Pilots at Spanair, the Spanish subsidiary of Scandinavia's SAS, went on a 24-hour strike on Tuesday, the first of a series of stoppages they have called for November and December. Union Sepla accused the company of failing repeatedly to meet the terms of its agreement with the pilots. They are also alarmed by an increase in the use of leased aircraft with crew.
Around 90 percent of the airline's more than 500 professionals joined the first strike, Sepla added in a note. A Spanair press officer said the company had cancelled around a third of its regular flights and three more from the remaining service had been unable to operate.