The handling sector in the Canary Islands — responsible for ground services to aircraft and passengers — is facing a deepening labour conflict. The UGT union has announced a series of strikes at the Menzies Group, affecting both Tenerife South and Tenerife North airports, with more than 500 workers expected to join the stoppages scheduled for 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31 August.
Scale of the Dispute
At Tenerife North Airport, around 30 ground service employees — primarily those working for Canaryfly — have joined the strike. According to the union, however, all flights at this terminal are covered by minimum services, meaning no cancellations are expected.
The situation is far more critical at Tenerife South Airport, where 480 employees are involved in the protest: 350 from Menzies Ground Services and another 130 from Menzies Aviation. Together, this brings the number of striking staff across the island’s airports to more than 500 workers.
Workers’ Grievances
Isabel Benmodo, UGT’s head of the aviation sector in Tenerife and chair of the works council, stated that the strike is being driven by the company’s failure to respect agreements, including those reached in a November 2024 mediation, which had previously prevented industrial action.
The key issues raised by employees include:
- Wage arrears of up to 18 months, leaving many workers unable to pay mortgages and meet basic financial obligations.
- Abuse of overtime and excessive workloads.
- High turnover of temporary staff, with permanent employees forced to train new recruits repeatedly.
- Unilateral imposition or alteration of holidays, disrupting workers’ personal lives.
- An increase in sick leave, much of it due to psychosocial stress.
“It’s devastating for any worker’s finances,” Benmodo told reporters, noting that the situation has caused widespread hardship among staff.
Failed Mediation Efforts
A mediation session was held on 7 August at the Interconfederal Mediation and Arbitration Service (SIMA), involving union representatives, government officials and the company. However, no agreement was reached.
“They didn’t offer us anything we expected,” Benmodo said.
Minimum Services in Place
The Ministry of Transport has imposed minimum service requirements to reduce the impact of the strikes. At Menzies and Azul Handling (which provides services to Ryanair at Spanish airports), these range from 66% to 81% for routes connecting the Canary Islands with mainland Spain. For inter-island flights and routes where no reasonable alternative exists — particularly at Tenerife North — minimum services exceed 99%, ensuring that almost all such flights operate as planned.
While Ryanair has confirmed it expects no disruption to its operations, the strike at Tenerife South — coinciding with the busiest weeks of the summer — is likely to cause delays and operational difficulties for other airlines, especially those heavily reliant on Menzies for ground support.
