UK holidaymakers have been issued a warning today as a massive strike engulfs 12 Spanish airports, resulting in chaos. The ground staff walkout commences today at 12 Spanish airports, impacting over a million passengers.

Travel disruptions and delays are anticipated this Easter. Starting from this Monday, an indefinite strike called by unions representing ground staff at several companies over worker rights and contracts will affect a total of 12 Spanish airports.

The strike involves a total of 5,578 workers at the airports.

• Spain airport strikes update as first action set to begin in less than 24 hours


• Passengers flying to Spain, Greece and Turkey should book before Wednesday

• Barcelona-El Prat


• Madrid-Barajas


• Ibiza


• Palma de Mallorca


• Gran Canaria


• Tenerife


• Fuerteventura


• Bilbao


• Lanzarote


• Alicante


• Valencia


• alaga

The work stoppages will occur from 5am to 7am, from 11am to 5pm, and from 10pm to midnight. Spanish media have reported that if no agreement is reached, the protests will be repeated on Wednesday and Friday of this week, during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

Experts estimate that more than 1.34 million travellers will be affected. Airport ground staff and check-in agents are demanding wage increases and are staging intermittent strikes at different times of day. If no agreement is reached, the unions have stated they will continue the strike on weekends until the end of the year, according to Canaria.

The trade unions CCOO, UGT, and USO have announced an indefinite strike for Groundforce ground staff commencing Monday, 30th March. The industrial action will occur across three separate time periods and will impact all 12 airports where the firm is present. The strike was delayed by three days from its original start date of last Friday.

According to the Federation of Public Services of the CCOO union in the Canary Islands, roughly 1,000 workers across the islands will be affected by the strike. The union emphasised that, considering the disruption to such a "key" service within airport operations as ground handling, the dispute is "especially significant in the archipelago due to the importance of air traffic to the regional economy and the number of workers involved."

Meanwhile, the UGT union is also contending with a strike at Menzies, scheduled for 2nd-6th April, stemming from the company's "organisational insolvency," which affects around 600 employees. Management and staff at Menzies held talks over the weekend in an attempt to broker an agreement, with sources familiar with the discussions suggesting that progress has been achieved which could result in a resolution and the calling off of the strike.

Both Groundforce and Menzies called off their planned industrial action last weekend as a goodwill gesture during the continuing negotiations. Spanish airport operator Aena announced in a statement: "Groundforce staff have called an indefinite strike starting 30 March. Partial work stoppages will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during three time slots: 5-7am, 11am-5pm, and 10pm-midnight. Please contact the airline to find out the status of your flight."