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Talks came to a head on Friday 25th March between union leaders and Spanish Airport Authority AENA on the proposed strike action that would have led to 22 days of walkouts from Spanish airport staff.

Had the talks been unsuccessful, security staff, ground crew and baggage handlers in 47 Spanish airports would have downed tools and in effect ground Spanish tourism to a halt during peak season on select dates designed to coincide with major public holidays from April to August 2011.

With the current political unrest in popular tourist destination Egypt and the Middle East, Spain will be expecting a boost in its number of visitors this year and if the strikes had gone ahead the outcome could have proved disastrous for Spanish tourism.

Relief for Spanish Tourism
The Spanish Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Commerce has released statistics showing that already in the first 2 months of 2011 alone Spain has welcomed 5.5 million foreign tourists to its shores, an increase of 4.5% on 2010. If the strikes were to have gone ahead this number would have dropped dramatically with people avoiding the popular Spanish and Canary Island resorts in favour of Greece and Italy.
Holidaymakers due to fly to Spain or the Canary Islands or even over Spanish air space to Morocco and Portugal around the time of the strikes can now breathe a sigh of relief as after extensive talks, the unions have come to the conclusion they will not go ahead with the industrial action with 70% of their 13,000 employees voting to cancel the strikes.
Their main concerns where that due to the privatisation of AENA there would be job cuts and a decline in the standard of working conditions however guarantees have now been reached on these and various other issues airport staff had concerns about.

Stay Calm
What with airport strikes, natural disasters and political unrest holidaymakers can be excused of late for feeling a little wary when booking their annual trips away. It is important to follow a few simple steps when faced with any complications to your trip to ensure things run as smoothly as possible.
Firstly stay calm, when faced with delays and cancellations people tend to panic, unfortunately this gets you nowhere and no one will be able to help you any sooner than they would if you weren’t shouting the odds. In fact representatives and those giving out the information on what to do and where to go next are more likely to be receptive to you if you are calm and collected.

Secondly be prepared, it is vital that you purchase the correct travel insurance for your needs before you travel, familiarise yourself with the policy and know exactly what you are covered for, take a copy of the documents with you should you be in the situation where you need to refer to it, it pays to be in the know about what you are covered for in these situations and could help to put your mind at rest in a stressful situation.

Finally don’t be afraid to ask your hotel and airline representatives for help, after all its what they are there for and they will have access to a lot more information regarding any delays or cancellations than anyone else. These people are trained to deal with these situations and will more often than not go out of their way to make sure your holiday runs as smoothly as possible.

Photos via Jason Tester and George Benson