Chaos At Lisbon Airport: Groundstaff Strike Causes Travel Disruptions And Delays, More To Follow This Year

Monday, July 28, 2025

Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport, a favourite for UK holidaymakers, is now astatine nan centre of recreation disarray, aft grounding unit held a monolithic strike. Menzies workers called nan strike, which has canceled dozens of flights and near travelers successful chaos arsenic they effort to make their planes.

Travellers who were flying retired of Lisbon this weekend, however, were not truthful lucky. Several flights near without bags successful nan clasp pursuing nan strike, according to reports. Ground handling services carried retired by Menzies are affected by nan onslaught and nan backlog of luggage is accumulating successful nan terminals.

Delayed and Canceled Flights Amid Strike Action

The strike, which began connected Friday, July 28, 2025, has caused wide delays, pinch astatine slightest 20 flights being canceled successful nan first 48 hours. Some passengers moreover reported that their bags were near down connected nan tarmac, arsenic groundstaff grounded to unload them owed to nan strike’s impact.

Videos circulating connected societal media showed ample heaps of luggage scattered crossed nan airport, pinch nary contiguous solution successful sight. Affected passengers were near successful limbo, incapable to entree their bags aliases moreover get meticulous accusation astir erstwhile their luggage would get astatine their destinations.

Strike to Continue Until September

This onslaught is portion of a wider run by Menzies workers and nan Transport Workers’ Union, who are protesting for amended moving conditions, including higher wages, night-hour pay, and improved benefits. The onslaught is group to continue, pinch 5 much four-day strikes scheduled for nan weekends done September. The adjacent information of action is group to statesman connected August 8, 2025, and will proceed to impact flights to and from Lisbon Airport.

Carlos Araújo, nan leader of nan Union of Metallurgical and Related Industries (SIMA), warned that it would return astatine slightest a week to reconstruct normalcy astatine Lisbon Airport. “The business is critical, and it is apt that these disruptions will proceed unless nan demands are met,” Araújo stated.

Impact connected Travelers

For travelers readying to alert done Lisbon successful nan coming weeks, it is recommended to enactment successful adjacent interaction pinch airlines to corroborate nan position of flights earlier heading to nan airport. Passengers should besides hole for imaginable delays and disruptions, including nan anticipation of lengthy waits for their luggage.

Lisbon’s Airport Authority, ANA (Airports of Portugal), has advised travelers flying pinch Menzies crushed services to scope retired to their respective airlines to enactment updated connected nan position of their baggage and flights.

Labor Dispute Driving nan Strike

The ongoing onslaught is chiefly driven by labour disputes complete wages and moving conditions. Workers are demanding an extremity to salary that is beneath Portugal’s nationalist minimum wage, alongside amended compensation for nighttime shifts and improvements to wide employment conditions.

In summation to nan costs disputes, workers are protesting cuts to benefits, including nan simplification of parking privileges for unit and different changes to their activity contracts. These demands person spurred nan continuation of strikes, arsenic nan unions scheme to intensify their actions successful nan coming weeks if their demands are not addressed.

A Warning to Other Airports

The chaos astatine Lisbon Airport is simply a stark illustration of nan expanding pressures that Europe’s airports are base during this summer. More strikes planned successful Portugal and crossed Europe intends that holidaymakers could look further disruption complete nan adjacent fewer weeks arsenic strikes and rows inflate nan chaos successful nan skies.

If you’re flying retired of Washington aliases readying to subordinate a summertime picnic successful nan nation’s superior today, you should cheque your formation position early and get stay prepared for immoderate whitethorn come. And nan chances of much recreation disruption are high, fixed nan existent governmental and economical situation successful immoderate European countries.