British holidaymakers are facing a wave of disruptions today, with hundreds of cancellations to key destinations due to strikes and air traffic control issues. In a significant setback for travellers heading to one of the nation’s favourite hotspots, easyJet announced it has cancelled 232 flights to and from Portugal over the coming days as a result of a cabin crew strike.
Adding to the travel woes, Jet2 warned that air ‘congestion’ could lead to delays at airports across Europe. Ryanair also reported that more than 100 early flights today were affected by ‘unacceptable’ delays due to air traffic control problems.
Those planning to fly to Portugal between tomorrow (Aug 15) and Saturday have been advised to check their flight status first, according to easyJet. The airline operates flights to Portugal from several UK airports, including Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, London Gatwick, and Luton.
Its 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 pre-emptively cancelled for the duration of the strike, an EasyJet spokesperson told the Mirror.
Portugal’s National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Staff (SNPVAC) has announced a three-day strike affecting all easyJet flights, 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”.
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, president of the union, previously informed the AFP news agency that “working conditions never cease to worsen” for members of cabin crew, highlighting longer working hours and severe staff shortages.
Striking staff members 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 August 15 to August 17 strike period. 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.”
“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 has advised passengers to brace for potential delays following a statement on its website attributing hold-ups to ‘air traffic congestion’. The announcement pointed to inclement weather across Europe as the cause but reassured travellers: “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.”
Ryanair conveyed that disruptions were already affecting its schedule, with air traffic control staff shortages cited as the reason. The airline reported that 18% of its early departures were delayed – that’s 105 out of 583 flights this morning being late.
They expressed frustration over these hindrances, stating: “These repeated flight delays due to ATC mismanagement are unacceptable.” “We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control.”
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