Barcelona Airport is set for a series of strikes this weekend as Iberia ground staff stage a walkout. Iberia ground workers at the Barcelona-El Prat airport will go on strike on July 27 and 28 to protest against their workload, and the lack of new jobs to deal with such activity in the summer season. Industrial action at the transport hub is set to affect hundreds of British travellers, with more than 100 flights from airline Vueling already cancelled. These are flights that connect the Catalan capital with other European cities.
Yet Britons could well feel the force of the strike as international routes will be affected, too.
Iberia serves 27 companies at the Barcelona airport, so the number of flights affected could be 1,000 during the planned strike period.
No agreement was reached in the mediation meetings held in the Department of Labour, so the strike could not be called off.
The Ministry of Development has since established the minimum services for the Iberia ground assistance and maintenance strike at Barcelona-El Prat airport for this weekend.
It states its aim to protect 100 per cent of domestic flights with non-peninsular territories, 54 per cent of international flights and 32 per cent of flights within the peninsula whose transportation alternative is less than five hours long.
The Ministry of Development explained that these minimum services respect both the general interest of citizens, especially during the high season, as well as and the right to strike from Iberia workers.
These workers are said to amount to about 2,700, according to the company.
Iberia claim they do not have enough personnel to attend the growth of the Prat airport, which in the last year has exceeded 50 million passengers and has a growth rate of 5 per cent.
Meanwhile, Vueling has recommended UK travellers do not head to the airport if they are travelling with the carrier.
A statement posted on its website read: “Here at Vueling we are all working to minimise the impact of this strike. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these factors outside of Vueling’s control.”
It added: “If you have booked your flight, which is operated by Vueling, via Iberia or British Airways, you should contact Iberia or British Airways directly to request your change or refund.
“If you have bought your flight via a travel agency or online travel agency, we recommend you to contact them direction to manage your change or refund.
“Updated flight information can be accessed in the Flight Status section of our website, mobile site, or in the airport screen.
“You will find information about your rights which will help you if your flight has been cancelled or delayed in the Flight Disruption in our website or mobile app.”
Meanwhile, a scheduled strike set to affect London Heathrow today has been called off, much to the relief of travellers.
