Travel chaos for Vueling passengers as hundreds of flights cancelled in pilot strike

Low-cost airline Vueling have been forced to cancel hundreds of flights to and from airports across Spain this week after its pilots stage a 24-hour strike.

Vueling pilots have called the industrial action for May 3rd and 4th affecting many domestic flights within Spain as well as those to destinations across Europe.

The airline says it will notify passengers affected by delays and cancellations but stresses that 81 percent of flights should operate normally.

It is the second strike called by Vueling pilots in less than a week.

Spanish airline pilots union (SEPLA) and Vueling, owned by British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group are in a dispute over employment contracts and the airline’s refusal to guarantee greater growth in Spain than at its bases abroad.

Vueling currently has around 1,000 pilots based in Spain and only about 150 overseas. But it is feared this could change as bases are moved abroad.

SEPLA) claims that Vueling pilots receive 30 percent less on average than their main low-cost competitors including Ryanair and EasyJet.

“Now that Vueling is tripling its profits, and that there have even been distributions of up to €100 million of dividends before results, the conditions for the pilots do not change,” complained Juan Manuel Redondo, head of the trade union section of SEPLA at  Vueling.

Passengers affected by cancellations should contact the airline to change reservations for the next available flight.

Call Vueling’s customer support line:+34 93 122 42 95