Will French Ryanair flights be affected by ground staff strike in Spain?

Passengers flying to Spain with the low-cost carrier Ryanair are being warned of potential disruption for the rest of the year due to major strike action by baggage handlers.

Baggage handlers with Azul Handlings, a company that works with the airline at several major Spanish airports, are set to strike from August 15 onwards. 

The action is backed by Spain’s UGT union, which claims “constant breaches” of labour rights and precarious working conditions. 

Up to 3,000 staff will strike during the first round of action during the holiday weekend. 

Airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Malaga, Alicante, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, Girona, Tenerife South, Lanzarote and Santiago de Compostela are all set to be affected. 

A first bout of strike action will take place from August 15 - 17 in three slots throughout the weekend (05:00 to 09:00, from 12:00 to 15:00 and from 21:00 to 23:59).

Further strikes will take place until December 31 in action covering some Wednesdays and Friday -Sunday periods. At Barajas Airport in Madrid, unions have called for up to 22 days of strikes. 

As the baggage handlers are only contracted to work on Ryanair services, it is only these flights that are expected to be affected.

A spokesperson for the airline told UK media outlet Daily Mail that it did not expect any disruption from the strike action - but unions and travel experts are inviting passengers to check with the airline to see if they will be affected. 

Ryanair flies several France-Spain routes to the listed airports, including from Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Poitiers, and Nantes among others.

The airline has recently announced it will end flights to three French airports for the upcoming winter season.