Holidays across Europe could be thrown into chaos this summer due to mass strikes and staff shortages across the continent.
British holidaymakers have faced a nightmare in recent weeks due to delays, cancellations and luggage going missing at the UK’s busiest airports.
More problems are expected after British Airways workers at Heathrow voted to strike in a dispute over pay.
Around 700 workers will walk out between July and September after the airline failed to restore a 10% pay cut imposed during the pandemic.
However, it’s not just the UK facing these problems. Workers in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia have voted to or are discussing strike action over pay and conditions.
Staff shortages have also caused delays and baggage problems in other popular destinations like Bucharest and Portugal.
Thousands of British passengers are set to be caught up in the disruption, which affects major airlines like easyJet and Ryanair.
Easyjet workers in Spain wil strike in three phases in July – From 1st to 3rd, 15th to 17th and 29th to 31st.
The three 72-hour walks outs will involve hundreds of crew at bases in Barcelona, Málaga and Palma.
Workers who belong to the Spanish USO union are looking for a 40% pay rise in low-paid cabin staff’s basic wage.
Meanwhile, Ryanair staff’s three-day walkout over pay in Spain began on Thursday and will run until July 2.
The walk-out affects flights at 10 bases across the country – Madrid, Malaga, Barcelona, Alicante, Sevilla, Palma, Valencia, Girona, Santiago de Compostela and Ibiza.
However, Ryanair said it did not expect widespread disruption and claimed most crew would not support the planned action.
Elsewhere, flights from Charles de Gaulle (CDG) in Paris and other French airports faced disruptions on Friday as workers held a strike to demand salary hikes to keep up with inflation.
France’s civil aviation authority said 17% of scheduled flights were cancelled today, with more expected tomorrow.
A few hundred workers wearing union vests blocked a key road approaching CDG today, forcing passengers to drag their suitcases by foot along a bypass to reach their terminals,
It comes after a staff walkout at the French Air Traffic Control centre in Marseille brought mass flight cancellations from Spain, Italy, the UK and other destinations that would normally transit through French airspace.
Italian trade unions have also threatened further strikes this summer after more than 4,000 passengers were affected by industrial action last month.
The walk-outs involved Italian pilots and flight attendants from Ryanair, Malta Air, CrewLink, easyJet and Volota.
The UIL Trasporti warned: ‘This will be only the first of a series of protest actions that will make the summer hot.’
Other popular destinations have experienced similar problems to the UK as a result of staffing shortages.
In Portugal, queues at airports in Lisbon and Faro are said to have lasted three hours while in Romania, travellers at Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport have complained of four-hour flight delays and lost baggage, the Mailonline reports.
In Germany, popular airliner Lufthansa has already been forced to slash 3,000 flights this summer due to staffing shortages caused by the pandemic.
The government is reportedly planning to draft in 2,000 foreign workers from Turkey to alleviate the problem.
And the chaos could soon spread to Norway, Denmark and Sweden as staff at Scandinavian airline SAS vote this week on whether to go on strike.
In the UK, Transport Secretary Grants Shapps has unveiled a 22-point plan he says will avoid a repeat of the chaos seen at airports in the Easter and Jubilee holidays.
The list of measures – some previously announced – include urging airlines to ensure their schedules are deliverable.
To help encourage them not to promise more flights than they can manage, an amnesty will allow them to retain valuable take-off slots that they would normally lose if they failed to use them a certain number of times in a season.
A new passenger charter will be published in the coming weeks, providing passengers with a ‘one-stop guide’ informing them of their rights and what they can expect from airports and airlines when flying.
While some have welcomed the government’s plan, critics say it has come far too late.
On the same day Shapps announced the measures, Heathrow – Britain’s biggest airport – scrapped 30 flights at the last minute.
Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: ‘Another day of chaos at the UK’s biggest airport suggests the government’s working groups and written warnings to airlines and airports are not yet having the desired effect – and many passengers will understandably be concerned that this plan may not be enough to prevent a summer of travel disruption.
‘Passengers have been treated appallingly during recent months. With the holiday plans of millions of people at stake, the government and aviation regulator must show they can get a grip on this situation and ensure airports and airlines meet their legal obligations to the travelling public in the busy weeks ahead.
‘The shameful scenes at UK airports show why passengers need their rights to be strengthened and enforced by a strong regulator and compensation regime. The government should give the CAA powers to fine airlines directly when they flout the law, and drop plans to cut passenger compensation for delayed and cancelled domestic flights.’
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