I had been working for Spanair for more than ten years and, in recent years, for the company that did the handling for the company in Guacimeta. At the moment, she doesn't know what will happen to her or her colleagues. There are around a dozen workers who have been affected by the sudden closure of the airline in Lanzarote. For the moment, they have received their January payroll and are "released" and paid until operations return to the airport. That is, if they return.
A few years ago, Spanair had "strength" at the Guacimeta airport, but after the cancellation of several routes, only the Lanzarote-Madrid route remained. "The suspicions and rumors had been going on for quite some time. It could be seen coming. Everything was already very weak, but the employees found out about the closure of Spanair the same Friday, practically at the same time as the passengers," says this employee, who will consult with a lawyer, together with another group of workers, to find out exactly what situation they are in.
"We don't have anything clear. We have been paid for January, but we don't know what will happen. They have given us a letter, through which we have learned that we are still on the payroll, but we are released, waiting for operations to enter Guacimeta. For the moment, we only work for an Austrian company that we do the handling for at the airport. But this company only comes in winter," she laments.
The same day they found out that Spanair was closing and, therefore, their jobs were in danger, they had to deal with passenger complaints. "They were very supportive. We had the letter from Spanair with the instructions, we weren't naked either. We knew what we had to tell them. People were supportive because they lost a plane and we may lose a job," says this employee.
In the Canary Islands, some 160 workers have been affected by the closure of Spanair, which filed for bankruptcy this week. Previously, the pilots anticipated the company's intention and filed another "necessary" bankruptcy proceeding.
