EasyJet cabin crew threaten nine-day walkout

Spain-based airline flight attendants demand 40% pay rise

Cabin crew working for Spain-based low-cost airline easyJet are planning to step down for nine days next month, which could upset the holiday plans of thousands of British travellers.

They will hold three separate ones during the month – between July 1-3, July 15-17 and July 29-31 – in the pay line. The airline’s flight attendants in Spain are demanding a 40% increase in their base salary. Although the dispute involves crews leaving the holiday hotspot, they often operate flights to the UK.

Union spokesman Miguel Galan said: “The company underestimated the outlook, was more pessimistic and conservative and is not ready to meet demand.” However, he insisted the union hoped a deal could be reached to avoid the walkout.

The latest announcement follows the bombshell that easyJet revealed plans to cut more UK flights over the busy summer period. Up to 10,000 of 160,000 flights on sale for July, August and September may no longer take place due to the continued disruption to the travel industry.

However, chief executive Johan Lundgren said the airline has yet to decide how many cancellations there might be in those months. He blamed staff shortages at airports, as well as air traffic control delays for delayed flights and cancellations.

Mr Lundgren said: ‘I can’t tell you how many flights will be affected as we need to resolve this issue. It would be misleading for me to give numbers today because we just don’t know.

He added: “Providing a safe and reliable operation for our customers in this difficult environment is easyJet’s highest priority and we are sorry that for some customers we have not been able to provide the service they expect. from U.S.

“While in recent weeks the measures we have taken to build resilience have enabled us to continue to operate up to 1,700 flights and carry up to a quarter of a million customers per day, the difficult operating environment unfortunately continues to have an impact, which has led to cancellations.

“In addition to the airport caps, we are taking preventative measures to increase resilience over the remainder of the summer, including a series of further flight consolidations at affected airports, giving customers advance notice, and we expect the vast majority to be re-booked on alternative flights within 24 hours.

“We believe this is the right action to take so that we can deliver to all of our customers during the peak summer period in this challenging environment.”

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