Strikes mean Iberia will cancel 415 flights this month

Iberia on Thursday announced the cancelation of 415 flights in the period February 18-22, the first five of 15 days of stoppages called by labor unions representing ground staff and cabin crews to protest layoffs by the loss-making airline.

In a statement, the carrier said the canceled flights represent some 40 percent of those programmed for the period. It said that 90 percent of long-haul flights will be maintained, as well as 61-percent of medium-haul international flights and 46 percent of domestic ones.

International Airlines Group (IAG), the holding company for the merger of British Airways and Iberia, on Tuesday announced that Iberia will lay off 3,807 workers, some 19 percent of the airline’s workforce. This figure is down from the 4,500 job cuts it announced in a restructuring plan unveiled in November of last year.

Iberia will announce the specific flights to be canceled one day ahead of the stoppages for each of the five days. Passengers can change their tickets or ask to be reimbursed.

Strikes have also been called for the periods March 4-8 and March 18-22. Iberia’s pilots union Sepla said it would join in the March stoppages.

Minimum services

The Public Works Ministry on Wednesday announced the minimum services Iberia will be obliged to offer. These include 50 percent of all routes between Spanish cities and overseas destinations, 100 percent of flights between mainland cities and destinations in the Canary Islands and the Balearics, as well as the North African exclave of Melilla.

They also entail 50 percent of flights within Spain where alternative transport involves a trip of over 500 kilometers and a journey time of over five hours, and 25 percent of flights for journeys below those thresholds.

IAG says the layoffs were needed to return Iberia to profitability. Iberia had lost 850 million euros between 2008 and September of last year, including 262 million in the first nine months of 2012.