PARIS, June 27, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Budget airline Ryanair has downplayed the

impact of staff strikes this weekend, saying there was "very minor
disruption" to its schedule.

Ryanair cabin crew unions called a three-day strike over pay and working
conditions starting on Friday in Spain, Portugal and Belgium, and in Italy
and France on Saturday.

In a statement on Sunday, the company said less than two percent of its 9,000
flights operating since Friday had been affected by what it called "minor and
poorly supported crew strikes".

Europe's biggest airline blamed cancelled flights in Spain, Italy, the UK and
France on thunderstorms in southern Europe and a strike at Marseille's air
traffic control centre.

But trade unions dispute this. France's SNPNC said 36 out of 80 Ryanair
flights were cancelled due to the strike on Saturday, listing a further 16 on
Sunday.

Spain's Union Sindical Obrera said 75 flights were cancelled on Saturday in
Madrid, Barcelona, Palma, Ibiza, Santiago and Girona, with 42 flights
cancelled and around 60 delayed on Sunday.

Belgium's Charleroi airport was the worst hit with 44 cancelled return
flights on Saturday but none on Sunday, according to Ryanair's Scorebuddy
website.

SNPNC representative Damien Mourgues has previously said Ryanair does not
respect rest time laws and is calling for a raise for cabin crew still paid
at the minimum wage.

Ryanair cabin crew unions in Spain have called another strike from June 30 to
July 2.

The airline said it had notified "passengers whose flights were disrupted by
any ATC (air traffic control) delays/strikes or weather disruption", but did
not say if it was setting up a refund procedure.