No progress in talks with Iberia Express, strike continues in Spain

Iberia Express and the USO union representing the striking flight attendants were unable to reach an agreement on wages on Tuesday. This means the strike will continue until September 6th.

Negotiations stalled after airlines refused to raise crew salaries in line with the 2021 consumer price index (CPI) (6.5%) and adapt their salaries to the ongoing cost of living shock. Since 2015, many staff salaries have been frozen.

read more: Strike at Spain’s Iberia Express airfield

The USO has criticized the airline’s “blocking” stance, saying it “doesn’t consider thinking about the proposed agreement, preferring to let the dispute continue before giving in to collective demands.”

Estefania Diaz, USO representative for Iberia Express, has accused the airline of exacerbating travel disruptions for customers by “not presenting documents like unprotected flights on strike days.” .

In a statement Tuesday, the airline urged USO staff and members to “leave the path of conflict and social conflict” and move toward reaching an agreement.

A USO spokesperson said the strike, which began Aug. 28 and is set to run until Sept. 6, could cause as many as 92 cancellations and affect tens of thousands of passengers.

The disruption has added to the woes of summer travel in both Spain and Europe, with Spain’s aviation sector in particular suffering industrial action at budget rivals EasyJet and Ryanair.

However, the strike has had little effect on the rapid recovery of Spain’s tourism sector after the COVID-19 pandemic. In his first five months of 2022, he had 22.7 million tourists visit the country, according to the Spanish Ministry of Tourism. That’s seven times more than the same period in 2021.

read more: Spain eyes tourism record after ‘dazzling’ summer surge

Iberia Express connects Madrid with about 40 cities in Europe. Spain’s national airline Iberia is owned by his IAG, which also owns British Airways and Ireland’s Aer Lingus.