Check which airports are affected by the Spanish air traffic controller strikes

A total of 16 Spanish airports are affected by the upcoming air traffic controller strikes.

The strike in the privatised control towers at various Spanish airports called by the CCOO and USCA trade unions begins tomorrow, Monday, January 30. According to the resolution of the Ministry of Transport, minimum services have been implemented, ranging between 18 per cent and 84 per cent.

This industrial action is the first one in a series of five strikes that have been called. They will take place every Monday between January 30 and February 27 and involve around 160 workers.

Minimum services have been set by the government depending on the type of route. They will operate at 100 per cent in the case of emergency flights, the transfer of citizens or foreigners in the custody of police officers, and the transport of universal postal mail or perishable goods.

For commercial flights with routes to or from non-peninsular territories, minimum services range from 52 per cent in Lerida to 84 per cent in La Coruña, depending on the estimated occupancy.

In the case of routes with foreign or Spanish cities with a road journey time of at least five hours, minimum services range from 44 per cent in La Palma to 57 per cent in Alicante.

On routes where journeys can be replaced by other means of public transport in less than five hours, the minimum services are between 18 per cent in Castellon and 30 per cent in Vigo.

CCOO and USCA called the strikes following the failure of negotiations with the APCTA employers’ association. This is made up of two companies, FerroNats and Saerco. The action was implemented after the fourth collective agreement between the two sides failed to reach a positive outcome.

The conflict originated with Saerco’s winning of the contract to control Lot 2, which comprises the airport facilities at Jerez, Seville, Cuatro Vientos, Vigo, and La Coruña.

These were previously in the hands of FerroNats, who were in the process of renewing the tower control service at the airports that had been deregulated. They bid several tens of millions of euros less than its competitors.

According to the unions, Saerco was aware that the subrogated staff of FerroNats had higher salary costs. These were covered by the sectoral agreement through the process of business subrogation contemplated therein.

The company respected this from the transition in the change of operator, between February and May 2021, until December of the same year. At this point, the sectoral agreement ceased to apply unilaterally, which meant an economic loss for the subrogated staff of more than 16 per cent of their salaries.

FerroNats, in the meetings held so far, has distanced itself from Saerco and has reportedly ‘reached out’ to try to reach an agreement. Its proposal for the sectoral agreement is said to be very close to the final proposal of the unions, but the agreement is difficult to reach because the employers’ organisation is split 50-50 between the two companies.

Saerco proposed a wage increase this week for the years 0 per cent for 2021, 1 per cent for 2022, 2 per cent for 2023, and 2.5 per cent for 2024, which was rejected by the unions, as reported by laopiniondemalaga.es.

This is the list of the 16 airports that will be affected by the strike action:

1.  A Coruña (LECO)
2.  Alicante (LEAL)
3.  Castellon (LECN)
4.  El Hierro (GCEHI)
5.  Fuerteventura (GCFV)
6.  Ibiza (LEIB)
7.  Jerez de la Frontera (LEJR)
8.  La Palma (GCLA)
9.  Lanzarote (GCRR)
10.  Lleida (LEDA)
11.  Madrid-Cuatro Vientos (LECU)
12.  Murcia (LELC)
13.  Sabadell (LELL)
14.  Sevilla (LEZL)
15.  Valencia (LEVC)
16.  Vigo (LEVX)

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