In worrying news for holidaymakers heading to Spain, Ryanair flights could be hit by three days of strikes in mid-August 2025, plus ongoing industrial action for four days every week, including every weekend, until December, according to an announcement by Spain’s General Union of Workers (UGT or Unión General de Trabajadores).
Starting on 15, 16 and 17 August, and then carrying on every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until New Year’s Eve, ground handlers at multiple Spanish airports will strike in bursts, from 5:00 to 9:00 am, from midday to 3:00 pm and from 9:00 pm to midnight.
Due to an obligation for the company in question, Azul Handling, to provide a minimum level of service, the withdrawal of labour is not set to be all day long, but even sporadic interruptions could cause issues because of the knock-on effect of delays.
🔴 #UGT reclama una reforma de las políticas activas de empleo y más recursos a los servicios públicos de orientación profesional
— UGT (@UGT_Comunica) August 4, 2025
➡️Los datos de paro son positivos, pero la creación de empleo y la mejora de las condiciones laborales no están llegando a la totalidad de la… pic.twitter.com/chfCR4Fd3Z
Popular airports affected
Azul Handling operates for Ryanair at some of Spain’s most popular destinations, including Alicante, Barcelona, Girona, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Madrid, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Tenerife South, and Valencia. Anyone booked to travel to or from these airports is advised to check with their airline about the impact on their flight.
Ryanair appears to remain confident about its systems, according to an airline spokesperson who told the press: “Ryanair does not expect any disruption to our operation as a result of these third-party handling strikes in Spain.”
The walkout, says the UGT, is down to a failure to resolve a dispute over working conditions, which has seen workers allegedly subjected to “constant breaches” of their rights, including precarity in working hours for permanent part-timers, pressure to take on extra hours, non-respect of legal return-to-work frameworks after medical leave, lack of flexibility for employees with families, and over-the-top disciplinary measures.
“Azul Handling maintains a strategy of precariousness and pressure on the workforce that violates basic labour rights and systematically ignores union demands,” said José Manuel Pérez Grande, of the FeSMC-UGT air union.
El Sector Aéreo convoca una huelga ante la precarización temeraria de 3000 trabajadores a nivel nacional y tras reiterados incumplimientos por parte de las empresas aéreas.
— FeSMC-UGT Región de Murcia (@fesmcugtmurcia) August 6, 2025
Conoce toda la actualidad aquí:
●Azul Handling https://t.co/0MzopigvjV
●Menzies https://t.co/1SGXS8pVll pic.twitter.com/AQp2zBkExl
Ongoing uncertainty
The industrial action at airports adds to uncertainty for holidaymakers heading to the Spanish Balearics, where hospitality sector strikes, also organised by the UGT, have been occurring since 2024, though a recent resolution for a phased salary increase of 13.5% over three years was reached at the start of July.
Travel sector workers, as well as local residents in Spain and across much of Europe, have been involved in a series of divisive demonstrations and protests about pay, conditions, use of resources, services, and the quality of life in destinations increasingly dominated by visitors. Stakeholders have launched campaigns to counter the negative economic impact of anti-tourism demonstrations, while some staff claim they cannot afford to live in the places they serve.
