Portugal holidaymakers warned of cancellations as airport ground handlers strike

Travellers to Lisbon and Porto have been told to expect ‘numerous flight cancellations’ this weekend

British holidaymakers headed for Portugal could face flight delays and cancellations amid airport ground handler strikes on the last weekend of the UK summer holidays.

On Monday, the Portuguese Transport Workers’ Union (Sttamp) gave a strike notice for all national airports from “00:00 on August 31 until midnight on September 1, 2024” and disruption to airport services is expected to be significant.

The union warned of “severe constraints” at major aviation hubs, including Lisbon and Porto, but said the effects of the strikes are “currently unpredictable”.

Workers employed by Groundforce Portugal (SPdH) say they will continue to take strike action until “the current salary scales are reviewed” and working conditions improve.

Prospective passengers have been advised to contact airlines such as easyJet, TAP Air Portugal, British Airways, Ryanair, and Wizz Air to confirm their travel plans.

A spokesperson for easyJet said: “As our ground handler in Portugal isn’t impacted by the strike action we are currently planning to operate our schedule as planned but would always advise all customers to check the status of their flights on Flight Tracker at easyJet.com for the latest updates.”

Sttamp said in a statement: “In compliance with its responsibilities to all passengers with trips scheduled for these days who may be affected by this stoppage, Sttamp regrets that it was necessary to reach this point despite having tried in every way to find solutions with the company that would avoid this outcome.

“It will be up to Menzies management to take full responsibility for this strike because at no time did it present any alternative or proposal that could avoid the strike.”

It’s not the first summer holiday nightmare for Brits flying to Portugal.

Earlier this month, easyJet cancelled 232 of the 1,138 flights to and from Portugal during a three-day strike by its cabin crew.

The budget airline’s cabin staff in the Western European country announced late last month a strike from 15 August to 17 August.

“We regret that, due to the unnecessary strike action planned by the SNPVAC union and in order to minimise the impact of the disruption on the day of travel for our customers, we have had to cancel some of the flights planned to operate during the period of the collective action,” the airline said.

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