Yesterday morning the Spanish national carrier Iberia had to cancel more than 415 departures because ground personnel in the Spanish airport Barajas, Madrid initiated a strike. The strike comes after management announced a restructuring plan which would result in the loss of 3807 jobs and a lowering of salaries for the remaining staff.
Iberia estimates that over the week more than 1200 flights will have to be cancelled and more than 70 000 passengers will be affected. However, in Geneva only the mid-day flight had been cancelled on Monday morning as the morning flight took off as planned.
The troubled Spanish economy can ill afford a strike at this time. This week, the UK has its school holidays and British tourists are very important to the tourism sector, which provides a growing number of people with employment. In an economy where the official unemployment rate is more than 26%, the strike has the potential to do great damage and that may force the Spanish government to intervene. Iberia has been struggling for many years and the dividends from the merger with British Airways in 2011 still need to materialise.
Source and more info at : www.tdg.ch
Photo credit: www.photopin.com, Matt Hintsa
