Irish holidaymakers flying to and from the Balearic Islands will continue to experience delays despite the ending of the Balearic coach drivers' strike, Aer Rianta warned today.
The airport operator was advising people intending to travel to come as normal but to expect delays of anything between two and four hours. As for the rest of the week it said it expected the situation to improve but could say little more than that.
A spokeswoman for Iberian Airlines said a planned strike by its pilots would cause the cancellation of some flights.
However she said the daily flights to and from Barcelona and Madrid were not affected as yet. Iberian Airline pilots are planning to stage a strike every Tuesday in July.
Earlier today it was reported that many holidaymakers were still facing knock-on delays of up to 50 hours.
The Irish Travel Agents' Association was advising travellers to take extra money, refreshments, medicine and snacks as a precaution.
The 72-hour strike caused chaos for thousands passengers going to and from Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza, with delays averaging five hours followed by waits in taxi queues for three hours or more .
There were fears the strike could be extended indefinitely or resumed on weekends later in the summer but sources in the region told the Federation of Tour Operators that a deal had been agreed which meant that the problem would not recur.
There were no immediate reports from Spain to confirm what the Federation had been told and union leaders on the islands had warned that strikes could cripple the transport system again later this month if bus drivers and employers failed to reach an accord.
A settlement of the pay dispute had been thought possible on Saturday but drivers rejected it.
Manuel Izquierdo of the CCOO trade union said drivers had planned further stoppages - the next on July 15th.
It is estimated that about 5,000 Irish people holiday in the Balearics each week.
Additional reporting PA