Ground Handling Strike at Iberia and Its Impact on Flights
A four-day strike by Iberia’s ground handling staff is set to begin at dawn on the 5th and run through January 8, following failed negotiations between the airline and the unions CCOO, UGT, and USO over the provision of handling services. Passenger services were affected as meetings on Wednesday and Thursday morning did not yield an agreement. Company sources told a regional publication that Thursday’s bargaining session ended without a breakthrough. One of the affected flights was scheduled to depart from Madrid Barajas at 20:15 on Thursday night, January 4.
Following a meeting between Iberia Airport Service, the ground handling subsidiary, and the unions CCOO, UGT, and USO, the unions have decided to persist with the strike as a way to pressure Iberia to retain in-house handling for its own flights at the eight airports where the company has not secured a central contract with AENA for service delivery. The unions argue that Iberia’s ground handling may pass to another external provider chosen through the official tender process for eight airports, with workers currently employed by Iberia proxies expected to transition to one of the four winning companies.
Canceled Flights
The protest announced on December 29 prompted urgent airline actions and led to the cancellation of 444 flights, impacting 45,641 passengers. The airline stated it had put contingency plans in place. About 90.9 percent of affected travelers were assisted by rebooking onto alternative services (80.2 percent) or were refunded (10.7%).
Among the canceled services, 50 flights involved the Madrid–Barcelona route in either direction, and 12 routes connected Madrid with Las Palmas. The 444 cancellations are spread across Iberia’s three main Spanish brands: 270 flights from Iberia, 64 from Iberia Express, and 110 from Air Nostrum. In Iberia’s fleet, the cancellations represent about 24 percent of the 1,106 flights Iberia had planned to operate during the strike window.
Consequently, the airline plans to operate 836 flights over the four days, with most long-haul operations affected in part. Cancellations account for 51 percent of the 270 domestic flights and 49 percent of European services. In Iberia Express, cancellations reach 12 percent of its scheduled services, while Air Nostrum experiences a higher impact at 28 percent.
The roots of the dispute trace back to Iberia losing a service management competition at eight airports last September, including Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Alicante, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Ibiza, and Bilbao, with Madrid remaining the most significant base. AENA awarded the contract for ground handling to other providers, such as Aviapartner, Groundforce, Menzies, and Swissport. As explained by AENA at the time, these firms would take over in-house staff, affecting approximately 11,290 employees involved in handling services.
Unions say they oppose this shift because it would move Iberia’s handling under external control. They are urging Iberia to directly manage ground handling across the IAG group’s airlines, including British Airways, Vueling, Aer Lingus, and Level, for all partners operating under the Iberia umbrella.