EasyJet cancels more than 200 flights to and from Portugal due to cabin crew strike

EasyJet has cancelled 232 of the 1,138 flights to and from Portugal it had been scheduled to operate during a three-day strike by its cabin crew in the country starting Thursday, the company said.

The budget airline's cabin staff in the Western European country, a popular summer holiday destination, announced late last month a strike from Aug. 15 to Aug. 17.

Reasons for the action include a lack of roster stability, insufficient staffing and pressure to work overtime for commercial purposes, according to the civil aviation flight personnel union SNPVAC.

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EasyJet Portugal told Reuters on Wednesday it had scheduled 1,138 flights for those dates, but had to cancel about a fifth of them due to the strike.

"We regret that, due to the unnecessary strike action planned by the SNPVAC union and in order to minimise the impact of the disruption on the day of travel for our customers, we have had to cancel some of the flights planned to operate during the period of the collective action," the company said.

The Portuguese government has decreed the need for minimum services during the strike, which should include flights to the island of Madeira, Geneva, Luxembourg and London.

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