The Regional Government, through the Regional Secretariat for Economy, Tourism and Culture, wants to guarantee minimum services to ensure the connectivity of Madeira International Airport and the mobility of all those who visit us during this festive period.
At issue is the strike notice decreed by the Democratic Union of Airport and Aviation Workers (Sindav), the Union of Airport Handling Technicians (STHAA), the Union of Handling, Aviation and Airport Workers (Sitava) and the Union of Merchant Navy, Travel Agencies, Freight Forwarders and Fisheries Workers (Simamevip), for all Portway workers, at national airports, covering midnight on 24 and 31 December and, also, overtime between midnight on 24 December and midnight on 1 January 2025.
In a letter sent today to the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, the Secretary of State for Infrastructure and, with due notice, to the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, the Regional Secretariat for Economy, Tourism and Culture (SRETC) calls for “the best efforts of the government to ensure minimum services to and from the Autonomous Region of Madeira”.
The letter recalls that “for December 24, at Madeira International Airport, 24 arrivals and 24 departures of flights assisted by Portway are scheduled, corresponding to 4,706 seats in each direction of travel. Regarding December 31, 24 arrivals and 24 departures of flights assisted by Portway are scheduled, totaling 4,744 seats in each direction of travel.”
These flights correspond to the operation of 7 carriers: easyJet, TUI Fly, Wizzair, PLAY, Edelweiss Air, Norwegian, Finnair and ASL Airlines, flights originating from 20 airports: Lisbon, Porto, Paris, Lyon, Amsterdam, London Gatwick, Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Hannover, Rome Fiumicino, Budapest, Katowice, Reykjavik, Zurich, Oslo, Helsinki and Jersey.
The SRETC also draws attention to the fact that, on the dates in question, very high occupancy rates are expected, close to 100%, in inbound traffic, associated with the Christmas and New Year’s Eve festive period, which brings thousands of visitors to the Autonomous Region of Madeira, including tourists, students and madeirans visiting their homeland.
“Considering the festive season that is being experienced very intensely in this Region, with a strong tradition of family gatherings, also considering the significant efforts in terms of tourism promotion, which have been guaranteeing a high flow of visitors at this time of year, without prejudice to the safeguarding of the right to strike, it becomes imperative to impose legal protection measures for this traffic, particularly at the level of connections with the national territory, which depend heavily on the supply of one of the airlines potentially affected by this strike”, adds the letter.
In this sense, the Regional Government requests the best attention from the Government of the Republic to ensure minimum services and the normal operation of Madeira Airport.