Brits heading to Spainduring the Easter holidays could face severe travel disruption amid major airport strikes.

More than a million travellers could be hit by industrial action taking place at popular destinations across Spain over the coming week.

The strikes are being held by Groundforce staff, which provides ground-handling services for several airlines, including easyJet and Jet2. They could impact ground-handling services at Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Málaga, Gran Canaria, Valencia, Ibiza, Bilbao, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

More than 3,000 ground-handling staff are expected to be involved in the walkouts, which have been described as an "indefinite strike". They have been called by unions CC OO, UGT and USO, and experts predict that over 1.34 milliontravellerswill be impacted.

• Abandoned UK airport set for £500million reopening with flights from 2028

• UK tourists rush to 'world's quietest airport' as crowds and queues 'don't exist'

The industrial action, following a dispute over pay, was due to start last Friday, but was postponed until Monday, 30 March. They are taking place at set times every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, during some of the busiest travel times, including from 5am to 7am, from 11am to 5pm, and from 10pm to midnight, and will continue indefinitely.

Following the first morning of the strikes on Monday, the local news outlet, Majorca Daily Bulletin, reported that 12 flights were delayed at Palma airport, which also impacted Ibiza airport. While other reports are yet to be released, there are no signs of the strikes ending anytime soon, with longer queues expected at Spanish airports, along with delayed luggage drops and slower boarding.

Travellers on social media reported queues up to 90 minutes, with some claiming that they missed flights after getting stuck in the “chaos” at Terminal 4.

In a warning to holidaymakers, the Traveler website reported that "travellers heading to Spain over Easter face a challenging season, as walkouts by airport ground staff threaten queues, baggage delays and potential timetable disruption at some of the country’s busiest hubs".

It added that "reports indicate that the stoppages are partial rather than full shutdowns, typically concentrated in several time bands during mornings, midday and late evenings. This pattern mirrors earlier labour disputes at Madrid, where limited ground handling strikes created bottlenecks at baggage reclaim and during boarding, while flights continued to operate under minimum service rules."

It continued: "For most holidaymakers, the most visible impact of the strikes is likely to be queues and slower processing rather than mass cancellations."

In addition, another baggage handler, Menzies, has called for industrial action to take place from April 2 to April 6. These are expected to involve more than 5,000 members of staff with Menzies operating at Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Alicante, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South and Tenerife North.

Groundforce and Menzies had called off their planned industrial action last weekend, before announcing the plans for this week. Spanish airport operator Aena said 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."

Groundforce has been contacted for comment.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com