Strike cancels 60 flights at Portugal’s Lisbon airport

By Sergio Goncalves

LISBON (Reuters) – Round 60 flights had been cancelled at Lisbon airport on Sunday, the final day of a strike by dealing with employees that has introduced extra disruption to summer season journey at Portugal’s most important airports since Friday, knowledge from nationwide airports operator ANA confirmed.

Staff of dealing with firm Portway are demanding higher vacation pay and extra profession development. ANA’s web site confirmed 31 arrivals and 28 departures had been cancelled on Sunday at Lisbon, Portugal’s busiest airport.

Pedro Figueiredo, spokesman for the Nationwide Union for Civil Aviation Employees (SINTAC), instructed Reuters that round 90% of Portway’s ramp operations employees at Lisbon and Porto airports had been participating within the three-day strike.

SINTAC expects between 70 and 80 Lisbon flights to be cancelled on Sunday and 30 to 40 at Porto airport, he stated.

ANA didn’t present any flight cancellations at Porto, Faro – which serves the tourism-dependent area of the Algarve – or Funchal on the island of Madeira.

“Within the coming days, our union will consider the outcomes of this strike and we could undertake information types of struggle,” Figueiredo stated, with out elaborating on what they is perhaps.

Dealing with employees help airways with baggage and in addition push planes onto the tarmac.

Scores of airport floor employees have protested throughout Europe this summer season to demand larger pay to cushion the ache of rampant inflation, emboldened by booming demand for air journey and employees shortages after most COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted.

Airways are in the meantime grappling with hovering gas costs and airspace closures associated to the battle in Ukraine.

The strike occurred on one of many busiest weekends of the yr, with overseas and Portuguese vacationers nonetheless travelling for summer season holidays.

Portway, which is owned by French group Vinci, stated the “irresponsible” strike would jeopardise Portugal’s tourism sector, which accounted for nearly 15% of gross home product earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Modifying by Catherine Evans)