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Travel news · 6 min read · Updated March 20th, 2026

Travel disruption this week – advice for Holiday Extras customers

Spanish airport ground handling strikes over Easter (27 March – 6 April) · Italian ATC strike 10 April · Eurowings pilot strike threat

Updated March 20th 2026 – The biggest disruption risk for UK travellers this Easter comes from Spain. Ground handling staff at airports across Spain — including Majorca, the Canary Islands and other major tourist hubs — are planning industrial action throughout the Easter holiday period, from late March through to 6 April.

Menzies staff at Gran Canaria, Tenerife North and Tenerife South have announced strike action on 28–29 March and 2–6 April, with Jet2 and easyJet among the airlines directly affected. Separately, Groundforce staff — covering around 12 Spanish airports including Palma de Mallorca — plan an indefinite partial strike from 27 March, with stoppages every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Around 250 Groundforce staff at Lanzarote Airport are also striking on the same Mon/Wed/Fri pattern from 27 March.

Talks between unions and employers are scheduled for today, Friday 20 March. If no agreement is reached, these strikes will go ahead as planned. Spanish law requires minimum service levels to be maintained, so full cancellations are unlikely — but delays, slow baggage handling and longer queues are expected at busy tourist airports throughout the Easter fortnight.

Looking further ahead, Italian air traffic controllers (ENAV) have called a 4-hour strike on 10 April, which will affect flights across Italy during the afternoon. Separately, Eurowings pilots have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in a dispute over pensions — no date has been announced yet, but the next round of talks is scheduled for 25 March.

The Belgian nationwide strike and Lufthansa pilot strike that disrupted travel on 12–13 March, and the Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) ground staff strike on 18 March, are now over. Normal operations have resumed.

If you are due to travel to or from Spain over Easter, we strongly recommend checking your flight status directly with your airline before travelling and allowing extra time at the airport.

Our advice if your journey may be affected

Check your airline first: look up your flight status before you travel and allow plenty of extra time at the airport.
For flights to/from the Canary Islands (28–29 March and 2–6 April): Menzies ground handling staff at Gran Canaria (LPA), Tenerife North (TFN) and Tenerife South (TFS) are striking on these dates. Jet2 and easyJet are among the airlines most exposed. Expect possible delays to baggage, boarding and check-in. Monitor your airline's app or website closely and allow significant extra time.
For flights to/from Lanzarote (from 27 March): Groundforce staff at Lanzarote Airport are striking every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 27 March. If your travel falls on one of those days, expect slower ground operations and possible knock-on delays.
For flights to/from Palma de Mallorca and other mainland Spanish airports (from 27 March): Groundforce operates ground handling at approximately 12 Spanish airports. Their indefinite partial strike runs from 27 March, with stoppages on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Palma (PMI), Alicante (ALC), Málaga (AGP), Barcelona (BCN) and other popular holiday airports may be affected on those days.
For flights via Italy on 10 April: Italian air traffic controllers are striking from 13:00 to 17:00. Under Italian law, flights during the protected windows of 07:00–10:00 and 18:00–21:00 should operate, but delays and backlogs are likely into the evening.
For Eurowings passengers: no strike date has been set, but if talks on 25 March break down, disruption could be announced at short notice. Keep an eye on eurowings.com for updates.
Check the flexibility of your Holiday Extras bookings:

Customers with Flextras: Free cancellations can cancel any time up to midnight before the booked day of travel. You'll receive a flexible voucher to rebook once your new travel details are confirmed.
Flextras: Saver customers can cancel for a voucher to use against the same product once new plans are confirmed.

Use our online amends system to change dates, times, terminals or cancel your booking if required.

What disruption to expect

Spanish airport ground handling strikes – Easter 2026 (ongoing threat)

Menzies – Canary Islands: 28–29 March and 2–6 April

Around 400 Menzies workers at Gran Canaria (LPA), Tenerife North (TFN) and Tenerife South (TFS) airports are set to strike on 28–29 March and from 2–6 April.
The action was called by the UGT union over unpaid or incorrect wages, poor shift planning and long hours. The union says the current airport contract system puts cost-cutting above staff conditions.
Airlines confirmed as affected include Jet2 and easyJet. Other carriers using these airports should also expect disruption to ground services.
Flights are expected to operate, but delays to baggage handling, check-in and boarding are likely, particularly on peak Easter travel days around 28–29 March and 4–6 April.
Talks are taking place on 20 March. If no deal is reached, these dates are confirmed.

Groundforce – 12 Spanish airports including Palma: indefinite from 27 March

The CCOO, UGT and USO unions have announced an indefinite partial strike at Groundforce starting 27 March, covering approximately 12 airports where Groundforce holds handling contracts.
Stoppages will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, in three daily time slots: 05:00–07:00, 11:00–17:00, and 22:00–00:00.
Airports likely affected include Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Alicante (ALC), Málaga (AGP), Barcelona El Prat (BCN), Madrid Barajas (MAD), Ibiza (IBZ), Seville (SVQ), Valencia (VLC) and others.
The dispute centres on pay scale calculations — unions say Groundforce has applied a "unilateral interpretation" of the collective agreement, leaving staff with a 4.58% pay increase rather than the 7.82% they are owed under 2026 salary tables.
Around 250 Groundforce staff at Lanzarote are also striking separately on the same Mon/Wed/Fri pattern from 27 March.
Spanish minimum service laws mean full cancellations are unlikely, but delays and slower operations are to be expected on strike days throughout the Easter period.

Italian air traffic control strike – Friday 10 April

ENAV air traffic control staff, represented by the UILT-UIL union, have called a 4-hour national strike from 13:00 to 17:00 on 10 April.
Delays and cancellations are expected across Italian airports during the afternoon, with potential knock-on backlogs into the evening.
The protected morning (07:00–10:00) and evening (18:00–21:00) windows should be less affected.

Eurowings pilot strike – threat, no date set

Eurowings pilots represented by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union have voted 94% in favour of strike action in a dispute over company pension contributions, mirroring the conflict that led to the Lufthansa walkouts earlier this month.
No strike date has been announced. The next round of negotiations between VC and Eurowings management is scheduled for 25 March.
If talks collapse, strike action could be announced at short notice and would affect Eurowings departures from German airports.
Passengers with Eurowings bookings in late March or April should monitor the situation and ensure they have flexible ticketing or Flextras cover in place.

Previous disruptions (now resolved)

Berlin Brandenburg Airport ground staff strike – Wednesday 18 March (over)

All scheduled passenger flights were cancelled at BER on 18 March after the Verdi union called a full-day warning strike. Around 445 departures and arrivals affecting approximately 57,000 passengers were grounded. Normal operations have since resumed.
Negotiations between Verdi and BER management are due to resume on 25 March. Further strikes at BER cannot be ruled out if there is no breakthrough.

Italian aviation strikes – Wednesday 18 March (over)

Ground handling at Milan Malpensa and Linate was disrupted for 24 hours, and EasyJet crews across Italy struck from 13:00–17:00. Normal operations have resumed.

Belgian nationwide strike – Thursday 12 March (over)

No departing flights operated at Brussels Airport or Brussels South Charleroi Airport on 12 March. Normal services have since resumed.

Lufthansa pilot strike – Thursday 12 & Friday 13 March (over)

The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots' union staged a 48-hour strike covering all Lufthansa Passenger Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo flights departing from German airports. Normal Lufthansa operations resumed from Saturday 14 March.
If you were affected and have not yet received a rebooking or refund, contact Lufthansa directly. As this was a strike by the airline's own staff, Lufthansa is required to pay EU261 compensation (€250–€600 per passenger) for cancellations and delays of over three hours.

Travel insurance

Travel insurance cover for strike-related disruption varies by policy and insurer. In general, you should:

Contact your airline, rail operator or tour operator first to request rebooking or refunds if your service is cancelled.
Check your policy wording for cover relating to strikes, cancellation, travel delay and missed departure.
Be aware that the Spanish Easter strikes were publicly announced on or around 18–19 March 2026. If you book travel to Spain after this date, the strikes may be treated as a known event by some insurers, which could affect your ability to claim.

If you hold a Holiday Extras travel insurance policy and have questions about your cover, please let us know with this Contact Form and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

UK government travel advice

For the latest official travel information, check the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) pages for the relevant country.

Customers already abroad

If your plans are changing and you have a booking with us that you cannot amend using our online amends system, please use this Contact Form and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible.

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