Air traffic in Europe was slightly disrupted on Friday after the start of the summer season following a strike by Brussels Airlines and Ryanair, with employees protesting work pressure amid crew shortages.

Several European unions are calling on Ryanair hosts to go on strike from Friday in Spain, Portugal and Belgium, and from Saturday in Italy and France.

In Belgium, a protest movement forced an Irish low-cost airline to cancel 127 flights, from Friday to Sunday, from Charleroi airport (south), where most of its activity is concentrated.

For its part, Brussels Airlines (Lufthansa Group) announced that a planned strike in Belgium before Saturday resulted in the cancellation of 315 flights at Brussels-Zaventem airport from Thursday to Saturday.

But the impact of the Ryanair strike in Portugal is limited, with the union saying that only two flights were canceled on Friday morning and the protest movement continues on Sunday.

In Spain, where Ryanair employs 1,900 people, none of the flights have been cancelled, except for Belgium, after the Irish company clashed with unions over the issue of providing a minimum level of service.

The Spanish Transport Ministry decided this Thursday to implement a minimum number of services, covering up to 82% of certain destinations, and said it wanted to reconcile the “right to strike” with the “interests of travellers”.

But, according to the unions, Ryanair decided to go beyond that limit and oblige employees to offer a 100% guarantee on their flights, a decision that will appeal to the courts. Ryanair unions in Spain have said the strike will last until 2 July.

These strikes come at a time when air traffic has seen a significant recovery in recent weeks, especially low-cost airlines, due to the removal of most travel restrictions associated with Covid.

The rapid resumption of air traffic caused difficulties for many airports, as some companies were forced to cancel flights due to lack of staff.