By Lena Bauer · Last updated: 12 November 2026 · 11 min read

In This Guide

Not at Palma, Alicante or Málaga airport on 12 November 2026. The Spanish general strike of 11 November has ended, Palma's Swissport dispute is settled, nothing is filed for Alicante, and Málaga has only a small cleaning dispute with no reported effect on flights. The one strike still running is a controllers' dispute at nine small control towers elsewhere. A strike can still delay your flight, but it doesn't touch the ride from the airport to your resort.

This page covers what is filed for the three biggest holiday airports, what a strike day actually cuts, and how to reach Marbella, Benidorm or Alcúdia by road when the buses are thin. Every strike fact was read on 12 November 2026.

Quick Facts: Spain Airport Strikes (November 2026)

QuestionShort Answer
Is there a strike at Palma, Alicante or Málaga airport?No flight-affecting strike is filed at any of the three on 12 November 2026. Palma's August dispute is settled, Alicante has none, Málaga has a 16-person cleaning dispute.
What was the big strike this week?A 24-hour nationwide general strike on 11 November 2026, called by the CCOO and UGT unions. It has ended.
Is there a Spanish air traffic control strike?Yes, since 17 April 2026, but at nine small regional towers. Palma, Alicante and Málaga are not among them.
How many flights did the 11 November strike cancel?About 5% of Spain's scheduled flights by mid-morning (234 of 4,529) and 7.3% by evening. The legal floor for international flights was 53% at Palma, 57% at Málaga and 54% at Alicante.
Málaga Airport to Marbella by roadAbout 60 km, 40 to 50 minutes, private transfer from €65 per vehicle.
Alicante Airport to Benidorm by roadAbout 58 km, 45 to 60 minutes.
Palma Airport to Alcúdia by roadAbout 60 km, 40 to 50 minutes.
Does a strike cancel my airport transfer?No. A pre-booked private transfer is not on any strike notice; send the driver your new landing time if the flight moves.

Sources: AeroCorner News, Majorca Daily Bulletin, Idealista, Wego, Palma Airport Info, TransferBnB route data. Read 12 November 2026. Full list at the foot of the page.

Is there an airport strike in Spain right now?

Yes, a few, but none at the airports most holidaymakers use.

The biggest one was the nationwide general strike on Wednesday 11 November 2026. The CCOO and UGT unions called it for 24 hours, from 00:00 to 23:59, and it was their first joint full-day general strike since 2012. It covered aviation, public transport and hospitality, and it has now ended.

What remains is local. The Groundforce baggage strike at Barcelona-El Prat, which began on 4 August, was called off on 17 October, as our Barcelona Airport strike guide explains. The controllers' dispute at nine small control towers, dating from April, is the one still running. Neither is Palma, Alicante or Málaga, which is why a headline saying "Spain airport strike" so often has nothing to do with the airport you are flying into.

That could change, and the section on what comes next explains how to check.

Is Palma, Alicante or Málaga airport on strike?

No. Here is where each stands on 12 November 2026.

Palma de Mallorca Airport

Palma's ground-handling strike by Swissport staff is over. Swissport and the CCOO union had five strike dates in August 2026, and the airport's own news page reports an agreement before the mid and late August dates; other trackers show the run ending on 29 August. Either way, nothing is filed now. Palma's air traffic controllers are not part of the April dispute.

Palma was one of the airports named when ground handlers struck at Easter 2026, so it has form. It isn't on strike today.

Alicante-Elche Airport

Alicante has no airport or airline strike with a minimum-services order on the Transport Ministry's books. Benidorm and the Costa Blanca are the quiet end of this story.

Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport

Málaga has one live dispute: 16 cleaning staff employed by Ecolimpieza Facility Services, with the CGT union, since 7 August 2026. Nothing about it affects flights, baggage or the road to the Costa del Sol.

At Easter, though, Málaga was among the first airports hit when Groundforce began its indefinite strike, so a repeat is the thing to watch.

Is there an air traffic control strike in Spain?

Yes, but not where you are flying.

Since midnight on 17 April 2026, controllers at Saerco, a private air navigation provider, have been on an indefinite strike called by the USCA and CCOO unions. It covers Jerez de la Frontera, A Coruña, Madrid-Cuatro Vientos, Sevilla, Vigo, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Palma. Forecasts at the start put it at about 20,000 scheduled movements and 2.6 million passengers in the first month, and that is the number that circulates in headlines about "the Spanish air traffic control strike".

La Palma is an island in the Canaries, not Palma de Mallorca. The two get mixed up constantly, and Palma Airport's own news page says its controllers are not on strike.

What happens to flights on a Spanish general strike day?

Most still fly, and far more than the legal minimum.

The Transport Ministry sets a protected share of flights for each strike. For 11 November it signed the order on 6 November, and the shares at the three airports were these.

AirportIsland and public-service routesInternational and long domesticShort domestic
Palma de Mallorca75%53%n/a
Málaga75%57%32%
Alicante74%54%31%

Read the international column if you're flying in from the UK or the US: at least 53 to 57% of those flights were protected, and the airlines chose which ones. That is a floor, not a forecast. By mid-morning Aena counted 234 cancellations out of 4,529 scheduled flights across Spain, about 5%, and 332 by evening, 7.3%, with a storm in the Canary Islands adding to the total. At Alicante it was 8 of 236 by midday. Airports stayed open and staffed throughout.

The ground is where a strike day bites. In the Balearics on 11 November, charter buses to and from the airport and the ports of Palma and Alcúdia were required to cover only 35% of journeys. Palma's metro ran at 50% of normal frequency in two peak windows and 80% the rest of the day, and intercity buses ran the Sunday timetable. Demonstrations in big cities were expected to bring sudden road closures too.

A flight that lands on a strike day can meet a thin bus timetable. A car waiting in arrivals doesn't.

Could another strike be called before Christmas?

Possibly, and nothing is filed for the three airports today.

Spanish airport strikes have come in waves: Ryanair's handler Azul Handling struck from October 2025, ground staff at a dozen airports struck at Easter 2026, and Swissport struck at Palma in August. We found no Azul Handling dates for 2026, so we can't call that dispute over, only quiet. The ministry order that covered it ran out on 31 July 2026.

Two habits protect you. Check your airline's app and the Aena airport page for your airport the day before you fly. And put the ground leg in place before any notice appears, so a new strike can only move your flight.

The same logic applies elsewhere: our guide to strikes in Italy and France covers the calendars for those two countries.

How do you get from the airport to your resort on a strike day?

By a car that's booked for your flight, not a timetable.

Buses and trains run to a timetable that a strike rewrites. A private transfer runs to your landing time and your hotel, and it isn't on any strike notice. Here is what that looks like at each airport.

Málaga Airport to Marbella and the Costa del Sol

Málaga to the coast is a road, because the train stops short of where most people are staying.

The Cercanías C-1 train is the right answer for Málaga city, Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola: about 12 minutes to the city and around €2. It doesn't reach Marbella or Puerto Banús, so everyone going that far needs a coach, a taxi or a car. A Málaga Airport to Marbella transfer covers about 60 km in 40 to 50 minutes and starts from €65 per vehicle, so a family of three pays under €22 each. The Málaga Airport hub lists the other Costa del Sol runs.

On a summer Saturday the coast road is slower than the timetable says, which a strike doesn't change.

Alicante Airport to Benidorm and the Costa Blanca

Alicante to Benidorm is about 58 km, and published driving times run from 45 to 60 minutes depending on the hour and where in Benidorm you're staying. Landing on a strike day with a family and two cases, a booked car beats waiting for a seat on a coach that may be running less often.

Palma Airport to Alcúdia, Magaluf and the north

Palma Airport is about 10 km from Palma city, which is the easy hop. The long ones are the north coast: Alcúdia is about 60 km and 40 to 50 minutes. On 11 November, charter buses on airport and port runs were required to cover just 35% of journeys. Cover for the long runs is where a strike day costs you.

Palma and Alicante don't have their own TransferBnB route pages yet. Post the trip with your flight number and verified carriers send offers for either.

What are your rights if a Spanish strike cancels your flight?

A refund or a new flight, your choice, and care while you wait.

When a flight is cancelled, the airline must offer one choice of a refund, re-routing at the earliest opportunity or re-routing on a later date. While you wait it owes you meals and refreshments, a hotel and transport to it if you're moved to the next day, and two calls or messages.

Compensation on top depends on whose strike it was. A strike by the airline's own staff doesn't count as an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation can be due. A strike external to the airline, like airport baggage handlers, may count as one, and then the airline can refuse. The amounts are €250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for longer intra-EU flights and €600 beyond 3,500 km. Passengers flying from the UK can check the UK version of these rules on the Civil Aviation Authority site.

None of that gets you from the airport to the hotel.

If your flight is rebooked, send the driver the new flight number and landing time as soon as you have them.

What else slows a Spanish airport this month?

Two things that have nothing to do with a strike.

Since 10 November, Ryanair closes bag drop 60 minutes before departure, not 40. And the EU's digital border system is fully running, so UK passport holders register fingerprints and a face scan on arrival, with longer waits at border control. Both mean an arrivals hall that takes longer than the timetable. A driver who tracks your flight waits for you, however long that takes.

Book the airport transfer before you fly

The strike risk is over the flight and the buses. The ride can be settled today.

On TransferBnB you post the trip once, with your flight number, bags and group size, and verified local carriers send their offers. You choose one, and the driver meets you in arrivals whether the bus runs or not.

Whether you're landing in Palma for a week by the sea or in Málaga on the way to Marbella, the strike calendar is one tab to check, and the ride from the airport doesn't need to be on it.

Post your airport transfer request

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an airport strike in Spain right now?

Not at Palma, Alicante or Málaga airport on 12 November 2026. The nationwide general strike of 11 November has ended. The one strike still running is a controllers' dispute at nine small regional towers, none of them at the three main holiday airports.

Is Palma airport on strike?

No. Swissport ground-handling staff at Palma struck on dates in August 2026 and the dispute has been settled. Nothing is currently filed for Palma, and its air traffic controllers are not on strike.

Is there a strike at Alicante airport?

No. On 12 November 2026 there is no airport or airline strike with a minimum-services order for Alicante-Elche Airport.

Is Málaga airport affected by the strike in Spain?

Not by anything that changes flights. Málaga has a cleaning-staff dispute involving 16 people, with no reported effect on travellers. The general strike of 11 November, which did cut flights to protected minimums, has ended.

Is there an air traffic control strike in Spain?

Yes, since 17 April 2026, but only at nine small towers run by the private provider Saerco: Jerez, A Coruña, Madrid-Cuatro Vientos, Sevilla, Vigo, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Palma. Palma de Mallorca, Alicante and Málaga are not included.

How many flights run on a Spanish general strike day?

Far more than the legal minimum. For the 11 November 2026 general strike the protected share of international flights was 53% at Palma, 57% at Málaga and 54% at Alicante, yet Aena counted cancellations of about 5% of Spain's scheduled flights by mid-morning and 7.3% by evening.

Can I claim compensation if a strike in Spain cancels my flight?

Sometimes. You are always owed a refund or re-routing, and meals and a hotel while you wait. Compensation of €250, €400 or €600 depends on distance and on whose strike it was: an airline's own staff strike can qualify, an external one may not.

Will an airport transfer still run on a Spanish strike day?

A pre-booked private transfer runs to your flight, not to a bus timetable, and isn't on a strike notice. If a strike moves your flight, send the driver the new landing time and they meet you in arrivals.

Sources and Data