EasyJet cabin crew in Portugal began a five-day strike on Friday 2 October that is grounding hundreds of flights to and from Lisbon, Porto and Faro, with knock-on disruption for Bristol Airport services on those routes until the action ends on Tuesday 6 October.
The walkout, called by the SNPVAC union over pay, rostering and working conditions, has already forced the cancellation of 443 flights, around 80% of those scheduled from easyJet's three Portuguese bases, the union told Portuguese news agency Lusa. EasyJet says it expects to run about 55% of its normal Portugal schedule by drawing on aircraft and crew based elsewhere in Europe, according to FTNNews.
Bristol is among the UK airports named as exposed to the disruption. The Sun and Euro Weekly News both report that easyJet's UK-Portugal network includes Bristol alongside Birmingham, Manchester, Gatwick, Luton and Glasgow, and the airline has already cancelled some UK return flights in advance, including services from London Southend, to give passengers time to rearrange travel.
"We are extremely disappointed that the union representing our Portugal-based cabin crew has announced an industrial action from 2 to 6 October, despite our willingness to continue a constructive dialogue and reach an agreement," an easyJet spokesperson said, as reported by the Independent. The airline added it is "doing all we can to minimise disruption" and has contacted affected customers directly with options for a free transfer or refund.
SNPVAC says the dispute centres on unstable rosters, pay progression and pressure on crew to cover staff shortages with overtime. The union has also called a second five-day strike for 19 to 23 December, during the run-up to Christmas, raising the risk of further disruption to Bristol-Portugal routes over the festive period.
Passengers due to fly from Bristol Airport to Lisbon, Porto or Faro before Tuesday should check their booking status directly with easyJet rather than assume their flight is unaffected, since the airline is updating its flight tracker as the strike continues. Flights cancelled because of the strike entitle passengers to a free rebooking or refund, and in many cases compensation since the walkout is not classed as an extraordinary circumstance.
What this means for your journey: if you are flying to Portugal from Bristol this week, confirm your flight status before setting off, and if your plans change at short notice our /parking/ guide has options for flexible and short-notice bookings.