Nine Ryanair flights were canceled this Wednesday, with forty-two more delayed on the third matchday, as cabin crew unions USO and Sictpla in Spain mobilized this week. The disruption reflects growing labor action that has affected several routes and airports across the country, signaling a broader pattern of scheduling challenges for the low-cost carrier within the European network.
According to USO, the nine flights halted before 9:00 am included three departures from Barcelona-El Prat, three arrivals into Barcelona, one service on the Madrid-Palma de Mallorca–Palma de Mallorca-Madrid circuit, and another between Düsseldorf-Malaga. The incident map demonstrates how the strike action has rippled through both major hubs and peripheral corridors, altering the flow of travelers in and out of the region. The cancellations underscore the practical impact on passenger plans and on airport operations during the midweek period.
Beyond Barcelona, departures were suspended from Milan, Brussels, and the London to Barcelona corridor, illustrating the geographic breadth of the disruption across Western Europe and highlighting the airline’s exposure to cross-border labor action that complicates flight scheduling for travelers and logistics partners alike.
Delays were most pronounced at Barcelona, Madrid-Barajas, and Malaga, each recording eight late flights, with Palma de Mallorca seeing five late operations. These patterns reveal how weathering a disturbance in one major node can cascade into adjacent airports, creating a domino effect on arrivals and departures that stretches across the national timetable and into neighboring regions.
Three flights experienced late departures or arrivals at each of Seville and Valencia, while Alicante and Ibiza each registered two delays. Santiago de Compostela saw one late operation, and Girona reported no disruptions. The spread of delays across multiple cities demonstrates the scale of the current labor actions and their reach into both popular vacation routes and business travel corridors during the midsummer period.
Ryanair cabin crew actions this week are part of a scheduled sequence of final stops set for July, following a series of strike days at Spanish airports where the airline operates. The disruptions are planned to take place between the 12th and 15th and again between the 18th and 21st of this month, according to the unions. The coordinated rounds aim to maximize the leverage of staff groups while urging management to address wage discussions, rostering fairness, and working conditions that affect crew scheduling and flight reliability for travelers across Iberia and beyond, as reported by the unions and corroborated by industry observers. The situation emphasizes the volatile interface between airline operations and labor rights in a high-demand travel season. [USO report] [Sictpla briefing]