Ryanair cancels 22 flights in Spain on 14 and 15 August due to pilots’ strike

Ryanair has cancelled 22 flights to or from Spain due to the strike that the company’s pilots have called at the Belgian airport of Charleroi (some 50 kilometres from Brussels) on 14 and 15 August, according to the airfield itself.

Barcelona-El Prat, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Malaga, Girona-Costa Brava, Castellon, Santander and Asturias are the Spanish airports with flights to or from Charleroi that have been affected by the cancellations of the Ryanair strike, the third of its kind organised in the last month.

Overall, the stoppage on 14 and 15 August has cancelled 88 flights scheduled between Charleroi and other cities in the rest of Europe and Morocco, in a strike that will not affect the other Belgian airport, Zaventem, which is the largest in the country and the closest to Brussels.

On Monday 14 August, a total of 10 flights of the Irish airline connecting with Spain will be suspended: five flights departing from Charleroi and arriving in Barcelona, Palma, Girona, Castellón, Santander and Asturias; and another five flights on the reverse route, departing from one of these airports and arriving in Charleroi.

For the Tuesday 15 August holiday, a total of 12 flights have been cancelled: six flights departing from Charleroi and arriving in Barcelona, Palma, Girona, Alicante, Malaga and Asturias; and another six flights on the opposite route, departing from each of these airports and arriving in Charleroi.
Other cities of origin or destination affected by the pilots’ strike are Lisbon, Rome, Venice, Marseille, Perpignan, Warsaw, Helsinki, Tetouan and Rabat.

The strike is due to “the intransigence of Ryanair’s management”, according to the organisers.

According to the unions calling the stoppage, the new protest on 14 and 15 August is a consequence of “the intransigence of Ryanair’s management”.The Charleroi pilots are denouncing their working conditions, in particular complaining about rest times, and are calling on the Irish airline to return to pre-coronavirus pay levels in 2020.

The two previous strikes took place on the weekends of 15 and 16 July, which forced the cancellation of 120 flights, and 29 and 30 July, which suspended up to 96 routes.

This will be the first midweek action by the pilots, but it will coincide with the Assumption long weekend in mid-August, when many travellers depart or return from holidays.

Despite numerous meetings so far between unions and the Irish airline’s management, no solution has yet been found.

According to the unions, Ryanair continues to change pilots’ schedules and breaks, contrary to an existing collective bargaining agreement.