Portugal: Hundreds of flights canceled due to baggage operators’ strike

Portugal: Hundreds of flights canceled due to baggage operators’ strike

(AFP)

Airport manager ANA said on Sunday that hundreds of flights to and from Portuguese airports were canceled over the weekend due to a strike by employees of Groundforce baggage handlers to protest the delay in payment of their wages.

“The Groundforce Ground Services strike has had a significant impact on the operations of Portuguese airports, particularly at Lisbon Airport,” an ANA spokesman told AFP, with 277 flights canceled on Saturday and at least 345 new ones on Sunday. Flights were cancelled.

Lisbon Airport, the “hub” of the national company TAP Air Portugal, was the most affected with about 550 canceled flights, while 450 connections were made or made.

Groundforce’s baggage handlers have decided to call the 48-hour strike to condemn the “volatile volatility situation” the company is experiencing in the grip of severe financial difficulties against the backdrop of tensions between its main private shareholder and TAP. who owns 49.9. % of capital.

In May, TAP sought the bankruptcy of Groundforce, which was denied a 30 million euro bank loan guaranteed by the state.

Unions representing some of its 2,800 employees, who have faced late payments since February, have called for a new strike for the last weekend of July.

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