More than 3,000 ground-handling staff employed by Azul Handling—Ryanair’s in-house services subsidiary—commenced an indefinite strike on 22 December after five months of limited stoppages failed to yield a new collective agreement. The walk-outs affect all 27 Spanish airports in which Ryanair operates, including major hubs Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat.
Unions UGT and CGT accuse the company of wage dumping, unpredictable rosters and unpaid overtime. They have scheduled daily stoppages in three peak blocks (05:00-09:00, 12:00-15:00 and 21:00-23:59) through 31 December. Ryanair claims it can “operate as normal”, but early-morning check-in queues at Málaga and Valencia stretched beyond 90 minutes, and baggage delivery at Alicante was reported to be exceeding two hours.
For travelers who must transit Spain during this disruption, having paperwork squared away can mitigate at least one source of stress. VisaHQ’s platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) consolidates visa, passport-renewal and transit-permit services for Spain and onward destinations, giving corporate travel teams and individual passengers real-time tracking and support in a single dashboard.
![Ryanair ground-handling strike threatens Christmas operations across Spanish airports]()
Corporate travel managers should prepare for cascading knock-on effects: aircraft restricted from overnight parking may lose morning slots, and priority passenger handling is expected to slow. Under EU Regulation 261/2004, employers must offer duty-of-care assistance and compensation for delays exceeding three hours or cancellations without adequate notice.
Legal specialists note that the strike coincides with Spain’s peak holiday travel week, amplifying leverage but also raising political pressure. The Ministry of Transport has imposed minimum-service decrees, yet unions argue that up to 90 % of staff have been requisitioned, making the right to strike “purely symbolic” and prompting potential court appeals.
Ryanair passengers connecting onward to Africa or Latin America via Spanish gateways are most exposed; travel-risk advisories suggest allowing at least six hours for connections and shipping critical equipment as cabin baggage where possible.
Unions UGT and CGT accuse the company of wage dumping, unpredictable rosters and unpaid overtime. They have scheduled daily stoppages in three peak blocks (05:00-09:00, 12:00-15:00 and 21:00-23:59) through 31 December. Ryanair claims it can “operate as normal”, but early-morning check-in queues at Málaga and Valencia stretched beyond 90 minutes, and baggage delivery at Alicante was reported to be exceeding two hours.
For travelers who must transit Spain during this disruption, having paperwork squared away can mitigate at least one source of stress. VisaHQ’s platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) consolidates visa, passport-renewal and transit-permit services for Spain and onward destinations, giving corporate travel teams and individual passengers real-time tracking and support in a single dashboard.
Corporate travel managers should prepare for cascading knock-on effects: aircraft restricted from overnight parking may lose morning slots, and priority passenger handling is expected to slow. Under EU Regulation 261/2004, employers must offer duty-of-care assistance and compensation for delays exceeding three hours or cancellations without adequate notice.
Legal specialists note that the strike coincides with Spain’s peak holiday travel week, amplifying leverage but also raising political pressure. The Ministry of Transport has imposed minimum-service decrees, yet unions argue that up to 90 % of staff have been requisitioned, making the right to strike “purely symbolic” and prompting potential court appeals.
Ryanair passengers connecting onward to Africa or Latin America via Spanish gateways are most exposed; travel-risk advisories suggest allowing at least six hours for connections and shipping critical equipment as cabin baggage where possible.
