Holidaymakers face a summer of flight chaos, as easyJet and Ryanair plan strike action through July along with Lufthansa and SAS, over ongoing disputes concerning working conditions and pay.
British Airways has also announced possible strike action during the peak holiday period. Check-in staff and ground crew for the UK flag carrier last week voted to go on strike, with walkouts timed for the start of the summer holidays.
In recent weeks there has been chaos at airports across the continent unrelated to strike action, as airlines and airports struggle with staff shortages following the pandemic. Thousands of flights from the UK have been cancelled in this period, with easyJet one of the worst-affected airlines and Ryanair one of the least impacted.
And the disruption is set to continue as Gatwick plans to cap flight departures through July and August, a move that will lead to thousands of easyJet flight cancellations during the period. Heathrow has also unilaterally cancelled flights due to high passenger numbers, and British Airways will cancel 650 flights through July to avoid a repeat of recent disruption.
Below we outline the airline strikes, planned flight cancellations and airport departure capacity limits that have already been announced in the UK and across Europe.
July 1–August 31
Gatwick flights capped
Gatwick Airport has capped the number of flight departures during the peak summer season to 825 daily flights in July and 850 in August. This could lead to the cancellation of as many as 10,000 flights this summer, with easyJet likely to be the most-affected airline. A spokesperson for the airline said: “In response to these caps and in order to build additional resilience, easyJet is proactively consolidating a number of flights across affected airports.”
British Airways flights capped
British Airways has announced it will slash as many as 650 flights through July, affecting up to 100,000 passengers, in an attempt to avoid last-minute delays and cancellations.
July 1–30
Lufthansa cancellations
German flag carrier Lufthansa will cancel up to 1,000 flights on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through July, making up around 5 per cent of the airline’s total weekend services. The move is to avoid further disruption due to ongoing staff shortages.
July 12–15
Ryanair strike action across Spain.
Further strike action from the Spanish staff of the Irish low-cost carrier. Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Girona Santiago de Compostela, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca are the airports that could be affected by Ryanair strike action.
July 15–17
EasyJet cabin crew strike in Spain
The second proposed dates for a cabin crew walkout in Spain. The first strike dates were between July 1 and July 3. Barcelona, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Seville and Santiago de Compostela airports could all be affected by the strike action.
July 18–21
Ryanair strike action across Spain.
Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Girona Santiago de Compostela, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca are the airports that could be affected by Ryanair strike action.
July 25–28
Ryanair strike action across Spain.
Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Girona Santiago de Compostela, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca are the airports that could be affected by Ryanair strike action.
July 29–31
EasyJet cabin crew strike in Spain
The third proposed dates for a cabin crew walkout in Spain. Barcelona, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Seville and Santiago de Compostela airports could all be affected by the strike action.
Late July–August
British Airways strikes at Heathrow
Hundreds of BA check-in and ground staff at the UK’s biggest airport have voted in favour of walkouts during the peak summer holiday period, in an ongoing dispute over pay. If the strikes go ahead, BA (which operates from terminals 3 and 5) has said it will cover staff shortages, but passengers will still face possible disruption and cancellations, particularly from terminal 5.
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