Thousands of travellers passing through Barcelona’s El Prat Airport are facing cancelled flights and long delays this month. Ground staff at the airport walked out on an indefinite strike on 4 August, and officials warn the disruption could continue for weeks.
What is causing the strike, and how many passengers could it affect?
The workers are employed by Groundforce, a company that handles check-in, boarding, baggage and aircraft turnaround at the airport. All 1,179 Groundforce staff at Barcelona joined the walkout, which began at midnight on 4 August. It is one of the biggest strikes to hit Spanish aviation this year, and it comes at the end of a summer that has already seen airport and airline staff walk out in several other European countries, including Germany.
On the first day of the strike, airlines cancelled 20 flights. A further 18 flights were cancelled the next day. Spain’s Ministry of Transport says the strike could affect around 11,600 flight movements and about 2 million passengers by the end of September, if it continues that long. The airport is one of Spain’s busiest, and the strike began during the peak summer travel season, when flights are already full.
Spanish law does allow some flights to keep running during a strike. Under these minimum-service rules, Groundforce must keep between 35% and 80% of its normal operations working, depending on the route. This is why not every flight has been cancelled, but passengers on the flights that do run may still face longer waits at check-in and baggage collection, because fewer staff are on duty.
The union representing the workers, called CGT, says its members have spent months trying to negotiate with Groundforce about staffing levels, long overtime hours, rest periods and safety training. The union says these talks have not solved the problems, so members decided to strike instead. Workers say they are often asked to do too much work with too few colleagues, which they believe makes their jobs harder and less safe.
A similar strike had been planned for the same week at Palma de Mallorca Airport, where workers from another company, Swissport, were due to walk out too. That strike was called off shortly before it was due to begin, easing some pressure on travellers heading to the Balearic Islands. Barcelona’s strike, however, has no end date, so airlines and passengers cannot be sure when normal service will return.
For now, airlines flying from Barcelona are advising passengers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport, and to arrive earlier than usual to allow extra time at check-in. Passengers whose flights are cancelled because of the strike are usually entitled to a refund or a seat on another flight, and in some cases to compensation, though airlines say the exact rules depend on the reason each individual flight was cancelled.
Check your understanding
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How many Groundforce workers joined the strike at Barcelona Airport?
The article says all 1,179 Groundforce staff at Barcelona joined the walkout that began on 4 August.
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True or false: the strike means every flight leaving Barcelona this month will be cancelled.
Under Spain’s minimum-service rules, Groundforce must keep 35% to 80% of normal operations running, so not every flight is cancelled, even though passengers on the flights that do run may face longer waits.
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Why did Groundforce workers decide to strike, according to the article?
The union CGT says months of negotiation over staffing levels, overtime, rest periods and safety training failed to resolve the issues, so members decided to strike.
- indefinite strike (noun phrase) – a strike with no planned end date. Typical use: “ground staff walked out on an indefinite strike.”
- ground staff (noun) – airport workers who handle passengers, baggage and aircraft on the ground, rather than flying them. Typical use: “ground staff at the airport walked out.”
- minimum-service rules (noun phrase) – laws that require a basic level of service to continue during a strike. Typical use: “under these minimum-service rules, Groundforce must keep between 35% and 80% of its normal operations working.”
- turnaround (noun) – the process of preparing an aircraft to depart again after it lands. Typical use: “check-in, boarding, baggage and aircraft turnaround.”
- walkout (noun) – an occasion when workers leave their jobs together as a protest. Typical use: “the walkout, which began at midnight on 4 August.”
Barcelona’s strike is not the only airline labour dispute making headlines this year: read about the WestJet flight attendants’ strike in Canada.
