Lisbon airport handling strike spurs cancellation of 200 flights

Strike by Groundforce handlers has major impact on Portuguese flag carrier TAP

Passengers sit on the floor as they wait for their flights due to a strike by  handling company Groundforce, which is causing major disruption at Lisbon Airport, causing the cancellation of dozens of flights, in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday. Photograph: Jose Sena Goulao/EPA
Passengers sit on the floor as they wait for their flights due to a strike by handling company Groundforce, which is causing major disruption at Lisbon Airport, causing the cancellation of dozens of flights, in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday. Photograph: Jose Sena Goulao/EPA

Two hundred flights were cancelled at Lisbon airport on Saturday at the start of a two-day strike by Groundforce handling company workers, with more cancellations likely before the action ends on Sunday evening, the company that manages Portugal's airports (ANA) said.

A spokesman for the Union of Airport Handling Technicians, which called the strike, told local news agency Lusa that about 100 per cent of workers had taken part in the strike in Lisbon on Saturday, the busiest airport in the country.

The strike has had a huge impact on Portuguese flag carrier TAP, which uses Groundforce’s handling services, but it has not affected low-cost airlines. Groundforce workers are demanding that the handling company, which is in serious financial difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic, pay wages without any delay, along with this year’s holiday pay.

Passengers wait for hours for their flights due to a strike by the handling company, Groundforce, at Lisbon Airport,  Lisbon, Portugal. Photograph: Jose Sena Goulao/EPA
Passengers wait for hours for their flights due to a strike by the handling company, Groundforce, at Lisbon Airport, Lisbon, Portugal. Photograph: Jose Sena Goulao/EPA

The strike mainly affects the operation of Lisbon airport, and has little impact on the other nine Portuguese airports, ANA chief executive Thierry Ligonnière said. "We still anticipate difficulties tomorrow and a progressive return to normal on Monday," Mr Ligonnière told reporters.

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Groundforce is 50.1 per cent owned by the Portuguese firm Pasogal and 49.9 per cent by the TAP-Air Portugal group, which in turn is 72.5 per cent controlled by the Portuguese state.

TAP offered to lend the money necessary for Groundforce to pay the holiday pay to its workers, but the proposal was turned down by the handling company. – Reuters