Iberia cancels flights due to new wave of strikes

April 5, 2012
Spanish national airline Iberia has announced the cancellation of 250 flights schedules for the 13th and 16th of April as a result of the latest round of strikes called by the pilots' union SEPLA.

Spanish national airline Iberia has announced the cancellation of 250 flights schedules for the 13th and 16th of April as a result of the latest round of strikes called by the pilots' union SEPLA.

SPELA called strikes for every Friday and Monday between April 9th and July 20th in protest at the launch of Iberia's low cost airline "Iberia Express."

The pilots say Iberia Express, which began operation in the last Sunday of March, will seriously affect their working conditions and their collective agreement with the company.

Iberia Express is expected to take on all of Iberia's short and medium haul flights over the coming 3-4 years.

Talks with a government appointed mediator at the end of March, which were aimed at preventing any further strikes on top of the 12 days of industrial action the pilots had already held between December and February, broke down amid accusations that Iberia was unwilling to make concessions and SEPLA announced a further round of action.

A total of 122 international and internal flights have been cancelled for April 13th and a further 128 for the following Friday.

Meanwhile, Iberia has intensified the conflict by presenting a case at the Spanish national court in an attempt to have the strike declared illegal. SEPLA has welcomed this move. "In the face of the lack of interest and negotiating ability shown by Iberia, SEPLA is pleased it will be a judge that decides over the legality of what the company is doing," commented the union.

Copyright 2012 Xinhua News Agency