Travel expert Simon Calder has issued an update on strikes affecting 13 Spanish airports over Easter, including Malaga, Barcelona, and Madrid
Strikes are causing issues at Spanish airports(Image: Getty Images)
Simon Calder has provided an update on the strikes impacting a host of airports throughout Spain. Currently, 13 airports across the nation are being affected.
This is due to a strike by Groundforce workers, the ground handling operator that services Air Europa flights. Reports indicate passengers have been returning from Spain without any of their luggage.
Barcelona-El Prat, Madrid-Barajas, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Bilbao, Lanzarote, Alicante, Valencia, and Malaga are the airports impacted. The strikes are scheduled for today (April 1) and Good Friday (April 3), with the potential to become indefinite.
Mr Calder briefly touched on the strike. The Independent’s travel expert was discussing travel disruption over the Easter weekend and mentioned that it could ’cause problems’.
He said: “There’s news of possible strikes by ground handlers at all the most popular Spanish airports. That could also cause problems, but at the moment, all you can do is hope for the best, be prepared for delays and disruption. Good luck everyone.”
The route most affected is Madrid-Gran Canaria, where Air Europa operates seven flights daily. According to Orlando Robledano, secretary of the aviation sector at the UGT union, the strike’s impact on Canary Island airports has been lessened due to the minimum services imposed by Groundforce on all Lanzarote Airport employees.
Passengers report lengthy queues and checked baggage abandoned on the tarmac during the first day of the strike. Extensive queues were reported at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport.
Mr Calder also addressed ongoing issues with the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES). Brits are being advised to allow additional time at borders as the system is implemented across 29 countries. The EU has been progressively introducing new EES checks since October last year as it seeks to replace physical passport stamps.
From Friday, 10 April, EES is due to be fully operational at all EU airports and ports, though there are suggestions it could be postponed following reports of technical difficulties and significant delays. Mr Calder said: “In the air, there are warnings from the Airports Council Europe and also from Airlines for Europe that we could have queues of up to two or more hours because of the new EU entry-exit system checks.
“Personally, I don’t think it will be that bad because I think we will see those rules temporarily suspended where necessary, but be prepared for a long wait and be fully aware that it’s also going to affect you on your way back from Europe as well.”
