Spain’s national airline Iberia, is on strike this week, causing over 1,000 flights to be cancelled and affecting the travel plans of around 70,000 passengers. Iberia claim to have made alternative travel arrangements for 60,000 of the passengers affected and will be giving refunds to the remaining 10,000.
The strike started at midnight (Monday the 18th of February 2013) and will continue until Friday (February the 22nd). Flights from other airlines will also be affected by the strike as ground workers are also taking part, which comes during the busy British half-term holiday period.
The strike is in protest about the management’s plans to cut nearly 4,000 jobs and reduce the salaries of the remaining staff in an effort to stem the huge losses that the company is making. Iberia merged with profitable British Airways two years ago and lost over €250 million in the first nine months of 2012 as it struggles to compete with low-cost rivals such as Ryanair.
Unions are planning two more five day strikes in March (4th to 8th and 18th to 22nd) and analysts estimate that if all these strikes were to go ahead, the total cost to Iberia will be in the region of €50 to €100 million.
If you have booked a flight with Iberia during the strike days, Iberia should have been in touch with you, otherwise you can call them (in Spain) on 902 400500 or (in the UK) 0870 609 0500. More information on their website: www.iberia.com.
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