Spanish Ryanair pilots to strike for five days in September
Ryanair’s Spanish pilots are set to stage a five-day strike, the union has announced.
Spanish pilots union Sepla revealed it would call for a nationwide walkout in September to protest the closing of several Ryanair bases from January 2020, including ones in Las Palmas, Tenerife South, Lanzarote and Girona.
Around 900 pilots who are members of the union have been instructed to participate in the stoppages on 19, 20, 22, 27 and 29 September.
Some of the strike dates will coincide with those of a 10-day walk-out announced by Ryanair’s Spanish cabin crew.
Spanish unions USO and Sitcpla registered a 10-day strike notice across the airline’s 13 Spanish bases.
Cabin crew have said they are striking to prevent “the closure of the bases of Gran Canaria, Tenerife South and Girona” and the associated job losses.
The industrial action is planned for 1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 and 29 September.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “As announced on 16 July, due to the late delivery of up to 30 Boeing Max aircraft this winter a number of Ryanair bases will be cut or closed this winter.
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“These consultations are taking place with our people at affected bases currently. No routes will be affected as they will be served by flights from other bases from November when the winter schedule starts.”
It follows a 48-hour walkout by British Ryanair pilots in August.
Europe’s biggest airline applied for an injunction to prevent the two-day stoppage beginning on 22 August from members of Balpa, the British pilots’ union, but lost its bid to block the walkout.
Some 80 per cent of Balpa members voted in favour of industrial action in an ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions.
However, despite the injunction being denied, the vast majority of Ryanair’s services to and from the UK ran as scheduled over the two days with zero flight cancellations.
