Travel disruption is expected all over Europe in the coming weeks as Ryanair pilots and cabin crew stage several strikes, the first of which started in Portugal today (Wednesday). At the same time, the Algarve is preparing to deal with the consequences of the imminent closure of Ryanair’s base at Faro Airport, which one study suggests could lead to a “considerable fall” of around 360,000 seats.
The Ryanair strike in Portugal is expected to be the least serious, as it only involves cabin crew and not pilots like the planned strikes in the UK, Ireland and Spain.
The strike will run until Sunday (August 25), with Ryanair saying it expects minimal disruption from the walkouts.
Nonetheless, the Portuguese government has demanded ‘minimum services’ to avoid major issues, while cabin crew syndicate SNPVAC has argued that the order is “abusive” and undermines the right to strike.
The minimum service order includes a daily return flight between Lisbon and Paris; between Lisbon and Berlin; between Porto and Cologne; between Lisbon and London; between Lisbon and Ponta Delgada, and also a round-trip service between Lisbon and Terceira Island (Lajes), on August 21, 23 and 25.
Employment minister Vieira da Silva told SIC that the minimum services requirement is “normal for companies like Ryanair”, which is responsible for a large chunk of flights at Portuguese airports.
As he pointed out, “(Ryanair) has hundreds of flights at Portuguese airports during these days, and only a small minority of them have been identified as needing minimum services”.
According to the government’s minimum services order, it is up to the union to determine the staff that will carry out these services. If it fails to do so, then the responsibility is passed on to the employer.
The order also justifies why the minimum services were deemed necessary, explaining that the strike is of “relatively long duration” (five days) and coincides with summer, the busiest time of the year in Portugal when there is “considerable demand for air transportation”.
The government also explains that it is important to avoid crowds at airports as it could mean “an increase in risks to the safety of people and goods”.
As the government explains, Madeira and Azores were included in the minimum services as air travel is the only way to “guarantee that the residents of these islands can travel home in an efficient and quick way”.
The other cities were chosen due to the “significant number of Portuguese citizens living in England, France and Germany” who usually choose August to travel to Portugal to visit their families.
The government also stresses that Portugal is becoming an increasingly popular summer destination for European holidaymakers, which is why the minimum services are required for at least some of the main routes.
As readers may recall, at the root of the strike is the fact that SNPVAC says that Ryanair has “refused to comply” with the protocol signed last November which included holiday pay, 22 days of annual leave and full compliance with Portuguese parental law.
Meantime, Ryanair’s decision to close its base at Faro Airport is seeing tourism authorities in the region scrambling to make sure that the airport maintains all the routes managed by the airline.
Thus far, Ryanair has said that the closure of the Faro base won’t affect the airport’s flights, although around 100 people could lose their jobs in the process.
“No route will be affected as they will be served by aeroplanes from other bases in November, when our winter calendar begins,” a source for Ryanair told Dinheiro Vivo website.
But according to a study by Mabrian Technologies using data from Flightstats, as many as 1.4 million seats could be affected next year in the pull-back measure that would also affect Tenerife Sur, Las Palmas and Girona as well as Faro.
João Fernandes, president of the Algarve tourism board (RTA) as well as head of the Algarve tourism association (ATA), has said that the region will do “everything it can to ensure that staff and planes remain in the Algarve”.
