Holidaymakers and travellers flying with Ryanair to and from Spain are being warned of potential disruptions for the rest of the year. The company’s baggage handlers announce a prolonged period of industrial action from the 15th August until December 2025. The strikes affect ground handling staff at Azul Handling, a company within the Ryanair group.
The industrial action involves workers from Azul Handling, the subsidiary company responsible for providing ground handling services to Ryanair group airlines at numerous Spanish airports. The General Union of Workers (UGT) has announced an extended strike set to continue until 31 December 2025, in protest against what it terms “constant breaches” of labour rights.
Instead of a complete walkout, the action consists of partial work stoppages occurring on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The planned stoppages will run during three specific time slots each day, between 5am and 9am, midday and 3pm, and from 9pm until midnight, targeting key operational periods throughout the day. The protest is expected to primarily affect passengers travelling on Ryanair flights due to Azul Handling’s role within the airline’s operations.
According to the UGT, the reasons for the strike include the lack of stable job creation and failure to consolidate working hours for part-time permanent staff; pressure and coercion to work extra hours – both regular and voluntary – with some workers even facing disproportionate penalties; repeated breaches of rulings from the joint committee of the sectoral agreement regarding guarantees and bonuses; and the illegal restrictions on returning to work after medical leave and on adjusting working hours to allow for work-life balance.
According to federal secretary of the FeSMC-UGT José Manuel Pérez Grande, Azul Handling puts pressure on its workers that “violates basic labour rights and systematically ignores union demands”. The union demands that the company “withdraw the sanctions, comply with the rulings of the joint committee and immediately open a real negotiation process to improve the working conditions of the more than 3,000 workers affected throughout the country”.
The industrial action is set to affect all of Ryanair’s operational bases across Spain, impacting travellers at major national and international hubs. The walkouts will take place at a dozen key airports, including the country’s two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, alongside popular holiday destinations. According to the union, the airports affected by the strike include: Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Alicante, Seville, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza.