EasyJet Portugal Strike December 19–23, 2026: 63 Days Until Christmas Chaos — Lisbon, Porto & Faro All at Risk — 11 UK Airports Exposed — Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Gatwick, Luton, Southend, Manchester, Newcastle — Is Your Christmas Booking Safe? — Complete EU261 Rights Guide

Christmas flights to Portugal are being booked right now. And right now, those Christmas flights have a confirmed strike threat. EasyJet’s Portuguese cabin crew — the same union that walked out from October 2 to 6 — have voted unanimously to strike again from December 19 to 23. That is 63 days away. It is four days before Christmas Eve. It covers the peak Christmas getaway weekend and the final mid-week travel days before the holiday. Every easyJet flight to Lisbon, Porto and Faro from 11 UK airports is at risk. This article tells you exactly what you face, whether your booking is safe, and what you can claim if it isn’t.

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Published: October 17, 2026
Strike dates: December 19–23, 2026 (5 days)
Days away: 63 days
Union: SNPVAC — National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (Sindicato Nacional do Pessoal de Voo da Aviação Civil)
Vote: Unanimous — 188 SNPVAC members present
Official notice filed with: DGERT (Portugal’s labour authority) — confirmed
Airports affected: Lisbon Humberto Delgado (LIS) · Porto Francisco Sá Carneiro (OPO) · Faro International (FAO)
Flights at risk: 500+ (estimate for October; December expected more due to Christmas volume)
UK airports with easyJet Portugal routes: Belfast · Birmingham · Bristol · Edinburgh · Glasgow · Liverpool · Gatwick · Luton · Southend · Manchester · Newcastle
Dispute: Pay below Portuguese national average and below easyJet wages in other EU countries; breach of collective labour agreement alleged
easyJet position: “Extremely disappointed” — willing to negotiate — claims Portuguese crew already paid above national average
Scab-crew risk: SNPVAC alleges easyJet imports managers and crew from other countries to operate flights during strikes — may reduce actual cancellations
Minimum services: Portugal’s regulator ANAC can require minimum services — some flights may still operate
EU261 compensation: ✅ Own-employee strike — NOT extraordinary circumstances — up to €400 per passenger
Previous October strike: 443 flights cancelled October 2–6 — now resolved; December action remains confirmed

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Why the December Strike Is More Dangerous Than October

The October 2–6 strike was badly timed for easyJet — coinciding with Portugal’s Republic Day long weekend, a peak leisure travel period. December 19–23 is categorically more dangerous.

Flight volumes are higher. The week before Christmas is one of the two or three busiest weeks of the entire aviation year for UK–Portugal routes. British expats living in Portugal return home for Christmas. Portuguese nationals living in the UK fly home for the holidays. UK holidaymakers escape to the Algarve or Lisbon for Christmas in the sun. All of those movements are concentrated into the December 19–23 window.

Alternatives are harder to find. When the October strike disrupted flights, passengers who needed to travel could often find alternatives on TAP Air Portugal, Ryanair, or Jet2. In late December, every alternative flight is already heavily booked. A cancelled easyJet Gatwick–Faro flight on December 20 cannot simply be replaced with a Ryanair Stansted–Faro flight — those seats filled months ago.

Hotels are non-refundable. Christmas accommodation in Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve is booked months in advance on non-refundable rates. A flight cancellation in December does not just mean a cancelled flight — it means a forfeited hotel, a missed family Christmas, and travel insurance claims.

The December stoppage continues until two days before Christmas Eve. December 23 is the last day of the strike. Passengers who cannot travel December 19–23 face a choice between missing their Christmas entirely or paying emergency prices for December 24 alternatives.

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The 11 UK Airports at Risk

EasyJet operates flights to Portugal from 11 UK airports across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Every one of these airports has Portugal routes that are directly exposed to the SNPVAC strike:

The highest-volume routes — Gatwick–Lisbon, Gatwick–Faro, Luton–Lisbon, Luton–Faro, Manchester–Faro — will see the most significant cancellation volumes. But even regional airports like Newcastle, Belfast, and Glasgow face real exposure: a single easyJet service per day from those airports to Portugal means a 100% cancellation rate at those airports if the strike proceeds.

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Which Flights Are Most at Risk — The Strike Pattern

The strike runs from December 19 (Saturday) through December 23 (Wednesday). This covers:

December 19 and 23 carry the maximum cancellation risk. The Saturday outbound and the Wednesday pre-Christmas-Eve return are the most densely booked individual days of the entire Christmas travel calendar. If only some flights are cancelled (due to minimum services), these two dates will see the most competition for remaining seats.

Return flights are also at risk. UK passengers who flew to Portugal before December 19 but are returning December 19–23 face the same cancellation exposure as outbound passengers. The strike affects flights originating in Portugal — meaning inbound UK passengers at Lisbon, Porto, and Faro are directly in the disruption zone.

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The Dispute — Why This Is Happening

The SNPVAC dispute with easyJet has been running for months. The union’s core grievances, as filed with DGERT, are:

1 — Pay below other Portuguese airlines: SNPVAC claims easyJet pays Portuguese crew wages below those paid by other airlines operating in Portugal and below those paid by easyJet itself in other countries in the network.

2 — Breach of collective labour agreement: The union alleges easyJet has broken the terms of the existing collective agreement, creating a deadlock that SNPVAC describes as “long and intolerable.”

3 — Scab crew substitution: SNPVAC alleges easyJet frequently substitutes striking crew with managers and colleagues brought in from other network countries, enabling flights to go ahead that would otherwise be grounded and, in SNPVAC’s view, effectively eroding the right to strike.

easyJet’s position: The airline says Portuguese crew are already paid significantly above the Portuguese national average, that current union demands are unworkable, and that it remains willing to continue the conciliation process through DGERT mediation.

Why the dispute matters for December: The October strike was partially defused by easyJet’s alleged crew importation — some flights operated that would otherwise have been cancelled, limiting the visible disruption. The same may happen in December. But it also means there is no guarantee of how many flights will actually be cancelled — the actual cancellation count depends on both ANAC’s minimum services order and easyJet’s ability to import crew at Christmas, when crew availability across the network is at its tightest.

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Will the Strike Definitely Go Ahead?

The December strike notice has been filed with DGERT and confirmed publicly by SNPVAC. At this stage — 63 days out — the following scenarios are possible:

Scenario 1 — Strike proceeds as planned (most likely if no deal): 500+ flights cancelled across December 19–23. Gatwick, Luton, Manchester worst affected. EU261 compensation applies.

Scenario 2 — Settlement before December (possible): If the DGERT conciliation process produces an agreement, the strike could be called off entirely. The October strike was not settled — but December’s higher commercial stakes for easyJet may incentivise a deal. Monitor SNPVAC and easyJet statements in November.

Scenario 3 — Partial operation (possible): ANAC imposes minimum service requirements, and easyJet imports crew from other bases. Some flights operate — particularly early morning and protected departure windows. Passengers on cancelled services still have full EU261 rights regardless.

The honest answer: At 63 days out, the strike is confirmed but not inevitable. Check back in mid-November as DGERT mediation develops.

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The Most Important Question: Is My Christmas Booking Safe?

If you have an easyJet flight to or from Portugal between December 19 and 23:

Your booking is at risk. The probability of some cancellations is high. The probability of your specific flight being cancelled depends on:

• The route and airport (highest volumes = most cancellations)
• Whether ANAC imposes minimum services
• Whether easyJet imports crew
• Whether a settlement is reached before December

What to do right now:

Do NOT cancel your booking proactively. If you cancel before easyJet formally cancels your flight, you forfeit your EU261 compensation rights. A flight worth £89 that entitles you to €400 in compensation becomes a self-cancelled booking worth nothing. Wait for easyJet to cancel, then claim.

Do NOT rebook yourself onto an alternative airline yet. Same principle — wait for a formal cancellation or a travel waiver from easyJet.

DO check whether easyJet issues a travel waiver in November. If easyJet issues a waiver allowing free date changes, you can rebook to December 24 or later at no cost, without forfeiting compensation rights on the cancelled service.

DO book flexible accommodation. If your Portugal hotel is booked on a non-refundable rate for December 19–23, check whether the cancellation policy can be changed to flexible now, before a strike makes the change commercially necessary.

DO consider travel insurance with trip interruption cover. If your flight is cancelled and you cannot rebook, trip interruption coverage reimburses your non-refundable hotel costs, car hire, and other pre-paid trip expenses that EU261 does not cover.

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Your EU261 Rights — Why You Can Claim Cash Compensation

This section matters enormously for December bookings. The easyJet Portugal strike is an own-employee strike — not a government action, not an ATC dispute, not a natural disaster.

Under the European Court of Justice ruling in Krüsemann v TUIfly (C-195/17, 2018), a strike by an airline’s own directly employed staff does not constitute extraordinary circumstances. SNPVAC represents easyJet’s own Portuguese cabin crew, disputing their own employment conditions with their own employer. The dispute is squarely within easyJet’s sphere of responsibility.

This means for December 19–23 cancellations:

• EU261 cash compensation applies — up to €400 per passenger on UK–Portugal routes
• Extraordinary circumstances defence does not apply
• easyJet cannot avoid paying compensation by calling the strike “outside their control”

Compensation Amounts

UK–Portugal routes (Gatwick–Faro ~1,780km, Manchester–Lisbon ~1,840km, Edinburgh–Lisbon ~2,050km): €400 / £350 per passenger.

A family of four: Up to €1,600 / £1,400 in total compensation — plus a full refund of the ticket price.

The 14-Day Notice Rule — Why December Bookings Are Different from October

EU261 reduces or eliminates compensation when airlines give more than 14 days’ notice of cancellation. For December 19–23, the 14-day threshold falls on December 5. Any passenger whose specific flight is cancelled and notified:

• Before December 5: Compensation may be reduced or eliminated
• December 5 or later: Full €400 / £350 compensation applies

At this stage — October 17 — easyJet has not issued individual flight cancellations for December 19–23. When cancellations are formally issued, the date of notification determines your compensation. If your flight is cancelled and you’re notified today or in November, compensation may be reduced. If notification comes within 14 days of travel — as typically happens when a strike is live — full compensation applies.

The practical advice: Do not accept a cancellation notification passively. Note the date. File your EU261 claim. If easyJet issues cancellations in late November or December, the 14-day rule is very likely to preserve your full compensation.

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Alternative Options If Your Flight Is Cancelled

If easyJet cancels your December 19–23 Portugal flight, you need to act quickly — alternatives will disappear fast at Christmas:

The scarcity warning: Every competitor route to Portugal at Christmas is already partially filled. If 500+ easyJet Portugal flights cancel in late November or early December, 50,000+ passengers will simultaneously be looking for alternatives. The airlines listed above will sell out within hours of a cancellation announcement. If you want a backup option, consider booking a fully refundable alternative flight now and cancelling it if easyJet’s strike is resolved.

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What to Do — Action Plan by Date

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Airline and Claims Contacts

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Summary — EasyJet Portugal Christmas Strike December 19–23, 2026

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Related Articles:

• EasyJet Portugal Strike October 2–6, 2026: 500 Flights at Risk — Lisbon, Porto, Faro — EU261 Rights Guide
• EasyJet Portugal Strike Final Day October 6, 2026: 443 Flights Cancelled — How to File Your EU261 Claim
• France Aviation Strike October 17–21, 2026: 36,000 Air France + Transavia Crew — EU261 Rights
• Italy Aviation Strike October 16, 2026 Final Warning: 200 easyJet UK Flights Cancelled — ENAV ATC — France Strike Next Day
• DOT vs EU261 vs Travel Insurance: Who Pays First? Complete 2026 Guide

Posted By : Vinay

As a lead contributor for Travel Tourister, Vinay is dedicated to serving our Tier 1 audience (US, UK, Canada, Australia). His mission is to deliver precise, fact-checked news and actionable, data-driven articles that empower readers to make informed decisions, minimize travel risks, and maximize their adventure without compromising safety or budget.