of Spanish airports for several days in January and February, given the failure of the negotiations of the IV collective agreement of the sector.
This call is aimed at professionals who provide control service in the towers of the airports of A Coruña, Alicante-Elche, Castellón, Cuatro Vientos, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Ibiza, Jerez, Lanzarote, La Palma, Lleida, Murcia, Sabadell, Seville, Valencia and Vigo.
Strike dates are January 30th and February 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th. These are the five consecutive Mondays from January 30th and all professionals who have work shifts that begin between 00:00 and 24:00 are summoned on those days. Before everybody panics, the air traffic profession is controlled by government rules, and a very strict minimum service level will be rigorously enforced.
As explained in a joint statement, both unions criticise the attitude of SAERCO, "contrary to achieving any type of agreement" and that has "hindered from the first moment" the union proposals, despite the fact that with FerroNATS they have reached "significant points in common"
Spanish Airport Strikes Minimum Level of Service
What is not reported much is that the Spanish government department of transport set by law a "minimum service" during such strikes.
The minimum services set depend on the type of route - 100% for emergency flights, transfer of citizens or foreigners guarded by police officers or transport of universal postal mail or perishable products.
Commercial flights with routes to or from non-peninsular territories, the minimum services range between 52% from Lleida to 84% from La Coruña, depending on the estimated occupancy.
Routes with foreign or Spanish cities whose travel time by road is at least five hours, the minimum services are between 44% of La Palma and 57% of Alicante.
On journeys that can be replaced by other means of public transport in less than five hours, the minimum services are between 18% in Castellón and 30% in Vigo.
Find all other travel information in this section of our website
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