Iberia Express, the low-cost subsidiary of the Spanish company Iberia, canceled eight domestic flights on Sunday and the low-cost company EasyJet canceled twelve international flights connecting Spain to Geneva and London, according to the USO union.
The cancellations of Iberia Express flights come at the start of a ten-day strike by its cabin crew to obtain wage increases in the midst of inflation.
At midday, eight flights had been canceled concerning around 1,500 passengers, but no delays recorded, assured in a press release the USO union, at the origin of the mobilization.
The management of the low-cost airline confirmed these cancellations, claiming to have redirected 84% of the travelers concerned to other flights.
The others were reimbursed or received vouchers.
92 planned flight cancellations
The strike, scheduled until September 6, should result in a total of 92 flight cancellations, affecting more than 17,000 passengers, according to a USO representative.
According to Iberia Express, 24 domestic flights will be canceled in the first three days of the movement alone.
Iberia Express connects Madrid to around 40 European cities.
The USO is calling for wage increases to compensate for inflation which reached 10.8% over one year in July in Spain.
On the other hand, twelve EasyJet flights were also canceled on Sunday, the third strike action observed by the pilots of this company in August, according to the SEPLA union.
The cancellations concerned flights to or from Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands connecting these cities to London and Geneva.
Find pre-Covid conditions
Since the first three-day strike on August 12 by EasyJet pilots, a total of 87 flights have been canceled.
The pilots are demanding a return to the working conditions they enjoyed before the Covid-19 pandemic and the resumption of talks on a new collective agreement.
Their strike, in the middle of the tourist season and the resumption of activity, comes two weeks after a strike by EasyJet cabin crew which resulted in an agreement.
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