Travel chaos hits Spain after wildcat strikes
At least 20,000 Brits are believed to have been left stranded by wildcat strikes by Spanish air traffic controllers.
The country’s government has declared a state of alert to try to end the strike, which has closed most of the country’s airspace.
It has placed Spain’s air traffic control centres and towers under military control and workers on strike now face going to prison unless they go back to work.
Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba
Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba apologised to travellers who spent Friday night sleeping at airports.
Friday was the start of a long holiday weekend in Spain, one of the busiest travel weekends in the country’s calendar.
The air traffic controllers staged the wildcat strike as part of a long-running dispute with the government over working conditions, hours, and benefits.
Iberia has cancelled all flights in Spain until early Sunday morning, while Ryanair also cancelled all flights to and from Spain.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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