Easter holiday chaos ahead warning with major delays at Spanish airports

Ground handling workers at Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Malaga, Palma and Canaries airports are striking from Monday(Image: Jordan Lye via Getty Images)

Strikes at one of Spain's most popular airports have caused long queues and several delays to services, with up to 800,000 passengers set to be impacted across the Easter holidays.

Walkouts by ground‑handling staff plunged Palma Airport into chaos for a second day running, right as thousands of families began their Easter getaway. Frustrated passengers reported bottlenecks snaking through the departure halls, while airport sources confirmed that by midday on Tuesday (March 31), 12 flights had already been delayed.

The strike, launched by the CCOO, UGT and USO unions, involves Groundforce workers and has been declared indefinite. Staff are downing tools in three daily waves, from 5-7am, 11am-5pm and 10pm-midnight, hitting all 12 Spanish airports where the company operates, including the busy Palama hub.

Travellers had already been warned to prepare for delays, with the industrial action coinciding with the first major test of the EU's new Entry/Exit system, introduced late last year. Airport authorities expect around 800,000 passengers to pass through Palma over the Easter period, surpassing last year's figures.