Palma Airport Strike: Indefinite Disruptions Announced for Special Assistance Passengers
Wednesday, May 20th, 2026
Holidaymakers heading to Mallorca this summer are being warned to prepare for potential delays at Palma Airport (PMI) following the announcement of indefinite industrial action. The airport’s reduced mobility assistance team is set to launch a series of walkouts, triggering fears of logistical bottlenecks just as the peak holiday season gets underway. If you or anyone you are travelling with relies on airport assistance, here is everything you need to know about the upcoming dispute.
Who is Striking and When Does It Start?
The industrial action is being staged by the airport’s PRM (Persons with Reduced Mobility) assistance staff. These are the vital ground-handling teams responsible for helping elderly, disabled, or injured passengers navigate the terminals, boarding gates, and aircraft.
The strike is scheduled to start on Monday, 25th May 2026. What was initially planned as a single-day protest has now been upgraded to an indefinite strike. Moving forward, passengers can expect rolling daily walkouts, alongside full 24-hour stoppages every single Saturday, the airport’s busiest changeover day for flights.
Why are the Workers Walking Out?
The strike is the culmination of months of simmering tension between the workforce and the airport’s contracted service provider, Adelte. Trade unions have hit out at management over a variety of deep-seated issues, including:
- Chronic Staff Shortages: Employees claim an over-reliance on part-time and zero-hours contracts has left the service severely understaffed, forcing existing workers to take on massive amounts of short-notice overtime to keep the airport running.
- Worsening Work-Life Balance: Staff report severe physical and mental exhaustion, pointing out that over 8,000 emergency shift extensions were pushed through last year alone, often with less than 24 hours’ notice.
- Claims of “Coercion”: The dispute turned bitter this week after management issued an internal memo pre-emptively banning 100% of staff shift swaps. Unions have heavily condemned this move, calling it an illegal attempt to sabotage the workers’ constitutional right to strike.
Who Will Be Affected by the Delays?
The strike will directly impact vulnerable travellers who require mobility assistance, wheelchairs, or dedicated guiding services through Son Sant Joan Airport. Staff have warned that past shortages have already left some arriving passengers stranded on aircraft or waiting for hours in baggage reclaim; these delays are expected to worsen during active strike windows.
Because the PRM team is a core gear in the airport’s overall operational machine, severe delays in boarding vulnerable passengers can cause a knock-on effect, potentially leading to minor departure delays for standard flights.
What Should Travellers Do Next?
If you have pre-booked special assistance for a flight landing or departing from Palma on or after 25th May, you should:
- Contact your airline directly to confirm whether they expect any changes to your boarding or disembarkation times.
- Allow extra time at the airport, particularly if you are flying on a Saturday.
- Keep an eye out for updates on servicios mínimos (minimum services). The Spanish Ministry of Transport is expected to step in at the eleventh hour to legally mandate that a high percentage of assistance staff remain on duty, which may help soften the blow for international flights.
