IT is not solely a potential jet fuel crisis that could cause issues for those travelling to and from Spain this summer, but also ongoing strikes by Spanish airport staff.
The combination of this industrial action and rising fuel prices raises the spectre of delays, baggage issues and longer waits at Spanish airports.
But what is behind the latest airport strikes threatening to play havoc with summer holiday plans?
Walkouts at the start of this year were driven by high demand, staff shortages, ‘deteriorating working conditions, and wage tensions’, the Head of International Relations for the aviation sector at the CCOO union, Naomi Cuerdo, told The Olive Press.
The CCOO, Spain’s leading trade union, has urged employers to follow the agreed contracts and pay rules in order to prevent further action.
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Currently staff at air traffic control towers are experiencing ‘cancellation of approved vacations and overuse of on-call duty, leading to chronic fatigue’.
This is due to ‘structural staff shortages’ that are causing ‘stress and erratic shift changes’.
An ‘indefinite strike’ has been called since 17 April 2026 at ‘several private control towers’ as a result of this extreme exhaustion and constant work.
This could affect holidaymakers’ flights with those working at these SAERCO towers taking responsibility for takeoffs, landings, the taxiing of aeroplanes and runway safety at numerous major Spanish airports.
Delays will not only be caused by air traffic control strikes but also by ground staff who have stopped working to express their frustrations at the current situation.
Ground staff have already taken industrial action with strikes over Spain’s Holy Week, which is one of the nation’s busiest travel periods, causing longer turnaround times and some significant baggage delays.
While flights generally still operated, passengers still faced disruption. Similar issues are likely to be experienced by those flying this summer as staff from Groundforce and Menzies, who led these Semana Santa strikes, are continuing to dispute their ‘working conditions’ and ‘pay scales’.
The situation for those working in the aviation sector is said to be worsening by the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) who told The Olive Press that problems ‘are becoming structural’ with ‘harsh conditions’ contributing to strikes that are causing issues for travellers.
“Although we would like to be optimistic, the current situation does not allow us to be so,” Cuerdo concluded.
So, in an aim to stop this summer from becoming one of discontent, the ETF are calling on the Spanish government to address ‘job insecurity, precarious working conditions, and safety issues’.
Calls for ‘government mediation in wage and working conditions disputes’ are growing as unions fight for changes that would prevent future strikes and passenger disruption.
Despite these calls, unions are not hopeful that the situation will improve any time soon.
In fact, the ‘strain’ on staff has worsened in recent years, according to Cuerdo, who believes that the lack of improvement is due to ‘short-term reactive measures’ being prioritised over long-term stability.
With little sign of a resolution, those heading to Spain this summer may want to prepare for possible disruption and delays by arriving at airports earlier, checking for flight updates regularly and allowing extra time between connections and for baggage collection.
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