Spain airport strikes, weekend walkouts target baggage and check-in

Published on Aug 23, 2025, 9:23 am CDT

6 min read

Spain airport strikes continue to roll through peak leisure travel days as Azul Handling workers, tied to Ryanair operations, walk out on a Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday cadence. The action is structured in three daily windows designed to squeeze check-in, baggage, and boarding. Airlines reported limited disruption on the first weekend, but today's schedule still overlaps peak island flights and late-evening banks. Passengers should expect longer lines, slower baggage delivery, and occasional rolling delays, especially at Barcelona, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, and Málaga.

Key Points

Why it matters: Repeating Azul Handling stoppages target ground ops when leisure demand peaks.
Travel impact: Expect slow check-in, late pushbacks, and delayed bags during strike windows.
What's next: Cadence repeats weekly through December 31, pending any settlement.
Menzies Aviation walkouts were paused this weekend after a pre-agreement, reducing overlap.
Ryanair says operations saw minimal impact so far, while unions allege obstacles.

Snapshot

Azul Handling's national strike covers ground-service staff supporting Ryanair at more than twenty Spanish airports, including Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (MAD), Barcelona-El Prat (BCN), Málaga-Costa del Sol (AGP), and Palma de Mallorca (PMI). After initial stoppages on August 15 to 17, the action repeats every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through December 31, 2025. Each strike day runs in three local windows, 500 to 900, 1200 to 1500, and 2100 to 2359. Spain's Transport Ministry has imposed minimum-service levels to protect essential flights, which can blunt cancellations but not terminal-side slowdowns. Separately, a Menzies Aviation dispute set six August dates at select airports, but this weekend's rounds were suspended following a pre-agreement.

Background

FeSMC-UGT called the Azul Handling strike over sanctions, overtime, and staffing concerns across Ryanair stations nationwide. The Transport Ministry's minimum-service resolution confirms the recurring schedule and time windows, and details protections by route type. Unions say these protections, plus company practices, dilute the strike's effect. Ryanair states the first strike weekend passed with no material operational impact in Spain, beyond isolated delays reported by local media. Meanwhile, a separate UGT action at Menzies Aviation targeted Barcelona-El Prat (BCN), Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández (ALC), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Málaga-Costa del Sol (AGP), and Tenerife South (TFS) across the last three weekends of August, but was paused for this weekend. For travelers, the most visible effects are longer lines, slower baggage delivery, and late evening pushbacks inside the published windows, especially at big leisure gateways.

Latest Developments

Spain airport strikes, today's schedule and who is affected

For Saturday, August 23, 2025, Azul Handling strike windows are 500 to 900, 1200 to 1500, and 2100 to 2359, local time at all covered stations. Affected airports include: Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (MAD), Barcelona-El Prat (BCN), Málaga-Costa del Sol (AGP), Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández (ALC), Almería (LEI), Asturias, Oviedo area, (OVD), Fuerteventura (FUE), Girona-Costa Brava (GRO), Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, (LPA), Ibiza (IBZ), César Manrique-Lanzarote (ACE), Menorca (MAH), Region of Murcia International (RMU), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Reus (REU), Santander (SDR), Santiago-Rosalía de Castro (SCQ), Seville, San Pablo, (SVQ), Tenerife North-Ciudad de La Laguna (TFN), Tenerife South (TFS), Valencia (VLC), Vigo (VGO), Vitoria (VIT), and Zaragoza (ZAZ). Expect pressure on queues and baggage at midday and late.

Impact claims diverge, but peak leisure flows remain exposed

Ryanair says its Spain operation saw no significant impact during the opening weekend, attributing smooth running to planning and legal minimums. UGT counters that company tactics, including late minimum-service rosters, suppressed participation, and it has filed complaints. Even with limited cancellations, the design of these stoppages, concentrated on check-in and baggage, can still delay boarding and bag delivery inside the windows, then ripple for hours afterward. For this weekend, overlap with the separate Menzies dispute was reduced when unions paused those walkouts pending a deal, removing an added layer of risk at Barcelona, Alicante, Palma, Málaga, and Tenerife South.

Analysis

For travelers, Spain airport strikes that target ground handling are less about mass cancellations and more about lived friction at the airport. The three window design hits morning departures, midday peaks, and late-evening banks, which is exactly when leisure flows to the Balearics and Canaries are heaviest. Minimum-service orders keep essential flying going, but they do not guarantee normal staffing at check-in desks, on the ramp, or in baggage halls. That is why queues grow even when the flight still operates. Airlines can and do reposition staff or contract alternates, but that takes time, and performance varies by station.

Passenger rights hinge on who is striking. Under EC 261, compensation is normally payable for long delays or cancellations caused by an airline's own staff strikes, but not for external actors such as airport staff or third-party ground handlers, which are generally treated as extraordinary circumstances. However, your right to care applies either way. That means meals and refreshments after defined thresholds, hotel accommodation when overnighted, and rerouting at the earliest opportunity or a refund if you choose not to travel. Keep receipts if you self-fund care when airlines cannot provide it in time, and request written disruption notices for claims. If a flight is delayed outside the strike windows, or disruption cascades after windows end, some carriers may still deny compensation; regulators will judge case by case. Document timings precisely.

Final Thoughts

Weekend Spain airport strikes are likely to persist, with repeat windows that strain check-in and baggage even when flights depart. Today, focus on the morning, midday, and late-evening windows, build in extra time, and track your flight and bag status in the airline app. Know your EC 261 care rights, and save receipts. The Menzies pause helps, but Azul Handling's schedule runs through December 31. If you are connecting domestically, consider hand luggage only, or allow a wider layover. The cadence may evolve, but the near-term pattern favors patience and preparation during Spain airport strikes.