After calling for two days of strike for tomorrow and Friday, the cabin crew of the company approved yesterday, in a general meeting, another five days of strike to be carried out until the 31st of January. The exact dates have not yet been defined, but the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC) does not deny the possibility that the strikes will coincide with Christmas and New Year. "All scenarios are possible", said the president of SNPVAC, Ricardo Penarroias, in comments to Dinheiro Vivo.

With the festive season just around the corner, thousands of passengers may see travel plans cancelled. The representative of the union estimates that over these five days around 1,500 flights could be affected. The price that the company will have to pay will also be heavy; on the 8th and 9th of December alone, the carrier admitted losses of eight million euros in revenue. If the worst-case scenario progresses and planes are grounded in the last week of the year, the impact could be much greater for the company, considering the high occupancy rate and more expensive fares at this time of year.

"Depending on when we go ahead with the strike, it may have a greater or lesser financial impact. On December 30th it will have more impact than on January 30th, for example".

Negotiations of the new company agreement (AE) are the reason for the struggle between workers and management, who have not been able to reach an understanding. TAP regretted the announcement of more strikes: "We are very sad, I hope that we can meet again after these two days [of strikes on Thursday and Friday] and try to find a solution to avoid disruptions for everyone", the CEO of the company told Lusa.

For the president of SNPVAC, it is clear that "it is now up to the company to take the first step after having left the negotiating table". The conversation between the carrier's bosses and the workers began on October 14, when TAP denounced the current AE and proposed a new model that, from the perspective of the SNPVAC, is "unworthy and unspeakable".


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