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Spain’s Valencia set for airport strike over Easter holidays

Workers at one of Spain’s busiest airports have announced that they will strike during key dates over the Easter break. This is what we know so far about affected flights.

Published: 18 March 2024 12:54 CET
Spain's Valencia set for airport strike over Easter holidays
Passengers wait to board a Ryanair plane at Valencia airport. (Photo by JOSE JORDAN / AFP)

Valencia’s Manises airport is set for a strike over the Easter holidays in Spain, from Maundy Thursday (March 28th) until Easter Monday (April 1st).

Valencia airport workers belonging to Spain’s national airport operator Aena have called the stoppage to protest against the lack of staff members, their long working hours and lack of compensation for extra work hours as well as below-bar airport facilities such as canteen for workers open permanently during work hours.

The strikes are scheduled to take place between 11am and 1pm on each of those dates, during which striking employees will hold demonstrations in front of Terminal 1.  

“All our complaints have been fruitless, we’ve been painted and have waited for action, but now that talks have stopped, it’s necessary for us to go one step further and recover what rightfully belongs to us,” reads the Aena workers’ strike manifesto. 

“We’ve proposed a strike calendar, with enough time to resume negotiations in the hope of reaching an agreement and for our requests to be made a reality.”

If the strike does go ahead, reports suggest that several dozen flights could be cancelled, delayed or rescheduled.

On Thursday 28th, flights that could be affected by the stoppage include:

  • Ryanair flights connecting Valencia with Rome, Milan Bologna, Breslavia and Sofia 
  • United and Lufthansa flights connecting Valencia with Frankfurt and Munich
  • Easyjet and British Airways flights between Valencia and London
  • Turkish Airlines flights between Valencia and Istanbul
  • Air Europa flights between Valencia and Palma de Mallorca
  • Swiss flights connecting Valencia to Zurich
  • Volotea flights between Valencia and A Coruña
  • Eurowings’ Valencia-Stuttgart flights

On Friday 29th, flights that could be cancelled are:

  • Ryanair flights connecting Valencia to Milan, Treviso, Trieste, Dublin, Marrakech and Palma de Mallorca
  • SAP and Tap Portugal flights between Valencia and Lisbon

There is no further information yet about which flights will be affected on Saturday 30th, Sunday 31st and Monday April 1st.

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VALENCIA

Why a row is brewing over Valencia’s refusal to hang the LGBTQ+ flag

A culture war battle is brewing in Valencia after the right-wing city council decided not to hang the LGBTQ+ flag on the balcony of the town hall building just a few hours before International Pride Day.

Published: 2 July 2024 10:22 CEST
Why a row is brewing over Valencia's refusal to hang the LGBTQ+ flag

This has caused outrage among the city’s LGBTQ+ community and beyond, with national politicians wading into the debate and controversial comments from city council members and even the city’s mayor.

Valencia’s city council is a coalition of the centre-right Partido Popular and far-right Vox party.

In response to the decision, the opposition PSPV then hung a huge 60 metre long LGBTQ+ flag from its party headquarters in front of the town hall.

Faced with criticism from opposition parties, the city’s PP mayor, María José Catalá, stated that the council won’t hang the flag from the town hall because, if it did, it would also be obliged to put up “all the flags and social needs” that Valencia has.

“I respect the freedom of my opposition to put up whatever they consider in their offices, but if I put up the Pride flag I also have to put up the Alzheimer’s, ALS or cancer flags,” Catalá said.

The comment has caused widespread anger. Spain’s Minister for Equality, Ana Redondo, challenged Catalá on social media. “Loving is not an illness. The WHO eliminated homosexuality from its list of psychiatric illnesses in 1990,” the minister said.

The Socialist-led Spanish government is studying whether to take legal action against Valencia’s mayor, to which she has replied “I’m not a homophobe, give it a rest!”. Other members of her government have accused the opposition of politicising Pride celebrations. 

In response to the growing criticism, sources from the town hall have stressed to Spanish state broadcaster RTVE that no flags or banners were placed on the town hall balcony because, as announced last November, they have been replaced by two digital screens which are used to celebrate international days, such as International Pride Day, which projected LGBTQ+ material in the weekend leading up.

“The problem is that you’re not in power now, and you’re bothered by the PP being in government and that we’ve celebrated Pride in our city, that’s the problem,” PP politician Rocio Gil told the Valencian City Hall.

“We’ve carried out the same celebrations that you did (Socialists) and even more activities”.

In addition, 200 posters were put up on billboards around the city, seven buses were given special LGBTQ+ designs, and the outside of the town hall itself was illuminated with a projection of the LGTBQ+ flag.

It’s not the first time that a row break outs in Spain over the refusal of right-wing governed town halls to hang LGBTQ+ flags.

In fact, Guadalajara, Toledo, Talavera de la Reina and Ciudad Real have all followed Valencia City Hall’s example this year. 

Spain consistently ranks among the most gay-friendly countries in the world according to international studies but there is opposition in some sectors of society to progressive measures such as these.

READ ALSO: Is Spain really a tolerant country when it comes to LGBTIQ+ people?

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