Striking coach-drivers returned to work on the Balearic Islands yesterday, but there were still delays of over five hours for some passengers flying from Dublin, Cork and Shannon to the Spanish islands.
"It's the knock-on effect of the strike," said Ms Siobhan Moore, Aer Rianta spokeswoman. "If there are delays over there, it affects the outbound flights here."
Another strike is threatened for mid-July if agreement is not reached between the drivers and their management over a 17.5 per cent pay rise.
Tour operators would be better prepared to handle it the next time, according to Mr Fergus Kilkenny, president of the Irish Travel Agents' Association. "But considering the importance of tourism to the islands' economies, they will be determined to avoid another strike," he said.
Tour operators in Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca lost 10 million pesetas (#60 million) because of the 72-hour strike, according to the Spanish Interior Ministry.
According to Aer Rianta, yesterday's delays affected about 1,200 passengers flying to and from Menorca. It is estimated the 72-hour strike stranded over 300,000 travellers at airports over the weekend. About 5,000 of those were Irish passengers, according to the ITAA.
Meanwhile, tomorrow's one-day strike by pilots at Iberia Airlines will not affect flights to and from Ireland, a company spokeswoman said.
The Spanish airline has cancelled 24 per cent of its 1,019 flights, but many of these are internal. Flights between London and Madrid and Barcelona are also affected. Further one-day strikes are threatened by pilots for July 10th, 17th and 24th and August 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th and 31st.
