Ground assistance staff at Spanish airports have called a strike for Holy Week which risks disrupting flights and affecting peak tourism travel.
The planned action adds to existing pressures from rising fuel costs and rail service uncertainties creating potential challenges for airlines hotels and passengers during one of the busiest periods of the year.
Ground handling staff from two major companies, Groundforce and Menzies, have called for industrial action over pay and working conditions. The strikes are scheduled to begin on 27 March 2026 and will coincide with one of Spain’s busiest travel periods.
Two separate industrial actions are planned by the main trade unions (UGT, CCOO, and USO):
- Groundforce: An indefinite strike starting Friday, 27 March 2026 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with partial stoppages from 05:00–07:00, 11:00–17:00, and 22:00–00:00.
- Menzies: Full 24-hour strikes on 28–29 March and 2–6 April 2026.
Unions may extend these to weekends through the end of 2026 if no agreement is reached.
The industrial action will impact approximately 12 of Spain’s most trafficked airports, including: Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Málaga-Costa del Sol, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante-Elche, Valencia, Ibiza, and Bilbao, Gran Canaria, Tenerife (North and South), Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura.
While Spanish law requires minimum service levels (often 80–90pc) to ensure flights still operate, travelers should prepare for severe delays in loading/unloading and a higher risk of luggage being left behind. Passengers can anticipate significantly longer waiting times for check-in, bag drop, and boarding, reduced ground capacity can lead to cascading delays throughout the day.
Passengers should monitor updates directly from your airline or the official Aena website and, if possible, travel with hand luggage only to bypass ground handling disruptions. They should arrive at the airport earlier than the standard 2–3 hours to account for staffing shortages and for domestic travel, consider Spain’s high-speed rail network (AVE) via Renfe for routes like Madrid-Barcelona or Madrid-Seville.
