Nearly 60 flights were called off on 28 of this month at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) in Portugal, on the final day of a walkout over pay by handling workers, Reuters reported.
Staff belonging to Portway, calling for improved holiday wages and more career progression, went on a three-day strike.
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Ground handling firm Portway is part of the French group Vinci.
The strike was called by the workers on the busiest weekends of the year, with many foreign and Portuguese tourists travelling for their summer vacations.
Handling workers at the airport assist airlines with baggage and also push planes onto the tarmac.
Citing data from national airports operator ANA, the news agency said that since 26 August, summer travel was hit due to the strike.
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By GlobalDataAs per the data displayed on the ANA site, 31 arrivals and 28 departures were cancelled on 28 August at Lisbon airport.
National Union for Civil Aviation Workers (SINTAC) spokesman Pedro Figueiredo told the news agency that almost 90% of the Portway’s ramp operations workers at Lisbon and Porto airports participated in the walkout.
Figueiredo was quoted by Reuters as saying: “In the coming days, our union will evaluate the results of this strike and we may adopt new forms of fight.”
SINTAC estimated nearly 80 flight cancellations at Lisbon Airport and up to 40 at Porto airport on Sunday.
Last month, the ground staff of Deutsche Lufthansa called for a strike over a pay hike. Almost 20,000 Lufthansa ground employees took part in the walkout, a move that affected operations at Lufthansa hubs at major German airports.
