Ryanair walkout begins Spain's summer of airport strike action

Strike action by Ryanair baggage handlers at Spanish airports kicks off today, scheduled to coincide with a national holiday and one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Spanish union UGT called the walkout during the busiest month of the summer for staff at Azul Handling, Ryanair's ground operations subsidiary in Spain, over worker sanctions and the abuse of overtime.

The stoppages have been scheduled for today, August 15th, as well as on the 16th and 17th. Friday August 15th is a public holiday in Spain, which will mean an increase in travel during an already very busy holiday period.

READ ALSO: What's open on August 15th in Spain?

If unresolved, the strikes are scheduled to continue every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the end of this year. They will affect all Ryanair bases in Spain, which include Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Málaga, Alicante, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, Girona, Tenerife South, Lanzarote, and Santiago de Compostela.

Live flight updates on the Aena website, Spain's airport network, show slight delays of less than an hour on some flights at some airports as of 09:00 a.m, though not solely on Ryanair flights. This would suggest the walkouts have slowed airport services down overall.

Be sure to check with your airline before flying during the scheduled strike action.

The Ryanair walkouts follow news that unions have also called for further industrial action by airport staff at seven more major airlines, adding to potential travel disruption in Spain throughout August.

Airport ground staff employed by the Menzies group will walk out at airports including Barcelona-El Prat, Alicante, Palma, Málaga and Tenerife South. The walkouts will be on the 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th, 30th and 31st August.

READ ALSO: Seven more airlines to be hit by strikes in Spain this August

Action by Menzies group staff will add to travel unpredictability. Not only does the group cover major Spanish airports, providing essential ground services such as boarding, disembarking, baggage handling, and runway assistance, but it also provides services to key airlines operating in Spain such as Emirates, British Airways, American Airlines, EasyJet, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian and Wizz Air.

Ryanair, for its part, has claimed that strike action by staff will not disrupt operations despite them beginning in the middle of summer.

READ ALSO: Ryanair claims strike in Spain will have no impact on flights

If you’re due to fly from any of the above airports from mid-August onwards, we recommend checking with Ryanair beforehand to see if your flight will be affected or not.

Ryanair has already made the news headlines in Spain in 2025 for its war of words with Spanish airport operator Aena, which it accuses of charging them excessively high airport fees.

The Irish low-cost company has already 800,000 seats and 12 routes from smaller regional airports as a result and has threatened to slash even more under the premise that these fees make flying to some Spanish airports unprofitable.

READ MORE: Ryanair's exit leaves two Spanish airports in the doldrums

However, Ryanair has added 1.5 million seats to larger and more popular airports such as Madrid, Málaga, and Alicante, consolidating itself as the most used airline in Spain.