Holidays in Spain and France could be affected by strike action

Every summer millions of Brits flock to Europe to enjoy holidays in Spain, from Barcelona and Valencia to the islands of Ibiza and Majorca. The appeal of holidays in Spain is that wherever you end up, you're almost guaranteed to have a week of brilliant sunshine and most destinations take just a couple of hours to get to by plane.

But this summer, holidays in Spain could be affected by strike action, and some travellers have already experienced disruption to their flights. Spanish air traffic controllers have announced that they will be holding strikes in response to working conditions and poor pay, even though some earn in excess of €1 million per annum.

At Barcelona's El Prat airport, many workers called in sick on Monday and were accused of staging a covert strike, which caused disruption to flights along the east coast. Even though half of the air traffic controllers on duty called in sick, they denied the accusation. On one of the busiest weekends of the year, many people's holidays in Spain were affected by the action.

Spain's air traffic controllers have been at loggerheads with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works for some time after workers were denied certain privileges.

Flight delays are expected to affect holidays in Spain throughout the summer, particularly on flights to Catalonia, Majorca, Ibiza, Valencia and Alicante.

Strikes by air traffic controllers in France are also causing disruption to travellers. Today, one in five short and medium haul flights out of Charles de Gaulle airport have been cancelled. Long haul flights have not been affected. The strike is scheduled to end at 04:00 on Thursday.

If you are going on holiday or travelling for business to France or Spain this summer, contact your airline before you leave for the airport to find out if your flight has been delayed or cancelled.

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