Discomfort in sight for those who planned to leave for the holidays on Saturday 25 June. The aviation sector is in turmoil after the Covid crisis and workers in the sector are in turmoil. The first European strike planned to ask for better contractual conditions was called on the low cost giant Ryanair.
24 hour strike
On Saturday 25 June a new strike, this time lasting 24 hours, by pilots and flight attendants of the airline Ryanair, Malta Air and of the CrewLink company. To proclaim the protest Filt Cgil and Uiltrasporti who accuse: “After the strike of last June 8, we find the persistence of the impossibility of starting a discussion dedicated to the problems that have afflicted the crew for months”.
Coordinated mobilization at European level
The protest of 25 June is part of a coordinated mobilization at the European level. Pilots and flight attendants based in Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium will also be absent from work. The unions explain that “the Italian workers of Ryanair, Malta Air and CrewLink will strike to finally ask for decent work contracts, which guarantee adequate conditions and salaries at least in line with the minimum wages provided for in our country’s national air transport contract”.
The possible inconveniences
Filt CGIL and Uiltrasporti warn that “probable inconveniences are expected on the connections operated by the Ryanair Group, especially towards the countries that will strike”. For its part, the company announces that “the unions that called the strike on 25 June have no members among our crews and for this reason they are not recognized by Ryanair”.
The recovery after the pandemic
After two disastrous years for air transport, due to the necessary restrictions related to the Covid pandemic which led to a drastic reduction in air traffic, sending the sector into crisis, the reduction of infections and the lifting of restrictions in almost all countries brought people back to travel. Only a few destinations have reached pre-pandemic traffic levels but the trend appears to be consolidating. Except that the air transport market, tested by the losses of the last two years, is currently struggling to keep up with demand, squeezed between a shortage of personnel and an increase in operating costs, starting with that of fuel.