Civil aviation flight personnel union SNPVAC confirmed a lack of roster stability, insufficient staffing and pressure to work overtime for commercial purposes had led to strike action from its members. 

The budget carrier’s cabin staff announced the walk-out from 15 to 17 August late last month, prompting easyJet to pull 232 of the 1,138 flights to and from the popular holiday destination. EasyJet told TTG 27 return flights between Portugal and the UK have been cancelled, adding: "We are extremely disappointed with this needless strike action, especially at this important time of the year for our customers. 

 
“Our priority has been to try and minimise the impact of this strike action on our customers, which included cancelling some flights in advance in order to allow them to rearrange their travel plans. Customers whose flight has been affected have already been contacted a number of days ago with their options to rebook or receive a refund."

EasyJet added: "We also advise customers travelling to and from Portugal on 15, 16 and 17 August to check the status of their flights on the easyJet Flight Tracker.”

Under Portuguese law, easyJet must operate a minimum number of flights to the island of Madeira, Geneva, Luxembourg and London. 

EasyJet has 19 aircraft based in Portugal as well as more than 800 employees there.