Over 200 flights cancelled to key locations and easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair hit
Over 200 cancellations on flights travelling to key destinations have hit Brits due to strike action surrounding air crews and issues with traffic control in Portugal.
EasyJet, one of the major players in the travel industry, has announced the cancellation of 232 flights to and from Portugal in the coming days as a result of a cabin crew strike, dealing a significant blow to travellers heading to this popular hotspot.
Adding to the woes, Jet2 has issued a warning about potential delays at airports across Europe due to air ‘congestion’. Ryanair also reported that over 100 early flights today were affected by ‘unacceptable’ delays owing to air traffic control problems.
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EasyJet has advised anyone travelling to Portugal between tomorrow (Aug 15) and Saturday to check their flight status first. The airline operates flights to Portugal from several UK airports, including Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, London Gatwick, and Luton.
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The airline’s Portuguese destinations include Lisbon, Porto, and Faro on the southern Algarve coast. A total of 27 return flights between the UK and Portugal have been cancelled in advance for the strike period, an EasyJet spokesperson informed the Mirror.
Portugal’s National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Staff (SNPVAC) has announced a three-day strike action for all flights operated by easyJet, as well as other services involving air cabin crew, if their “reporting hours occur on national territory starting at 00:01 on 15 August and ending at 24:00 on 17 August”. The union has implored the airline not to cancel flights, but rather appealed to the “common sense of the company, so that it can give in to the fair demands of its workers”, reports the Express.
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Furthermore, SNPVAC has requested that EasyJet “finds solutions to avoid” the strike, accusing the company of disregarding earlier proposals to prevent industrial action. Ricardo Penarroias, the union president, previously informed AFP news agency that “working conditions never cease to worsen” for cabin crew members, highlighting extended working hours and severe staff shortages.
Striking staff are also demanding higher bonuses.
According to Portuguese newspaper Expresso, a total of 1,138 EasyJet flights were initially scheduled over the three-day period. The budget airline stated it would continue to operate 62% of its flight programme to and from Portugal during the strike period from August 15 to August 17.
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An EasyJet UK spokesperson expressed: “We are extremely disappointed with this needless strike action, especially at this important time of the year for our customers.”
EasyJet said: “Our priority has been to try and minimise the impact of this strike action on our customers, which included cancelling some flights in advance in order to allow them to rearrange their travel plans. Customers whose flight has been affected have already been contacted a number of days ago with their options to rebook or receive a refund. We also advise customers travelling to and from Portugal on 15, 16 and 17 August to check the status of their flights on the easyJet Flight Tracker.”
Jet2 warned passengers to brace themselves for delays today because of “air traffic congestion”. The budget airline said the delays were down to bad weather across Europe.
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In a statement on its website, Jet2 added: “All flights are expected to operate as scheduled, check-in will close 40 minutes before your scheduled departure time. We’ll add any new updates to this page and let affected customers know by email, text, letter and our Customer Helpers at the airport.”
Meanwhile, Ryanair also warned of delays this morning, blaming air traffic control staff shortages. Ryanair said 18% of its first wave departures, 105 out of 583 flights, were late this morning, fuming: “These repeated flight delays due to ATC mismanagement are unacceptable.”
They added: “We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control.”
