MADRID: Easyjet's Spanish pilots walked out on Friday, August 12 calling for the reinstatement of conditions they enjoyed before the coronaviruses, two weeks after a strike by the low-cost carrier's cabin crew resulted in a deal.
The new Easyjet stoppages will add to the problems facing the sector, as it comes at the peak of the summer tourist season.
The crew at Ryanair have been staging 24 hour walkouts since June, which are likely to continue until January 2023, unions said.
The pilots of Easyjet are planning a first three-day strike from Friday at the airports of Barcelona, Malaga and the Mediterranean islands of Palma de Majorca and Minorca, according to the SEPLA union.
Two more three-day walkouts are planned later in August.
After more than six months of negotiations, the pilots' representatives have rejected all proposals made by the company, the only possible alternative is this, the union said.
The airline cancelled eight flights on Friday, most of them from Barcelona, Spain's second-busiest airport.
The union said that during the worst months of the epidemic, we agreed to lower our salaries to ensure not only jobs but the survival of the company in Spain.
The company doesn't want to recover the working conditions.
"We are not asking for anything that we did not have two years ago," said a union spokesman.
In late July, EasyJet said it took a sizeable financial hit from sector-wide disruptions, including staff shortages, but also slashed quarterly losses as demand recovered.
Just days later, EasyJet cabin crews ended their strike after reaching a deal with management to raise wages by 22 percent over three years.