To each his own reading grid. After a weekend marked by strikes in several European countriesLow Cost Companies Ryanair spoke of “minor disruptions” to its flight schedule and blamed the cancellations on external events, contradicting the unions’ version. “Less than 2% of Ryanair’s 9,000 flights operating this weekend – Friday, Saturday and this Sunday – were affected by minor and unsustainable crew strikes,” the company wrote in a statement.
Several unions of air hostesses and stewards had called to stop work from Friday and for several days, in Spain, Portugal and Belgium. In Italy and France, the strike began on Saturday.
A new movement at the beginning of July
The Irish company attributed the cancellation of a number of flights “from Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and France” to a strike at the Marseille air traffic control center (ATC) as well than thunderstorms in southern Europe. An assertion disputed by unions of cabin crew (PNC) such as the SNPNC in France. On Saturday, 36 out of 80 flights operated by Ryanair were canceled due to the strike action, according to the union. Sunday, Damien Mourgues, the union representative of the SNPNC, quantified the number of cancellations at four in Bordeaux, eleven in Marseille and one in Beauvais.
In Spain, 75 flights were canceled on Saturday in Madrid, Barcelona, Palma, Ibiza, Santiago and Gerona, according to the USO union (Union Sindical Obrera). On Sunday, 42 flights were canceled and around 60 experienced delays, according to the same source. In Europe, Charleroi airport in Belgium was the most affected, with 44 return flights canceled on Saturday but none on Sunday, according to the Ryanair Scorebuddy website.
“All passengers whose flights were disrupted by ATC delays/strikes or weather disruptions have been notified,” the company said, without specifying whether it was implementing a refund procedure. Another three-day strike is planned at Ryanair in Spain from June 30 to July 2.
