Ryanair cabin crew in Spain announce 12 new days of strikes in July

Spain-based cabin crew at Ryanair plan to strike for 12 days this month to demand better working conditions, the USO and SICTPLA unions said on Saturday, raising the prospect of travel chaos as the summer tourist season gets under way. The announcement came on the final day of the crews’ current strike, which began on Thursday and forced Ryanair to cancel 10 flights in Spain on Saturday. Cabin crew will strike on July 12-15, 18-21 and 25-28 across the 10 Spanish airports where Ryanair operates, the unions said. “The unions and crew of Ryanair ... demand a change of attitude from the airline,” they said in a statement, calling for Ryanair to resume negotiations over issues including payment of the minimum wage. The unions also urged the government “not to allow Ryanair to violate labour legislation and constitutional rights such as the right to strike”. Ryanair said Saturday it expected “minimal (if any) disruption to its flight schedules in July as a result of minor and poorly supported Spanish labour strikes”. It added that “Air Traffic Control (ATC) strikes and airport staff shortages across Europe (which are beyond Ryanair’s control) may however cause some minor disruption and passengers whose flights are disrupted... will be notified by email/SMS.” Ryanair cabin crew unions in Belgium, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy had taken strike action in recent days but the low-cost airline said less than 2% of its flights scheduled over last weekend had been affected. <br/>