The three-day strike by coach drivers in the Balearic Islands still affected flights today. Even though the strike ended at midnight, this morning's scheduled 9am flight from Dublin Airport to Menorca was delayed by two and a half hours.
Thousands of travellers were subjected to delays of up to 40 hours over the weekend, as the stoppage made it difficult for people to travel to and from airports in Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca. Passengers who were due to depart from Dublin Airport on Saturday night had to sleep overnight and those due to leave from Shannon suffered a similar fate.
Three flights from Palma into Dublin Airport, which were due to arrive in Ireland yesterday afternoon, eventually arrived during the night. The last of those flights made it to Dublin at 6.00am today. A flight from Dublin to Palma, scheduled to take to the air at about 8.00am, was the first flight from Dublin to any of the Balearic islands to leave on time in three days.
The effects of the strike are expected to be felt later in the week, when further action is being threatened. Differences are reported to have emerged between the coach drivers and their union. The union said that it had negotiated a fair settlement to their pay dispute, but the drivers say that they believe it does not go far enough.
