British holidaymakers have been hit with hundreds of cancellations to key destinations. Problems include strike action and air traffic control.
In a blow to those travelling to one of the country’s most popular hotsports easyJet said it has cancelled 232 flights to and from Portugal over the next few days due to a cabin crew strike.
In another issue Jet2 warned that air ‘congestion’ means people can expect delays to airports across Europe. And Ryanair said more than 100 early flights today were hit by ‘unacceptable’ delays due to air traffic control issues.
Anyone going to Portugal from tomorrow (Aug 15) and Saturday need to check their flight first easyJet said. The airline runs flights to Portugal from a number of airports in the UK, including Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, London Gatwick, and Luton.
Its destinations in the country include the capital Lisbon, Porto, and Faro on the southern Algarve coast. A total of 27 return flights between the UK and Portugal have been cancelled in advance for the strike period, an EasyJet spokesperson told the Mirror.
Portugal’s National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Staff (SNPVAC) called for three days of strike action for all flights operated by easyJet, as well as for other services involving air cabin crew, if their “reporting hours occur on national territory starting at 00:01 on 15 August and ending at 24:00 on 17 August”. The union have urged the airline not to cancel flights, and instead appealed to the “common sense of the company, so that it can give in to the fair demands of its workers”.
SNPVAC also asked that EasyJet “finds solutions to avoid” the strike, and accused the company of ignoring earlier proposals to avoid industrial action. Ricardo Penarroias, president of the union, previously told the AFP news agency that “working conditions never cease to worsen” for members of cabin crew, citing longer working hours and crippling staff shortages. Striking members of staff are also asking for higher bonuses.
A total of 1,138 EasyJet flights were originally scheduled over the three day period, according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso. The budget airline said it would continue to operate 62% of its flight programme to and from the country during the August 15 to August 17 strike period. An EasyJet UK spokesperson said: “We are extremely disappointed with this needless strike action, especially at this important time of the year for our customers.
“Our priority has been to try and minimise the impact of this strike action on our customers, which included cancelling some flights in advance in order to allow them to rearrange their travel plans. Customers whose flight has been affected have already been contacted a number of days ago with their options to rebook or receive a refund. We also advise customers travelling to and from Portugal on 15, 16 and 17 August to check the status of their flights on the easyJet Flight Tracker.”
Jet2 warned passengers to expect delays to their flights today due to ‘air traffic congestion’. In a message posted on its website, the airline said this had been caused by weather across Europe.
However, it added: “All flights are expected to operate as scheduled, check-in will close 40 minutes before your scheduled departure time. We’ll add any new updates to this page and let affected customers know by email, text, letter and our Customer Helpers at the airport.”
Ryanair also warned it is experiencing delays this morning, but it blamed air traffic control staff shortages. The airline said 18% of its first wave departures, 105 out of 583 flights, were late this morning, adding: “These repeated flight delays due to ATC mismanagement are unacceptable.
“We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control.”