Christmas end of December 2008 to mid-January 2009, Madrid-Barajas chaotic conditions prevailed at the Spanish airport. Many question marks are slow, recusal, flu, snowfall, fog – behind the incidents at the Spanish airport of Madrid-Barajas beginning January 2009 with delays, flight cancellations and the chaotic weekend of January 9, 2009 of. In particular passengers of Alitalia, EasyJet, Spanair, Air Europa and Iberia Airlines were affected. The turn: the industrial disputes of the Spanish airline Iberia and its employees festered since early December 2008. This involves primarily the planned merger of Iberia and British Airways and related job guarantees and salary conditions.

Mid-December 2008 parts of the ground staff and cabin crew of Iberia in withdrawal began to appear. This was joined by the confrontation of Iberia with the powerful pilot’s Union SEPLA (Sindicato Espanol de Pilotos de lineas Aereas). The situation was confused and the reasons of various flight delays and Cancellations are still unclear. Officially declared no strike by the pilot’s Union SEPLA. Iberia Union, accused to have called their members without officially announcing this to a slow. A slow means that the employees especially slowly run only service provision and these. Iberia has now initiated disciplinary proceedings against 41 pilots and sued the SEPLA to 13 million euros damages. Iberia announced according to Spanish media reports, that there was evidence that confirmed the deliberate delays by pilots.

In addition to the problems from the slow of the pilots, way 8 of 24 employees of air surveillance and air traffic control of the day shift at the Madrid-Barajas airport were late December mysterious ill\”. It was said officially that a flu to have access. As a result, two of the four runways of the airport of Madrid had to be closed. That such battles at the onslaught of holiday-makers from all over Europe on the Christmas holidays, that would result in new year and on the feast of the three kings to considerable problems, should have all parties clear.