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Upcoming Airport Strikes in Spain - Sept 22nd and Onward

Posted by on

Hello everyone,

Has anyone been following the upcoming airport strikes in Spain? There hasn't been a lot of coverage on this in the United States, so if anyone has any updates on this situation, I would be grateful. It is supposed to impact 46 airports, including those in Madrid and Barcelona.

Apparently, there are negotiations today, but if strike demands aren't met, the strikes will begin on September 22nd and repeat on weekends and holidays through December. One of the strikes falls on the day I am supposed to arrive to Madrid and fly to Barcelona (October 1st), so if it happens, my flight will be canceled, and it sounds like in the event of strikes, airlines are not liable to compensate. If anyone has experience with navigating airport strikes (not airline strikes), please chime in.

Here are the other proposed strike dates and the articles I pulled this info from:

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/more-airport-strikes-in-spain-may-begin-this-month
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/news/on-euro-weekly-news/spain-news-in-english/145531-first-two-days-of-strike-action-suspended-at-spain%E2%80%99s-airports-to-allow-space-for-talks
http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2017/08/31/the-latest-on-spains-planned-airport-strikes/

• September: 22, 24 and 29
• October; 1, 6, 11, 15, 27, 30 and 31
• November: 3 and 5
• December: 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30

Best,
Sara

Posted by
4656 posts

Barcelona airport has had rotating strikes and reductions on and off for some weeks, but it seemed to be limited to security check points. By the time you are flying there will be several strike dates experienced and then you can see what they have been doing as far as diverting planes, delaying flights of just what.
I think it is too early to remark on what will or will not happen. As one article mentions, it is 'announced', not 'called'. They may decide to rotate which airline area is on strike that day, you just don't know. Given that they have so many dates planed, I doubt very much they will be able to shut down every airport in Spain this many times in successive months and get away with it.
You can research what your particular airline has done during strikes previously - with regards to compensation or rebooking, and check what your travel insurance will cover.
One can hope you can at least arrive. Then either wait for the flight, or take alternative transport to Barcelona.
I am in the same boat for October 27, but I am not panicking or guessing.
If you are really concerned, I suggest you ask on the RS Transportation forum or lurk on the flyertalk website, or TripAdvisor Air travel forum. I would spread my questions far and wide as some of these alternative websites have people who work in the industry or seem to spend their entire life on planes.

Posted by
2734 posts

Check with your airline regarding compensation due to a strike. Your travel insurance may cover that. You did buy travel insurance, right? If you did not now that a strike has been announced most companies will not cover it. Strikes in Europe-very common, disruptive, worrisome for travelers. We faced this 2 years ago, but it was trains. We had booked Paris to Barcelona and had to get there for our RS Best of Spain tour. And the strikes were happening. I booked flights on Vueling as a backup, refundable. The train went and, with several emails and calls, I eventuallly got my money back from Vueling. If you get to Madrid, you are golden. Trains to Barcelona are fast and frequent.

Posted by
4656 posts

Great!
Thanks for the update. Saves my Oct 27 arrival in Madrid.

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