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5 December 2010
Last updated at 05:50 ET
Thousands of Britons due back from Spain are being warned to expect more delays as airlines resume flights after a strike by air traffic controllers.
Up to 20,000 UK passengers are thought to have been affected by the unofficial walk-out which led to flights in and out of Spain being cancelled.
Ryanair cancelled 450 flights on Saturday, and Easyjet 100, owing to the 24-hour wildcat strike from Friday.
Passengers are being advised to contact their airline before travelling.
The Spanish government declared a "state of alarm" and threatened workers with prison terms after they called in sick en masse.
Some staff returned to work on Saturday night, but officials say it could take up to 48 hours before flights return to normal.
Spanish civil aviation authority Aena said airspace reopened on Saturday and a small number of flights resumed at airports including Madrid, Bilbao and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
'Out of pocket' Paul Maher is one of the many British passengers affected and he is hoping to fly back to the UK on Sunday after a three-day delay in Barcelona.
He had been at a software conference and he is the "last man in town" after his 10 colleagues made it back to the UK via France.
"I was due to fly out on Thursday but the weather at Heathrow stopped that from happening," he told the BBC. "I tried to get on flights on Friday and Saturday but obviously that didn't work out.
"I have two kids at home and I'd love to get home to see them. I'm also a small businessman and I'm totally out of pocket. I would like to know who is going to recompense me - is it British Airways or the Spanish air traffic controllers?
"The sense I'm getting is that people are incredibly frustrated here. They understand the importance of tourism to the economy. It turns out some of these people on strike earn 500,000 euros a year, which is more than the UK prime minister."
Tim Jeans, managing director of Monarch Airlines, told the BBC the disruption had cost his airline many hundreds of thousands of pounds and about 5,000 passengers were affected.
"Fortunately we managed to operate seven flights last evening so we've managed to get over 1,000 people back," he said.
"It's back to a normal day, so I'm optimistic that by close of play tomorrow we'll have everybody back where they should be: pretty much at the destinations they wanted to go also."
Easyjet said it had put up 6,000 passengers - of which about half are thought to be Britons - in hotels. Iberia also cancelled flights between Spain and the UK.
A total of 70 flights were cancelled in and out of Gatwick, 42 at Stansted, and 22 at Heathrow. Manchester suffered 10 cancellations, while 16 flights failed to leave Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
On Saturday, UK travel association Abta said thousands of British passengers were stuck despite it being a fairly quiet time of year.
Spokesman Sean Tipton advised customers to keep in contact with their airline or tour operator.
The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice on Spain and a spokesman said anyone planning to travel there or back this weekend should check with their airline before going to the airport.
The walk-out came after Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero approved plans to partially privatise airports, which followed an existing dispute about working hours.
Are you at any of the striking airports in Spain? Has the disruption affected your travel plans? Send us your comments using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
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Up to 20,000 UK passengers are thought to have been affected by the unofficial walk-out which led to flights in and out of Spain being cancelled.
Ryanair cancelled 450 flights on Saturday, and Easyjet 100, owing to the 24-hour wildcat strike from Friday.
Passengers are being advised to contact their airline before travelling.
The Spanish government declared a "state of alarm" and threatened workers with prison terms after they called in sick en masse.
Some staff returned to work on Saturday night, but officials say it could take up to 48 hours before flights return to normal.
Spanish civil aviation authority Aena said airspace reopened on Saturday and a small number of flights resumed at airports including Madrid, Bilbao and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
'Out of pocket' Paul Maher is one of the many British passengers affected and he is hoping to fly back to the UK on Sunday after a three-day delay in Barcelona.
He had been at a software conference and he is the "last man in town" after his 10 colleagues made it back to the UK via France.
"I was due to fly out on Thursday but the weather at Heathrow stopped that from happening," he told the BBC. "I tried to get on flights on Friday and Saturday but obviously that didn't work out.
"I have two kids at home and I'd love to get home to see them. I'm also a small businessman and I'm totally out of pocket. I would like to know who is going to recompense me - is it British Airways or the Spanish air traffic controllers?
"The sense I'm getting is that people are incredibly frustrated here. They understand the importance of tourism to the economy. It turns out some of these people on strike earn 500,000 euros a year, which is more than the UK prime minister."
Tim Jeans, managing director of Monarch Airlines, told the BBC the disruption had cost his airline many hundreds of thousands of pounds and about 5,000 passengers were affected.
"Fortunately we managed to operate seven flights last evening so we've managed to get over 1,000 people back," he said.
"It's back to a normal day, so I'm optimistic that by close of play tomorrow we'll have everybody back where they should be: pretty much at the destinations they wanted to go also."
Easyjet said it had put up 6,000 passengers - of which about half are thought to be Britons - in hotels. Iberia also cancelled flights between Spain and the UK.
A total of 70 flights were cancelled in and out of Gatwick, 42 at Stansted, and 22 at Heathrow. Manchester suffered 10 cancellations, while 16 flights failed to leave Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
On Saturday, UK travel association Abta said thousands of British passengers were stuck despite it being a fairly quiet time of year.
Spokesman Sean Tipton advised customers to keep in contact with their airline or tour operator.
The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice on Spain and a spokesman said anyone planning to travel there or back this weekend should check with their airline before going to the airport.
The walk-out came after Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero approved plans to partially privatise airports, which followed an existing dispute about working hours.
Are you at any of the striking airports in Spain? Has the disruption affected your travel plans? Send us your comments using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
Powered by WizardRSS | Best Membership Site Software