The most stressful part of a holiday tends to be the planning. Spending months finding the exact right flights and hotels, arguing with friends/family/both about how hot is too hot. You breathe a sigh of relief when you finally confirm the booking and definitely do not expect your flight to be cancelled the day before it was due to take off.
Unfortunately for thousands of holidaymakers who were supposed to be travelling this week, that is the reality. A whopping 232 easyJet journeys between various airports in the UK and Portugal have been cancelled due to striking cabin crew from August 15-17.
Not every flight over the three-day strike will be cancelled, but if you were due to head over to, or return from, anywhere in Portugal on an easyJet plane over the next couple of days, there is a chance that you’ll be affected by the disruptions. Here’s everything you need to know about the easyJet flight cancellations happening for the next couple of days.
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When are easyJet cancelling flights?
A lot of flights have been cancelled, but they’re all pretty contained within a short period of time. So far, only journeys on August 15, 16 and 17 are affected, so fingers crossed that it stays that way.
Industrial action caused easyJet to cancel more than 1700 flights last year, so they’re actually doing pretty well all things considered. We’ll keep you updated on if there are any changes to current plans from the airline, but at the moment it looks likely to only be three days of chaos.
Which airports and flights are impacted?
EasyJet journeys between any UK airports, excluding those in Northern Ireland, and Portugal are at risk. This means five bases across Scotland and England, including Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, London Gatwick, and Luton, will see trips to and from Lisbon, Porto, and Faro cancelled.
The exact flights which will manage to take to the skies against all odds is yet to be seen, and easyJet recommends you keep an eye on the app for the most up to date information.
Why are flights being cancelled?
You will be shocked to discover that the cause of these travel disruptions is… strikes.
According to Portugal's National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Staff (NUCAFS), the three day strike has been called in protest of a number of disagreements with easyJet, including lack of stability with shifts and rotas, insufficient staffing, and pressure to work overtime.
What’s been said about the strikes so far?
Initially, the union had said that they hoped the airline would ‘find solutions to avoid the strike’, but obviously that didn’t happen. A representative for NUCAFS said that conditions for staff ‘never cease to worsen’, so they are unlikely to call off their downing of tools before an agreement is met.
On easyJet’s side, the airline has described the action as ‘needless,’ saying: ‘We are extremely disappointed… especially at this important time of the year for our customers.
‘Our priority has been to try and minimise the impact of this strike action on our customers, which included cancelling some flights in advance in order to allow them to rearrange their travel plans.’
The airline added that ‘customers whose flight has been affected have already been contacted a number of days ago with their options to rebook or receive a refund.’
How do I know if my easyJet flight is cancelled?
You’ll receive an email from easyJet if your flight is going to be affected, but the airline says that the best way to keep up to date is to download the app and check the flight tracker on there. If you haven’t heard anything and your app still says everything is going ahead as planned, you can assume your holiday is safe until you hear differently.
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?
Not only does your airline have to put you up in a hotel if the cancellation leaves you stranded, you should be given the option to either rebook free of charge or get a full refund in either cash or voucher form.
You can read easyJet’s entire policy on cancellations on their website here.
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