Flights from Luxembourg are also affected. On Sunday, TP 691, TP 692, TP 693 and TP 694 between Luxembourg and Lisbon were cancelled. Flights for Monday remain scheduled.
“The Groundforce ground services strike has had a significant impact on the operation of Portuguese airports, in particular at Lisbon airport,” an ANA spokeswoman told AFP, reporting 277 flights cancelled on Saturday and at least 345 new flights cancelled on Sunday.
Lisbon airport, “hub” of the national company TAP Air Portugal, was the most affected with nearly 550 cancelled flights, against some 450 connections made or maintained.
The baggage handlers of Groundforce decided on the 48-hour strike to denounce the “situation of unsustainable instability” that the company is experiencing, in the grip of serious financial difficulties against a backdrop of tensions between its main private shareholder and TAP, which owns 49.9% of the capital.
In May, TAP demanded the bankruptcy of Groundforce, which had been refused a bank loan of €30 million guaranteed by the State.
The unions representing its some 2,800 employees, who have suffered late payments since February, have already launched a new strike call for the last weekend of July.
