General Strike Cancels 85 El Prat Flights and Halts Barcelona Metro
The Nov. 11 general strike cancelled 85 of 734 flights at El Prat and cut the metro to a minimum service. Here is how transport and the city centre are affected.
The general strike on Wednesday, Nov. 11, has cancelled 85 flights at Barcelona-El Prat airport, out of 734 scheduled for the day, according to Aena (the operator of Spain’s airports), which confirmed the figure to the news agency EFE. The cancellations cover both departures and arrivals.
Getting to the airport is harder than usual. The metro is running a 25% minimum service, and the Aerobús airport shuttle is operating at 50% of its normal capacity, according to reports from Metrópoli Abierta and diariodesantiago.
Flights: the airport stays open
El Prat has kept operating despite the cancellations. Aena sources said the airlines had already rescheduled flights and relocated affected passengers in the days before the strike, which limited the disruption on the day itself.
The problems lie mostly on the way to the terminals. Pickets (groups of strikers blocking roads) have cut traffic on strategic routes, among them the Ronda Litoral, which is complicating access to the airport, the outlets reported.
Metro stoppages run through the day
La Vanguardia reports that the metro stoppages last from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon. Many pedestrians were seen pulling suitcases through the city as they looked for another way to travel. The paper described the weather as spring-like.
The metro’s 25% minimum service figure comes from the same reports on the airport. The sources do not detail what the strike means for buses or for Rodalies (the commuter rail network).
A near-empty city centre
La Vanguardia described central Barcelona as almost completely paralysed at 10:30 in the morning. At Plaça Catalunya, only a few tourists could be seen walking through the area. Unions said turnout was very high, quoting them as saying “el seguimiento es muy multitudinario” (participation is very large).
Some well-known businesses took in their outdoor terraces as a precaution. According to the paper, parasols were burned during earlier mobilizations, including the most recent Blocus protests.
What this means for travelers and commuters
Anyone with a flight on Nov. 11 faces two separate issues: whether the flight itself is among the 85 cancelled, and how to reach El Prat while the metro and Aerobús run reduced services and road pickets block routes such as the Ronda Litoral. Airlines had told affected passengers about changes in advance, according to Aena sources.
For residents, the strike stops much of the usual city routine. Public transport runs at a fraction of its normal service during the day, and the center is largely empty of its usual crowds.
Marches planned across Spain
La Vanguardia says the first protest call was set for 12.00, the start of a series of demonstrations planned through the day. The marches are due to take place in Barcelona, across Catalonia and throughout Spain.
The sources do not give a final tally of cancelled flights or strike turnout beyond the union claim, and the figures above reflect the situation reported on the morning of Nov. 11.
Sources: La Vanguardia, Metrópoli Abierta, diariodesantiago
