Iberia cancels 1,200 flights amid strike action

Spain’s flag carrier has significantly reduced flights next week due to industrial action.

Travel Insurance News - 18/02/2013

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Spain’s flag carrier has significantly reduced flights next week due to industrial action.

Iberia management said on Thursday that more than 1,200 flights – primarily from the carrier’s domestic operations – would be cancelled between 18 and 22 February as a result of labour strikes over cost-cutting efforts and job cuts.

The news comes just days after the company’s parent firm International Airlines Group (IAG), which also owns British Airways, said it was to push forward with a downsizing scheme that will result in more than 3,000 job losses.

IAG chief executive Willie Walsh continues to defend the move, saying that by reducing Iberia by around 15 per cent it will move the airline back toward profitability. Iberia suffered losses totalling to nearly €850 million (£732 million) from 2008 through the third quarter of 2012, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Meanwhile, low-cost carriers Vueling and Iberia Express have also announced schedule reduction as a result of the strikes, as Iberia ground staff carries out baggage and ticketing operations for the two firms. Iberia Express has cancelled around 100 flights through the week, officials said, whilst Vueling said that it would be forced to cut more than 350 flights.

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