Easyjet cancels 232 flights over next three days from holiday destination loved by British tourists as cabin crew go on strike

EasyJet has been forced to cancel 232 flights to and from Portugal over the next few days as air cabin crew go on strike.

More than a quarter of the planes due to take off will remain on the ground from August 15 to 17, it has been revealed today.

According to Portuguese newspaper Expresso, a total of 1,138 EasyJet flights were expected to take place over this period.

The strike action, which was first announced at the end of July, was originally expected to impact 160 flights.

But it has now been revealed that more than 200 flights will be impacted in total, with 27 flights affected to and from the UK. 

Brits planning on travelling to the popular holiday destination have been urged to check the status of their flights using the airline's online flight checker. 

EasyJet runs flights from many airports across the UK, including London Gatwick, Luton, Glasgow, Manchester and Bristol. 

It flies to a number of popular tourist destinations in Portugal, including Lisbon, Porto and Faro, as well as the Algarve coast.  

Earlier this month, Portugal's National Civil Aviation Flight Staff Union appealed to the 'common sense of the company, so that it can give in to fair demands of its workers'.

Cabin crew union SNPVAC also urged Easyjet to 'find solutions to avoid' the strike and criticised the airline for disregarding its previous suggestions to prevent the strike action, the Mirror reported.

Ricardo Penarroias, president of the union, said working conditions had worsened, citing longer working hours and staff shortages. Staff are also asking for higher bonuses. 

An EasyJet spokesperson said 27 return flights between the UK and Portugal have been cancelled ahead of the strike period. 

The airline added that only 62 per cent of its flight programme would operate during the three-day period.

A spokesperson told The Mirror: 'We are extremely disappointed with this needless strike action, especially at this important time of the year for our customers.

'Our priority has been to try and minimise the impact of this strike action on our customers, which included cancelling some flights in advance in order to allow them to rearrange their travel plans. 

'Customers whose flight has been affected have already been contacted a number of days ago with their options to rebook or receive a refund. 

'We also advise customers travelling to and from Portugal on 15, 16 and 17 August to check the status of their flights on the EasyJet Flight Tracker.'