Indefinite Strike: Groundforce's Decision Disrupts Traffic at These 12 Large Airports in Spain

Spain's state-owned company that manages general interest airports and heliports in the country, as well as 15 airports abroad, Aena (Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea), has announced that "an indefinite strike has been called by ground staff at Groundforce, a company that provides services to several airlines, starting Monday, March 30."

"Partial work stoppages have been scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the following time slots: 05:00 to 07:00, 11:00 to 17:00, and 22:00 to 00:00," Aena's X announcement adds.

Passengers who had planned to fly are advised to visit Aena's official website at https://aena.es to see if their airport is affected, and reach out to their airline to find out the status of their flights.

Aena's statement also referred to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility's minimum service levels. 

Minimum Service Levels by Flight Type

• 100% protected (fully maintained):
  • Emergency flights (ambulance, firefighting, organ transport, rescue, etc.)
  • Flights for deportation or transport of detainees
  • Certain essential cargo (medical supplies, perishables, live animals)
• High protection (approx. 70–80% of flights):
  • Domestic flights to/from non-peninsular territories (islands, etc.)
  • Public service obligation routes
• Medium protection (approx. 55–60%):
  • International flights
  • Domestic mainland flights where alternative transport takes more than 5 hours
• Low protection (approx. 30–35%):
  • Domestic mainland flights where alternative transport takes less than 5 hours

Additional protected operations:

• Aircraft positioning flights needed for essential services.
• Flights scheduled before strike hours but landing during them.
• Flights diverted for safety reasons.

Groundforce is responsible for assigning staff to meet these minimums.

The strike, called by CCOO, UGT, and USO unions, will affect all 12 airports where Groundorce is known to operate:

-Barcelona-El Prat

-Madrid-Barajas

-Ibiza

-Palma de Mallorca

-Gran Canaria

-Tenerife

-Fuerteventura

-Bilbao

-Lanzarote

-Alicante

-Valencia

-Malaga

Originally, the strike was scheduled to begin on Friday, March 27.

According to the Federation of Public Services of the CCOO union in the Canary Islands, the strike is expected to impact roughly 1,000 workers in the islands, with special emphasis on the effect on the archipelago "due to the importance of air traffic to the regional economy and the number of workers involved.”