Air Europa pilots call a 4-day strike at the start of May

Pilots at Spanish airline Air Europa have announced a four-day strike at the start of May in protest against low wages. Pilots’ union, Sepla, have announced the strike due to what they referred to as the airline's "zero interest" in resolving the labour dispute.

In total, between 620 and 640 pilots at all airports in Spain where Air Europa has bases will be affected on May 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th which will coincide with a national bank holiday on Monday and is also leading up to Mother’s Day in Spain when a lot of air travel is expected.

Hundreds of Air Europa flights are likely to be cancelled and delayed, but the airline will have to offer minimum services by law, which usually means that passengers whose flights are cancelled are put on an alternative flight on the same day. So, for example, if Air Europa has three daily flights between Madrid and Tenerife, the airline would have to operate at the very least one of them.

The airline is also still obliged to offer a refund to affected passengers who don’t wish to change their travel plans, and as much as 600 euros compensation can be claimed.

A spokesperson for Sepla said, “It’s disheartening that Air Europa’s managers continue to ignore the pilots’ call for a rise in wages, which have remained stagnant for the past few years and have resulted in a loss of purchasing power, despite the fact that the airline has increased its flight prices by 54% in the last year.”

Similar disputes over wages saw pilots and cabin crew belonging to Vueling, Ryanair, Easyjet, Air Nostrum, and Iberia Express strike in 2022. In February, Airline group IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, announced the acquisition of Air Europa for 500 million euros from Globalia.