With eight new pilot strikes scheduled between May 22nd and June 2nd, Air Europa will be forced to cancel 114 flights. The strikes were initiated by the Sindacato de Pilotos de Espana (SEPLA) union, which was also responsible for the four-day strike that took place earlier this month - that resulted in 68 flights being canceled.
The SELPA union represents the pilots of Air Europa. According to claims made by SEPLA, the pilots cooperated with the airline during COVID-19 furloughs. However, now the management is pursuing profits by increasing ticket prices by 54% over the past year and still imposing cuts on the working situations of the employees.
Furthermore, SEPLA accuses the airline's management of overlooking the labor and salary demands, due to which it is possible that there could be more strikes planned for the coming months. The union has also registered a complaint with the Ministry of Transportation regarding this issue. The union furthermore expressed concerns about the airline outsourcing services, which could lead to worse working conditions and further wage reduction.
The potential impact
Because the peak summer travels are about to begin, the Ministry of Transport has set minimum services during this period. However, domestic flights serving the Spanish cities of Madrid, Bilbao, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Vigo, and Barcelona will be affected.
Additionally, some international flights will be disrupted, including to destinations such as Rome-Fiumicino, Milan-Malpensa, Paris-Orly, Porto, and Lisbon. In the event that the union calls further strikes, there could be significant operational impacts in the coming months which could disrupt passengers traveling during the peak summer season.
These flight service disruptions could have an impact on a global scale because Air Europa is a member of SkyTeam Airline Alliance, passengers of other SkyTeam member airlines traveling to and from Europe may have a flight booked with Air Europa, which could potentially be delayed or canceled.
Simple Flying has reached out to Air Europa for a statement regarding how the airline can minimize disruptions during the peak summer season and how the airline can resolve this issue. Any comment received will be updated in this article.
Passenger protection
Since Air Europa is an airline based in the European Union, it will mean that the airline will have to comply with the EU261 passenger protection law, which allows passengers to claim compensation from airlines in the event of delays and cancelations. And yes, flight cancelation due to airline staff strikes would mean passengers are eligible to claim compensation.
However, certain conditions must be met for passengers to be eligible, and the level of compensation one can claim will depend on the situation. While airline staff going on strike is an eligible situation, if a delay or a cancelation were caused due to airport staff or baggage handlers going on strike, passengers would not qualify as this was beyond the airline's control. Furthermore, passengers are only protected by this law if they hold a confirmed full-fare ticket or tickets redeemed from a frequent flyer program.
Source: Aviation24, Anadolu Ajansi, Aviacionline
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Air Europa
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- UX/AEA
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Madrid Barajas Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1986
- Alliance:
- SkyTeam
- CEO:
- Juan José Hidalgo
- Country:
- Spain
- Region:
- Europe
