Several delays and cancellations on the second day of the airport handling strike.

Barcelona Airport recorded its first cancellations and delays this Saturday morning, the second day of a strike by handling staff at Spanish airports. Girona and Reus (Tarragona) have also experienced delays, according to data collected by Europa Press.

The Menzies ground crew strike began this Saturday, adding to the strike already launched this Friday by Ryanair's subsidiary, Azul Handling. The protests coincide with one of the busiest days of the year, this August long weekend, when more than 28,000 flights are scheduled at Aena airports. The first day passed without incident, although both strikes coincide this Saturday and will continue on Sunday.

Friday's strike targeted workers at Azul Handling, Ryanair's ground handling company. The protests will last until August 17, but if there are no changes, they will extend until the end of the year. The UGT (United Nations General Assembly) has called on workers at Azul Handling in Spain—which provides services to Ryanair, Lauda, Malta Air, and Buzz—to strike as a result of the "constant violations of labor rights" with which the Ryanair group "punishes its workforce," according to Europa Press.

On August 16 and 17, the Azul Handling strike will take place from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and from 9:00 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. From then on, the strike is open to all Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until December 31, 2025. Ryanair has stated that it "does not anticipate any disruption to its operations" as a result of these stoppages.

In the case of the British airline Menzies, the strike has been called for August 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, and 31 at all its work centers and at the five Spanish airports where it operates—Barcelona-El Prat, Alicante, Palma, Malaga, and Tenerife South—, Efe reports.

At Barcelona Airport, two flights to London have already been canceled on British Airways, one of the more than 10 airlines operating with Menzies, as well as another flight from London to Barcelona.

Two other flights that were due to depart from Barcelona have been cancelled, although they are from Air Canada and are not related to the strike in Spain, but rather to a strike by flight attendants at the Canadian company , which has forced them to suspend their operations globally, the airline reported in a statement in X collected by Europa Press.

UGT PETITIONS

The head of the UGT aviation sector in Catalonia, Josep Ramírez, said in statements to the media reported by Europa Press that the demand is to receive a fair salary because there are "accumulated debts" that are not being paid.

UGT already stated on Friday that this strike is in response to the company's failure to comply with the agreement ratified at the SIMA (Mexico City Industrial Park) in November of last year, as the company is not implementing the commitments reached, the union claims.

Furthermore, it believes the company violates the handling sector agreement and that there is "operational disorganization, lack of employment, and poor human resources support," which prevents the resolution of daily complaints.