Ryanair strikes – LIVE: Airline's Spanish cabin crew call off today's walkout but further action still expected

Unions USO and Sitcpla, which represent Ryanair staff in Spain, have called for walkouts on 8, 10 and 13 January after failing to reach an agreement with the budget carrier.

The strike applies to all cabin crew across Spain, according to the unions. Spain’s Ministry of Public Works has agreed to a minimum operation of: 100 per cent of domestic flights, 35 per cent of flights to and from mainland Spain with a flight time of less than five hours and 57 per cent of routes to and from mainland Spain with a flight time of five hours or more during the strike.

However, Ryanair said in a statement: “Due to the efforts of the Spanish Government minimum services regulator, and the support of our pilots and cabin crew in Spain, we expect to operate a full schedule of flights to/from (and within) Spain on 8 January. All passengers scheduled to fly should check in online as normal and arrive at their departure airport at least 2 hours prior to their time of scheduled departure.”

This morning there were also strikes elsewhere in Europe.

Security workers at Berlin’s Tegel Airport walked out between 5am and 8.45am, the busiest time of the week for outbound departures. The strike triggered cancellations that will disrupt travel this morning.

Lufthansa and its subsidiaries Eurowings were hardest hit, with multiple flights to Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich grounded. Services to Paris, Copenhagen, Basel, Zurich and Vienna were among the international flights cancelled.

Meanwhile, Ryanair has been voted the worst airline serving the UK for the sixth year running.

The low-cost airline scored a customer rating of just 40 per cent in Which?’s annual survey.

Participants were asked to rate airlines on boarding, seats, comfort, refreshments and the cabin environment.

Out of almost 8,000 respondents, 70 per cent said they would never travel on Ryanair.

Here's everything that passengers need to know about their entitlement when a flight is delayed or cancelled.

It remains unclear whether any flights will be disrupted by Spanish cabin crew strikes on 8 January.

While Ryanair claims, "we expect to operate a full schedule of flights to/from (and within) Spain," and that "no flights are cancelled," the union Sitcpla says the airline is "lying once again to all of their customers."

A spokesperson told The Independent: "It is clear that with the minimum services some flights will be affected."

They accused Ryanair of rostering double the number of crew needed on strike days to compensate, "disregarding the sanctions already in place by the high labour inspectorate in Spain."

The USO union has confirmed it is meeting with the Labour Ministry this morning to negotiate an agreement to cancel the strikes.

A USO spokesperson told The Independent: "It is very difficult, because we have already had a lot of meetings with them but they refuse to follow the Spanish legislation in every point.

"Our Transport Ministry has published an order called 'minimum services'. It's compulsory for strikes, and there it is a percentage of flights which must be operated.

"Maybe some international flights could be cancelled, because minimum services take care specially flights between Spain mainland and Canary and Balearic islands."

According to union Sitcpla, Ryanair has threatened crew in Tenerife and Gran Canaria with closing down their local bases if no agreement is reached by 18 January.

In a photo of one of the HR meetings on 3 January shared with The Independent, the airline's presentation states that, if a recognition agreement is signed by cabin crew unions by 18 January, "Ryanair will absorb inefficiency of Canarian bases."

However, if no agreement is reached, "TFS (South Tenerife Airport) and LPA (Gran Canaria Airport) bases will close on 1 March 2019" with "all other Spanish bases under review, further cuts possible."

Ryanair claims this is a commercial decision and nothing to do with the strike.

Ryanair is responding to customer queries on Twitter about whether their flights are affected by the strikes with the following message:

Flights are scheduled to operate,  if your flight is affected you will receive an email and a text message with all the details, please follow this link to see up to date information on flights: http://tinyurl.com/newfk2f

This is not reassuring all passengers. Naomi G tweeted: "So how soon will we know? And how likely is it that we will be affected? Very worrying."

Spanish cabin crew unions and Ryanair management are meeting this afternoon in a last-ditch attempt to resolve the conflict and cancel the strikes.

Spanish news agency EFE writes: "This last negotiation table, which started later than expected due to the delay of the mediators, brings together, as head of Ryanair, its Chief of Staff, Edward Wilson, and the representatives of USO and Sitcpla."

Union Sitcpla tweeted: "Crew and #Ryanair face a final meeting to avoid the #huelga [strike]".

Carolina Vicente, travel expert at Columbus Direct, advises those affected by the strikes:

As Ryanair is a European airline, if you are due to travel during this time and your flight is cancelled you are protected.

You have the option to take an alternative flight with the airline to your destination, or cancel your flight and claim a full refund.

If the alternative flight Ryanair offer isn’t at the right time for you Ryanair is legally required to book you on a comparable flight with them or an alternative airline.

You should not be charged anymore for this.

She adds that those whose flights are cancelled with less than 14 days' notice are eligible for compensation. However, Ryanair is adamant that any flights disrupted by strikes fall under the bracket of "extraordinary circumstances", meaning no compensation is due.

If passengers' flights are disrupted by strikes, their rights are very clear, according to The Independent's travel correspondent Simon Calder.

He says: "Whatever the circumstances of the cancellation, the European rules are clear. It is the airline’s responsibility to sort out your journey, finding another flight – either on its own services or a rival – and providing meals and, if necessary, accommodation until it can get you where you need to be.

"If the airline does not carry out its duty, forcing you to make your own arrangements, then you can expect reasonable costs to be refunded.

"By 'reasonable', I mean booking the cheapest alternative ticket possible, staying in a budget hotel if there is one, etc. And you must keep all your receipts, of course."