Iberia pilot strike to cut 36 per cent of flights Thursday

Dec 29, 2011, 3:31 GMT

Madrid - The Spanish airline Iberia plans to cut 118 flights on Thursday due to a pilot strike, the company said.

The number represents about 36 per cent of the planned flights for that day. Mainly short- and medium-haul flights will be affected.

The first strike day for the pilots was December 18, when about one-third of the 300 planned flights were cancelled.

Iberia guaranteed that it would offer at least 64 per cent of the planned 329 flights for Thursday. That includes connecting flights to the Balearic and Canary Islands.

In Europe, the main flights affected are those to and from Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Portugal and Switzerland. More than 10,000 passengers have been booked on to other airlines or other transport services.

The pilot union Sepla called the strike to protest Iberia's plans to start a discount airline, Iberia Express, in April 2012, which will specialize in flights within Spain and Europe. The move will free Iberia to concentrate on lucrative transatlantic routes.