If some still wanted to go to Portugal after the warning from France on the epidemic situation in the Iberian Peninsula, it will perhaps still be necessary to think of a plan B. Because now it is a strike that disrupts the country's airports. "The Groundforce ground services strike has had a significant impact on the operation of Portuguese airports, especially at Lisbon airport," said a spokesperson for ANA, the airport manager, reporting 277 flights canceled Saturday and at least 345 Sunday. Lisbon airport, "hub" of the national company TAP Air Portugal, was the most affected with nearly 550 canceled flights, against some 450 connections made or maintained.
Devido à greve anunciada pelos trabalhadores da Groundforce, alertamos que está a haver disrupções na operação da TAP durante este fim de semana.
Acompanhem o estado do vosso voo aqui https://t.co/D0eITFNVqc e, para mais informações, consultem a página https://t.co/Sbfi5VtOp2.
- TAP Air Portugal (@tapairportugal) July 17, 2021
The baggage handlers of Groundforce decided on this 48-hour strike to denounce the "situation of unsustainable instability" that the company is experiencing, in the grip of serious financial difficulties against a backdrop of tensions between its main private shareholder and TAP, which owns 49.9% of the capital.
In May, TAP called for the bankruptcy of Groundforce, which had been refused a bank loan of 30 million euros guaranteed by the state.
Read alsoCovid-19: test of less than 24 hours mandatory for non-vaccinated returning from Spain and Portugal
The unions representing its some 2,800 employees, who have suffered late payments since February, have already launched a new strike call for the last weekend of July.
This strike will not help the tourism sector in Portugal after the latest announcements of health restrictions.
