Spanish air travellers faced fresh disruption on Monday, 30 March 2026, as the first partial day of an indefinite strike by Groundforce ramp agents began to bite. According to flight-information data published by airport operator Aena and local reports, at least seven flights—three departures and four arrivals—left Palma de Mallorca’s Son Sant Joan Airport behind schedule during the first strike window between 05:00 and 07:00. No cancellations were reported, but passengers experienced queues at check-in and baggage-handling points. The industrial action, called by the CCOO, UGT and USO unions, affects the 3,000-strong workforce of Groundforce, the handling subsidiary of Air Europa that provides check-in, ramp and baggage services at twelve of Spain’s busiest airports: Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Palma, Ibiza, Málaga, Alicante, Valencia, Bilbao, Las Palmas, Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
![Groundforce strike hits Spanish airports on first day, causing delays in Palma]()
Amid these uncertainties, VisaHQ can help travellers and corporate mobility teams stay one step ahead by streamlining visa and travel-document requirements online. Its dedicated Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) offers up-to-date entry guidance and expedited processing options, ensuring last-minute itinerary changes triggered by strikes or delays don’t leave passengers without the paperwork they need.
Unions accuse the company of failing to honour inflation-linked pay clauses contained in Article 94 of the sectoral collective agreement and of using a “restrictive” interpretation of Article 96 that has frozen wages since 2022. They have therefore scheduled rolling stoppages every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in three four-hour blocks—05:00-07:00, 11:00-17:00 and 22:00-00:00—until the dispute is resolved. The Ministry of Transport has set minimum-service requirements of up to 70 % at Son Sant Joan and similar levels at other affected airports, muting the immediate operational impact but still leaving airlines scrambling to re-roster staff and warn customers of possible delays. With the Semana Santa holiday peak starting this week, Spanish carriers—particularly low-cost operators that rely on tight turnarounds—face a logistical headache. Travel-management companies are already advising corporate clients to allow extra time at departure airports and to avoid tight domestic connections for the duration of Easter week. For employers moving assignees or hosting business meetings in Spain, the strike adds another layer of complexity on top of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) testing phase and the lingering ETIAS start-up. Human-resources teams are urged to monitor flight status notifications closely and to brief travellers on contingency plans, including remote participation options and flexible hotel bookings. If negotiations fail, unions could expand the walkouts to include handlers from rival firm Menzies, potentially doubling the disruption at key hubs such as Palma and Barcelona.
Amid these uncertainties, VisaHQ can help travellers and corporate mobility teams stay one step ahead by streamlining visa and travel-document requirements online. Its dedicated Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) offers up-to-date entry guidance and expedited processing options, ensuring last-minute itinerary changes triggered by strikes or delays don’t leave passengers without the paperwork they need.
Unions accuse the company of failing to honour inflation-linked pay clauses contained in Article 94 of the sectoral collective agreement and of using a “restrictive” interpretation of Article 96 that has frozen wages since 2022. They have therefore scheduled rolling stoppages every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in three four-hour blocks—05:00-07:00, 11:00-17:00 and 22:00-00:00—until the dispute is resolved. The Ministry of Transport has set minimum-service requirements of up to 70 % at Son Sant Joan and similar levels at other affected airports, muting the immediate operational impact but still leaving airlines scrambling to re-roster staff and warn customers of possible delays. With the Semana Santa holiday peak starting this week, Spanish carriers—particularly low-cost operators that rely on tight turnarounds—face a logistical headache. Travel-management companies are already advising corporate clients to allow extra time at departure airports and to avoid tight domestic connections for the duration of Easter week. For employers moving assignees or hosting business meetings in Spain, the strike adds another layer of complexity on top of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) testing phase and the lingering ETIAS start-up. Human-resources teams are urged to monitor flight status notifications closely and to brief travellers on contingency plans, including remote participation options and flexible hotel bookings. If negotiations fail, unions could expand the walkouts to include handlers from rival firm Menzies, potentially doubling the disruption at key hubs such as Palma and Barcelona.
