Published on : 18 Apr 2026
Today is Day 2 of the SAERCO ATC strike — and it is the single most important day of this entire crisis for UK holiday passengers.
Saturday April 18 is the busiest outbound UK–Canary Islands travel day of the weekend. Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2 and TUI all operate their maximum Saturday frequencies to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura — the two airports that have been hardest hit since controllers walked out at midnight on Thursday. If you are heading to the airport today, or if you have friends and family already in Spain trying to fly home, this is everything you need to know right now.
The SAERCO strike is fully active for a second consecutive day. The strike, which was announced by the Union of Air Traffic Controllers (USCA) and Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), was put into place after the unions failed to reach an agreement about working conditions with administrators. No deal has been reached. No suspension has been announced. The walkout is indefinite, and the underlying structural dispute — staffing shortages, excessive workloads, fatigue safety risks — cannot be resolved with a quick financial offer.
Flights are expected to continue operating under minimum service rules, but delays and disruption are likely. Passengers may experience knock-on effects including longer waiting times, rescheduling and congestion at affected airports.
Published: April 18, 2026 — Saturday (Day 2) Strike status: 🔴 FULLY ACTIVE — Day 2 — indefinite, no end date Strike unions: USCA (Union of Air Traffic Controllers) + CCOO (Workers’ Commissions) Target company: SAERCO — private air navigation service provider No. of airports affected: 14 Today’s highest-risk airports: Lanzarote (ACE) · Fuerteventura (FUE) · Sevilla (SVQ) · Vigo (VGO) Also affected: La Palma (SPC) · El Hierro (VDE) · La Gomera (GMZ) · Jerez (XRY) · A Coruña (LCG) · Castellón (CDT) · Burgos (RGS) · Huesca (HSK) · Ciudad Real (CQM) · Madrid-Cuatro Vientos (LECU) NOT affected: Madrid-Barajas (MAD) · Barcelona El Prat (BCN) · Palma de Mallorca (PMI) · Málaga (AGP) · Tenerife Sur (TFS) · Tenerife Norte (TFN) · these use AENA controllers Dual crisis airports: 🔴🔴 Lanzarote + Fuerteventura — SAERCO ATC active AND Groundforce baggage mandate still in force Next Groundforce risk date: Monday April 20 — next scheduled Mon/Wed/Fri window Dubai flight cap: Starts Monday April 20 — BA, KLM, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines all restricted EU261 cash compensation: ❌ NO — ATC strike = extraordinary circumstances — zero cash entitlement UK261 cash compensation: ❌ NO — same classification under retained UK law Duty of care (meals, hotel): ✅ YES — fully applies regardless of cause Refund / rebooking right: ✅ YES — airlines must offer full refund or rerouting Package holiday customers: ✅ STRONGER rights under UK Package Travel Regulations
Every day of an ATC strike carries disruption. But not every day carries the same weight. Today is categorically different.
Saturday April 18 is peak UK–Canary Islands departure day. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura run their most intensive UK charter and scheduled programmes on Saturdays — these are the traditional changeover days for Jet2 and TUI package holidays, when thousands of families complete check-in in the morning while thousands more arrive on inbound flights that same afternoon. Every Jet2, TUI, Ryanair and easyJet aircraft at Lanzarote today is simultaneously performing both an inbound arrival and an outbound departure within the same three-to-four-hour window. There is no slack. There is no buffer.
Under normal operations, ATC controllers at Lanzarote and Fuerteventura manage up to 100+ aircraft movements per day. Under minimum service rules, that number is reduced. Every reduction in landing slot availability pushes aircraft into holding patterns. Holding patterns burn fuel. Fuel-critical aircraft divert. Diversions cascade into afternoon delays. Afternoon delays mean passengers waiting in departure lounges through the evening peak. And the disruption at Lanzarote feeds back to UK airports — the inbound aircraft that was supposed to return and carry the afternoon departure is running late, so the afternoon departure pushes back, so the evening departure pushes back further.
For Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in particular, Easter and spring are not fringe travel periods. They are core weeks for inbound tourism, accommodation occupancy, airport throughput and local business activity. Even moderate disruption can affect hotel arrivals, car hire collection times, transfers, excursion bookings and return travel for thousands of holidaymakers.
The practical consequence today: if you have any Spain ATC airport flight after 2pm, there is a meaningful probability it is running late. Check the airline app before you leave home. And if you are at a SAERCO airport today and your flight is delayed — read the section on your rights below before you do anything else.
| Airport | IATA | UK Risk Level | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lanzarote | ACE | 🔴 CRITICAL | Busiest UK–Canary Islands route; SAERCO ATC + Groundforce dual mandate active |
| Fuerteventura | FUE | 🔴 CRITICAL | Second busiest; same dual exposure as Lanzarote |
| La Palma | SPC | 🟠 HIGH | easyJet + TUI from multiple UK airports |
| Sevilla | SVQ | 🔴 HIGH | Major UK city break destination — Ryanair from Stansted/Manchester/Gatwick, easyJet from Gatwick/Luton |
| Jerez | XRY | 🟠 MEDIUM | Gateway to Cádiz/Sherry Triangle — Ryanair from Stansted/Manchester |
| Vigo | VGO | 🟠 MEDIUM | Galicia gateway — Ryanair from Stansted/Manchester |
| A Coruña | LCG | 🟡 LOWER | Ryanair from Stansted — lower UK volume than above |
| El Hierro + La Gomera | VDE/GMZ | 🟡 LOWER | Primarily inter-island; minimal direct UK flights |
| Castellón, Burgos, Huesca, Ciudad Real | — | 🟡 MINIMAL | Primarily domestic; negligible direct UK impact |
| Madrid-Cuatro Vientos | LECU | — | General aviation only — no commercial passenger flights |
The airports NOT affected (AENA-operated — important): Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona El Prat, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Tenerife Sur, Tenerife Norte, Alicante, Valencia, Bilbao, Ibiza, Gran Canaria, Menorca. If you are flying to or from any of these airports, the SAERCO strike is NOT directly affecting your ATC service.
Of all 14 airports affected by the SAERCO walkout, Lanzarote (ACE) and Fuerteventura (FUE) face a unique double exposure that no other Spanish airport shares.
Layer 1: SAERCO ATC strike — air traffic controllers managing the tower are on indefinite strike. Minimum services are in force, meaning reduced aircraft movements per hour. Every UK airline operating to these airports faces reduced slot availability and consequential delays as the day progresses.
Layer 2: Groundforce baggage mandate — the indefinite Mon/Wed/Fri Groundforce baggage handler strike mandate covers both Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. The mandate is fully in force. No deal has been confirmed. The indefinite strike notice remains in force and could resume on Monday if talks collapse.
Today — Saturday — is not a Groundforce scheduled strike day (the pattern is Mon/Wed/Fri). So today’s disruption at Lanzarote and Fuerteventura is from the ATC strike alone. But this is the situation for the next scheduled window:
Monday April 20 at 05:00: SAERCO ATC still active (indefinite) + Groundforce resumes its Mon/Wed/Fri pattern (unless a deal is signed this weekend). If no Groundforce deal is reached by Sunday evening, Monday morning passengers at Lanzarote and Fuerteventura will face both crises simultaneously — reduced ATC slot capacity and disrupted baggage operations.
No other Spanish airport is in this position. No other combination of disputes creates this level of compounded risk at a major UK holiday destination.
Understanding the mechanics of an ATC strike helps you predict what will happen to your flight even if it hasn’t yet been cancelled or delayed on the departure board.
Travellers should expect the greatest risk to be delays, late aircraft rotations, missed connections and short-notice timetable changes. Minimum service rules are expected to keep part of the operation running, so this is not the same as a full closure of the affected airports. The most likely impact is a familiar but still frustrating pattern: aircraft departing late from earlier sectors, inbound flights being held, departure slots shifting, turnaround times tightening and passengers spending longer waiting.
The cascade timeline on a typical disruption day at Lanzarote:
Early morning (06:00–09:00): First wave of UK departures from Stansted, Gatwick, Manchester. Aircraft are positioned in the UK. Lanzarote ATC is managing under minimum services — fewer slot allocations per hour. Inbound aircraft may be placed in holding patterns or issued later arrival slots than planned.
Mid-morning (09:00–12:00): UK arrivals begin landing at Lanzarote. Turnaround windows — the time between an aircraft arriving and departing again — are compressed. A Jet2 aircraft that was scheduled for a 90-minute turnaround may find its inbound slot pushed by 45 minutes, leaving only 45 minutes to offload, clean, board and push back. That is technically insufficient.
Midday–afternoon (12:00–17:00): The backlog compounds. Aircraft that should have departed are now 1–2 hours late. Departure boards begin showing delays across multiple carriers simultaneously. Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2 and TUI operations are all affected by the same slot restrictions — there is no airline that can route around ATC minimum services.
Evening (17:00–22:00): Final wave of UK departures. If afternoon delays have not cleared, evening flights are running 2–4+ hours behind schedule. Duty of care obligations trigger at 2 hours (meals) and overnight (hotel + transport if flight is cancelled).
The key tactical point for passengers today: If you have a flight departing Lanzarote or Fuerteventura after 14:00, the probability of a delay of 1+ hours is significantly elevated. If your departure time is after 18:00, build in the expectation of a delay. Do not book onward transport from your UK arrival airport that allows less than 3 hours buffer.
Unlike the Groundforce baggage dispute — which is purely financial (7.82% vs 6.5% wage offer, a gap of 1.32 percentage points) — the SAERCO dispute is structural and cannot be resolved with money alone.
Controllers point to chronic understaffing, heavy workloads, erratic rostering, on-call duties, cancelled leave, and unclear rest periods. They say those conditions have created fatigue and stress, and can affect operational safety. Talks with SAERCO have stalled after planned negotiation sessions were postponed or abandoned.
The demands being made are operational — more staff hired, defined rest periods written into collective agreements, fairer scheduling, fatigue management protocols that comply with European aviation safety standards. These are changes SAERCO would need months to implement even if they agreed tomorrow. A collective agreement that changes staffing ratios and scheduling rules takes time to negotiate, ratify, and implement. This is not a dispute that ends with a press release announcing a number.
Controllers accuse Saerco of chronic understaffing that forces employees to work extended shifts, raising fatigue-related safety risks. They also protest what they call a “piecemeal” collective-bargaining process that keeps pay below the levels in Aena-operated towers. Mediation talks failed to produce a deal, and the unions have broadened the action from limited stoppages to an open-ended strike.
Observers note that similar disputes in 2023 and 2024 were only resolved after several weeks of rolling cancellations.
The honest prognosis: this dispute is measured in weeks, not days. UK passengers with Spain bookings through Canary Islands or Sevilla in May and June should treat this as an ongoing operational risk, not a problem that will be solved before their holiday.
Lanzarote: Ryanair (from London Stansted, Manchester, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Dublin), easyJet (from London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle), Jet2 (from Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle, East Midlands, Belfast International), TUI Airways (from multiple UK airports). Fuerteventura: Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2, TUI — virtually identical UK carrier mix. Travel Tourister
Ryanair: Check ryanair.com → My Trips for any travel advisory or disruption waiver. Ryanair typically issues Spain ATC waivers allowing fee-free date changes to adjacent dates. Ryanair’s model means it will operate every flight it can — but on heavily delayed days it may cancel the final sector to avoid crew duty time violations.
easyJet: Check easyjet.com → Manage Bookings → Disruptions. easyJet proactively emails affected passengers 24–48 hours before a confirmed major disruption day. If you have an easyJet Lanzarote or Fuerteventura booking today or in coming days, monitor your email closely.
Jet2: As the dominant UK charter operator to the Canary Islands, Jet2 has the most passengers at risk on Saturday changeover days. Check jet2.com → Your Bookings. Jet2’s customer service: 0333 300 0042. As a package holiday operator for most of its Canary Islands operations, Jet2 Holidays has broader obligations to find alternatives if flights are disrupted.
TUI: TUI operates primarily as a package holiday provider to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Package holiday customers have the strongest rights of any category — see the Package Travel section below. Check tui.co.uk → My Account → My Bookings. TUI customer services: 0203 451 2688.
British Airways: BA uses Iberia Handling at most Spanish airports, not Groundforce — so the baggage dispute does not directly affect BA. However, if BA operates routes into a SAERCO-managed airport (which is limited — BA’s main Spain operations are into Madrid, Barcelona and Palma, all AENA-operated), the ATC disruption applies equally. Check ba.com → Manage My Booking.
Vueling and Iberia: Spanish carriers with strong networks to SAERCO airports. Check their apps directly.
This is the most important and most misunderstood point of this entire strike.
An air traffic control strike is conducted by workers external to the airline. Under EU261, this is typically classified as an extraordinary circumstance — meaning the €250–€600 cash compensation usually does not apply. This is different from an airline’s own staff striking (where compensation does apply).
As this type of strike sits outside an airline’s control, compensation under EC 261 is usually unlikely.
The distinction is critical. When Lufthansa’s own pilots strike — as they did last week — airlines cannot use extraordinary circumstances to avoid paying EU261 compensation, because the dispute is with their own workforce. When SAERCO’s air traffic controllers strike — workers who are employed by a completely separate private company, not by any airline — the disruption is genuinely outside the airline’s control. Extraordinary circumstances classification stands.
What this means in practice: If your Ryanair flight from Lanzarote is cancelled today because SAERCO controllers reduced slot capacity, Ryanair owes you a full refund or rerouting — but NOT the €250–€600 cash compensation.
If your flight was delayed or cancelled during the SAERCO strike period but the actual reason was an airline-side issue (not ATC), you may still be entitled to compensation. Ask the airline for the specific reason for your disruption in writing. If they cannot demonstrate that ATC industrial action directly caused your flight’s cancellation, the extraordinary circumstances defence is weaker.
Practically: if your aircraft was delayed due to a crew positioning failure, a technical fault, or a scheduling issue at the UK departure end — none of these are ATC strike-related, and the airline cannot use the SAERCO strike as cover. Always ask for the specific reason for your disruption in writing.
Regardless of the cause of cancellation, you are always entitled to:
Full cash refund to your original payment method within 7 days if your flight is cancelled and you choose not to travel. This right is unconditional. Airlines cannot force you to accept a travel voucher instead of a cash refund.
How to claim: Do not cancel the flight yourself. Wait for the airline to cancel it. Then invoke your refund right via the airline’s app, website or customer service.
Duty of care is the obligation that exists regardless of the cause of delay. Unlike compensation, extraordinary circumstances does NOT remove duty of care obligations.
What you are entitled to:
✅ Meals and refreshments for a delay of 2+ hours — you do not need to wait to be offered. Walk to the check-in or gate desk and say: “My flight has been delayed over two hours. Under Article 9 of EU Regulation 261/2004, I am requesting meal vouchers.” Keep every receipt.
✅ Hotel accommodation and transfer if a cancellation requires an overnight stay — you do not need to accept a budget option. Reasonable standard accommodation is required. Keep receipts.
✅ Two free phone calls, emails or faxes — to notify someone of your disruption.
✅ Transport to the hotel and back — if provided hotel accommodation.
The critical rule: Do not leave the airport to find your own accommodation and then claim reimbursement. First ask the airline to arrange accommodation. If they fail to do so or the queue is unmanageable, and you book your own hotel: keep the receipt, get a written explanation from the airline of why they did not provide accommodation, and submit both with your claim.
If your flight is cancelled and you wish to travel, you are entitled to rerouting to your final destination at the earliest opportunity. The airline must find you an alternative flight — not necessarily on the same carrier or the same day, but at the earliest practicable time.
An indefinite strike means rerouting is complicated, because “earliest opportunity” may be days away if the ATC strike continues. If you are willing to travel to an AENA-operated airport nearby (Gran Canaria, Tenerife Sur, Tenerife Norte for Canary Islands passengers), you may be able to reach your destination via an indirect route that bypasses the SAERCO strike entirely.
If you booked your Lanzarote, Fuerteventura or Sevilla holiday as a package — through Jet2 Holidays, TUI, Thomas Cook, On the Beach, Love Holidays or any ATOL-protected operator — your rights are significantly broader than those of independent travellers.
Under the UK Package Travel Regulations 2018 (incorporating the EU Package Travel Directive), your tour operator is responsible for your entire holiday, not just your flight. If your package holiday is “significantly affected” by the ATC strike, your operator must:
✅ Offer you an alternative comparable package at no extra cost (e.g., a different departure date or destination) ✅ Offer you a full cash refund of the entire package price if no suitable alternative is available ✅ Provide duty of care (accommodation, meals, transport) while disruption is being resolved
The key phrase is “significantly affected.” A 2-hour delay is unlikely to qualify. A flight cancellation, a forced change of departure date, or a situation where you arrive at your destination 24+ hours late almost certainly does qualify.
What to do if you are a package customer:
Sunday April 19 is not a Groundforce strike day, and the ATC strike, while active, operates under minimum services. But Monday April 20 presents a compounded risk situation that UK passengers with Lanzarote and Fuerteventura bookings must understand.
What converges on Monday April 20:
🔴 SAERCO ATC strike — Day 4, indefinite, no resolution 🔴 Groundforce Mon/Wed/Fri pattern resumes — unless a deal is announced this weekend, Monday 05:00 is the next scheduled Groundforce strike window at 12 airports including Lanzarote and Fuerteventura 🟠 Dubai 1-flight-per-day cap starts — BA, KLM, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines all restricted from today — affects connecting European flights that might have been alternatives for displaced passengers
The indefinite Groundforce strike notice remains in force and could resume on Monday if talks collapse.
The last confirmed information on Groundforce talks: management tabled a 6.5% offer at the April 10 meeting. Unions demand 7.82%. The gap is 1.32 percentage points. No deal confirmed as of Saturday April 18 morning. No source is reporting an imminent agreement. There is therefore a meaningful probability that Monday morning Lanzarote and Fuerteventura passengers face:
If you have Monday or Wednesday Lanzarote or Fuerteventura flights, today is the day to check your airline’s Spain disruption waiver. Free date changes may allow you to move to a Tuesday or Thursday departure — which removes the Groundforce window risk, though the ATC strike remains indefinite.
If you are at the airport right now and your flight is delayed:
| Airline | Spain disruption waiver | Phone (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | ryanair.com → My Trips | 0871 246 0000 |
| easyJet | easyjet.com → Manage Bookings → Disruptions | 0330 365 5000 |
| Jet2 | jet2.com → Your Bookings | 0333 300 0042 |
| TUI | tui.co.uk → My Account | 0203 451 2688 |
| British Airways | ba.com → Manage My Booking | 0800 727 800 |
| Vueling | vueling.com → Manage Booking | +34 931 51 81 58 |
AENA live airport status: aena.es → Flight Information UK CAA passenger rights: caa.co.uk/passengers Package holiday claims: Civil Aviation Authority ATOL scheme — caa.co.uk/atol EU261 claim support: airhelp.com | flightright.eu
| Crisis | Status today | Next risk date | Resolution outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAERCO ATC strike | 🔴 ACTIVE Day 2 — 14 airports | Every day — indefinite | Weeks away at minimum — structural dispute |
| Groundforce baggage | ⚠️ Suspended — talks ongoing | 🔴 Monday April 20 | 6.5% offer on table — deal possible but unconfirmed |
| Dubai cap | Starts Monday April 20 | From Monday every day to May 31 | BA, KLM, Lufthansa out — Emirates flying |
| EES biometrics | 🔴 Live — Day 8 | Every day — permanent | Long-term — queues stabilising at most airports |
Spain is carrying more simultaneous aviation disruption right now than at any point in living memory. If you have summer 2026 Spain bookings, the practical advice is to treat every Monday, Wednesday and Friday Canary Islands flight as a Groundforce risk day, and every Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Sevilla or Vigo booking as an ATC risk booking until further notice.
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Posted By : Vinay
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