The movement set in motion in several European countries this weekend did not have the desired effect. Only two flights were canceled in Portugal and zero in Spain.
Unions of cabin crew at Irish low-cost airline Ryanair have filed strike notices in Belgium, Spain, France, Italy and Portugal from June 24. They demand an increase in their remuneration and deplore poor working conditions. The strike began this Friday in Belgium, Spain and Portugal and is due to last until Sunday June 26. In France, it begins this Saturday, June 25 and also ends the next day.
The low-cost airline said it expected disruptions mainly in France, Italy and Spain, due to a strike at an air traffic control center in Marseille. In France, 20 flights are canceled in Marseille and 14 in Bordeaux for the day on Saturday, according to the National Union of Commercial Flight Crew (SNPNC).
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However, only two flights from the Irish company Lisbon-Brussels were canceled on Saturday, according to Portuguese airports. No cancellations were reported in the morning in Spain, where according to the USO union, delays were recorded for 15 flights, both departing and arriving. But the situation is likely to worsen during the day on Saturday and then Sunday, according to the union, because “Ryanair’s maximum profit system of leaving the minimum time between flights will create chain delays“. In a statement on Friday, Ryanair predicted that 98% of its 3,000 daily flights would be operated this weekend.
Ryanair’s CEO, Irishman Michael O’Leary, assured on Tuesday that the strikes would “notno impacton the activity of the low-cost airline. However, several dozen flights have already been canceled this weekend in Belgium departing from Brussels airport, where the strike movement began. Brussels Airport indicates that 10 Ryanair flights out of the 34 planned were canceled this Friday. A third of Ryanair flights will be canceled over the weekend in Brussels, in the direction of departures as well as in the direction of arrivals. From tomorrow, the airports of Marseille, Toulouse, Beauvais and Bordeaux, which host air bases for Ryanair, are also likely to suffer flight cancellations.
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“The company does not respect the rest times, nor the working conditions provided for by the civil aviation code“says Damien Mourgues, delegate of the National Union of Commercial Flight Crew (SNPNC). Ryanair management called on June 17 for negotiations with the unions, after a previous strike on June 12 and 13. If the discussions are not conclusive, Damien Mourgues indicates not to exclude new strikes, “especially around the July 14 bridge“. Contacted by Le Figarothe management of Ryanair did not respond to the requests.
More strikes to come
An episode of strike which is likely to call others at the Irish low-cost company. Invited this Saturday, June 25 of the morning of Europe 1, Christelle Auster, president of the national union of Commercial Flight Personnel, estimated that the management seemed to favor arm wrestling: “Ryanair sends letters to every striking employee telling them ‘no need to strike, you won’t get anything’“, she explained. Far from pushing back the employees concerned, this attitude has only strengthened their position and should pave the way for other work stoppages. The unions of the low-cost company are already warning: “in July, and especially during bridges, there could be other movements“.
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The Ryanair strikes are part of a broader context of social demands by staff in the European air transport sector. In a context of price inflation, several unions in Europe are calling for the opening of a social dialogue, in particular to discuss a rise in wages. A strike has been announced within Air France-KLM by the pilots’ union Alter for Saturday June 25. It could affect the airports Charles-de-Gaulle, Orly, and “potentially Toulouse, Nice and Marseille“says the union. The SNPNC is also planning a strike by the staff of the Transavia company in the summer. On Monday, the European Transport Workers’ Federation said that “the chaos facing the airline industry will only get worse throughout the summer“.
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