Flight Cancellations and Disruptions Reported
At least 16 flights have been cancelled at Barcelona-El Prat Airport (Josep Tarradellas) following the start of an indefinite strike by Groundforce ground staff. The industrial action, which began at 00:00 on Tuesday, 4 August 2026, has also caused additional flight disruptions, with two services operating without baggage handling. The strike affects ground handling operations, including passenger check-in, boarding and flight coordination. According to the CGT union, which leads the strike committee, the action involves all 1,179 Groundforce employees at the airport and has seen a "very high" level of participation.
Since the strike began, eight flight operations, 16 flights including return journeys, have been cancelled, and two others operated without baggage.
Esther García, spokesperson for the strike committee, confirmed these figures in statements to the Efe news agency. Affected routes include services to and from Germany, Italy and Austria.
Major Airlines Impacted
Groundforce provides handling services for numerous international carriers operating at both terminals of the Barcelona airport. Airlines affected include Air Europa, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines, SAS, United Airlines and Air China. The disruption comes during peak travel season. The airport recorded 28.3 million passengers between January and June 2026, a 4.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025.
Passenger Impact and Minimum Services
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility estimates that up to two million passengers could be affected between August and September, given that around 11,600 flight movements and 2.4 million seats are scheduled for Groundforce-serviced airlines during this period. Under government rulings, minimum service levels have been set for the strike period. For international and peninsular routes where public transport alternatives take over five hours, 58% of flights must be maintained in August and 57% in September. Shorter peninsular routes will operate at 35% (August) and 36% (September) capacity. Connections to non-peninsular territories are protected at 80% in August and 77% in September. Aena, the national airport authority, has not released official flight data, but passengers are advised to contact their airlines directly for updates on flight status and rebooking options via the Aena airline services portal.
The CGT union says the strike was called due to management inaction over deteriorating occupational health and safety conditions, including staff shortages, increasing workloads and musculoskeletal injuries among ground crew. The dispute follows a previous strike by other unions in the same company across multiple Spanish airports in March 2026.
Primary sources: aena.es, aena.es, aena.es, aena.es, aena.es, aena.es, aena.es. Reported by El País, elpais.com, elcorreoweb.es, Por Newsroom Infobae Seguir, 20minutos |, travelmole.com.
