The National Union of Line Pilots (SNPL) called for several days of strike by Volotea employees in France, denouncing that the Spanish airline is among the worst paid on the market.
The company tried to reverse the strike by using personnel brought in from Spain and Italy, but this did not prevent disruptions suffered by customers.
Volotea used «foreign personnel to make up for the lack» of pilots and navigators who had gone on strike during the three days of the Easter weekend, sources from the National Union of Line Pilots (SNPL) told EFE.
See also: Italy: Volotea to close its Genoa base
The company informed through a statement that directly affected passengers «will be informed by email and SMS using the contact details entered during their booking process.» In addition, Passengers affected by canceled flights will be able to travel by coach; in this case, they must present themselves «at the airport counter 2 hours before the initial departure time».
They can also request a ticket refund or change their flight in case flights continue to be affected.
More strikes until the end of April
The pilots’ union called two new strike days during the coming weekend, on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24, which will coincide with the staff’s pre-notices for a period from April 15 to 30.
The reason for the protest is «essentially wages» and stems from the non-extension of the two-year agreement signed between management and employees at the beginning of the covid crisis.
«Despite the last two difficult years, due in particular to the global pandemic, Volotea seems to have withdrawn from the game to ensure its growth and to further reinforce «social dumping», for which it demonstrates a certain know-how,» the SNPL communicated.
When Volotea failed to reach such an agreement, it wrote to the pilots individually and that is what triggered the conflict.
The union denounces «the precarious conditions that this situation generates among Volotea personnel, whose general working conditions are constantly deteriorating, not to mention the physical and mental exhaustion of employees, which undermines flight safety.»
See also: Volotea’s mega-expansion: more than thirty new routes in seven countries
Volotea in France
The company has more than 600 employees in France and operates from seven bases: Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nice and Marseille, to which Lille has been added since April 1.
According to data obtained by Aviacionline through Cirium, 9,024 flights are scheduled for the northern summer season, offering 1,456,356 seats, making it the fifth largest airline in France.
Its main base is Nantes, with more than 1,300 flights offered and 220,000 seats. The main destinations from France are focused on the Mediterranean coasts of Italy, Spain and Greece.
In 2021, the company replaced its Boeing 717s to complete a fleet composed entirely of Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft. With these aircraft, it expects to offer up to eleven million seats during 2022, 40% more than in 2019.
