Iberia staff have begun the first of three separate five-day strikes over the carrier’s proposals to cut around 3,800 jobs.
The first strike is taking place from today (February 18) to Friday February 22, with further industrial action scheduled for later this month and March.
Iberia says that of the 70,000 passengers affected by the first strike period, around 60,000 or 85 per cent “have been booked on other flights”, with the remainder getting full refunds.
In a statement the carrier said:
“Under Iberia’s strike contingency plan, the airline has notified affected passengers about cancelled flights, and offered them alternative arrangements or refunds, either directly or through travel agencies, depending on where the tickets were purchased.
“Iberia has also made arrangements with its partners in the Oneworld alliance and another ten airlines to carry Iberia passengers as needed.”
A list of cancelled flights over the next five days can be found here.
In November last year Iberia’s parent company IAG revealed that the Spainish carrier was losing €1.7 million per day, with the airline's CEO Rafael Sánchez-Lozano admitting that the carrier is “in [a] fight for survival” (see online news November 9, 2012)
For more information visit iberia.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
