Simon Hunter
ONE OF Spain’s main labour unions, UGT, has called a strike for airport handling staff during key December vacation days, threatening the travel plans of thousands.
The stoppage is planned for all 46 airports in Spain for Tuesday December 5 and Sunday December 10, and could end up affecting anyone who is hoping to fly that week and take advantage of two bank holidays.
December 6 is Constitution Day in Spain, while December 8 is the Day of the Immaculate Conception. Both are national holidays, and the fact that they fall on a Wednesday and Friday will encourage many people in Spain to take much or all of the week off, something known in Spanish as a puente, or bridge.
UGT announced that it was calling a stoppage among the 60,000 handling staff in Spain to protest against state airports operator Aena’s failure to observe the collective agreement for the sector.
Airport handling staff are responsible for ground operations such as checking passengers’ baggage, cleaning or repairing aircraft and loading and unloading cargo.
Read more:
- Spain’s Malaga airport achieves record-breaking August with over 2.4 million passengers
- Costa Blanca airport in Spain is voted Europe’s ‘Most Accessible’ airport
- Man in Malaga falls off jet bridge onto tarmac in bid to reach missed plane
