General strike sees cancellation of 400 flights

Thursday’s General Strike in Portugal resulted in the cancellation of 400 flights with airlines operating skeleton services with the exception of the low-cost airlines Ryanair and easyJet.

Portugal’s civil aviation union SNPVCA in a communiqué on Thursday evening said there had been a “strong adhesion” to the strike and thanked union members.

Regarding the two ‘low cost’ airlines, the union adds that, “although they were residual, the flights carried out by easyJet, in addition to the minimum services, were operated by managers or crew from other bases, once again violating Portuguese legislation. This situation is unacceptable and repetitive, so the ACT [Authority for Working Conditions] will again be called upon to intervene and an ‘administrative offense’ will be filed against easyJet.”

The union blames the Government for “the inconvenience caused to passengers and the expenses inherent in the stoppage of this day.” “This is entirely the responsibility of the intransigent stance of this Government,” says the SNPVA.