Holidaymakers and travellers flying with Ryanair to and from Spain are being warned of potential disruptions for the rest of the year. The company's baggage handlers announce a prolonged period of industrial action from the 15th August until December 2025. The strikes affect ground handling staff at Azul Handling, a company within the Ryanair group.
How is the Azul Handling strike affecting Ryanair passengers?
The industrial action involves workers from Azul Handling, the subsidiary company responsible for providing ground handling services to Ryanair group airlines at numerous Spanish airports. The General Union of Workers (UGT) has announced an extended strike set to continue until 31 December 2025, in protest against what it terms "constant breaches" of labour rights.
Instead of a complete walkout, the action consists of partial work stoppages occurring on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The planned stoppages will run during three specific time slots each day, between 5 am and 9 am, midday and 3 pm, and from 9 pm until midnight, targeting key operational periods throughout the day. The protest is expected to primarily affect passengers travelling on Ryanair flights due to Azul Handling's role within the airline's operations.
Which Spanish airports are impacted by the baggage handler strikes?
The industrial action is set to affect all of Ryanair's operational bases across Spain, impacting travellers at major national and international hubs. The walkouts will take place at a dozen key airports, including the country's two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, alongside popular holiday destinations. According to the union, the airports affected by the strike are:
- Madrid
- Barcelona
- Málaga
- Alicante
- Seville
- Valencia
- Palma de Mallorca
- Ibiza
- Girona
- Tenerife South
- Lanzarote
- Santiago de Compostela
Reasons behind the prolonged industrial action
The unions have detailed a comprehensive list of grievances against Azul Handling-Ryanair, which they state have made the prolonged strike action necessary. They accused the ground handling company of implementing a strategy that fosters job insecurity and puts undue pressure on its workforce. The union claims this approach violates fundamental labour rights and involves systematically ignoring its demands.
Key among the complaints is the alleged coercion of employees to work overtime, with disproportionate penalties being applied to those who refuse. Further points of contention include:
- A failure to create stable jobs and consolidate working hours for permanent part-time staff.
- An arbitrary and illegal remuneration policy, where the company is accused of absorbing parts of salaries and not paying the corresponding bonuses.
- Repeated breaches of the Workers' Statute and the sector's Joint Committee rulings.
- Alleged illegal restrictions on employees returning to work after medical discharge and on adapting hours to facilitate a work-life balance.
Potential impact on travellers and wider context of airport strikes
For travellers, the announcement presents a conflicting picture. While the unions have called the strike to cause significant disruption to operations, Ryanair has stated that it does not anticipate any impact on its flights.
Despite this assurance, the scale and duration of the planned industrial action, which is set to last until the end of 2025, could still be a cause for concern for passengers flying to and from the 13 affected Spanish airports.
This dispute in Spain is indicative of a wider pattern of industrial action within Europe's aviation sector. Similar labour disputes have caused uncertainty for holidaymakers in other parts of the continent, with travellers also facing concerns over upcoming airport worker strikes in Portugal.
Passengers are advised to stay informed about the status of their flights directly through their airline.
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