Portugal’s biggest transport shutdown since 2024 is under way. A 24-hour general strike is running across the entire country on Wednesday, June 3, with more than 500 flights cancelled at every major airport.
If you have a flight to, from, or through Portugal today, your booking is at real risk. TAP Air Portugal is running just 79 services. Its normal daily programme runs to around 300.
And here is the part airlines are not making obvious: even if your flight is among the protected services, the Lisbon Metro is shut until Thursday morning. Getting to the airport could be the harder problem.
The Key Facts
- 500+ flights cancelled across Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Funchal and Ponta Delgada
- TAP running just 79 flights today — its usual daily operation is around 300
- Lisbon Metro closed from 11pm Tuesday until 6:30am Thursday — 31.5 hours
- Full cash refund is guaranteed for all cancellations — 7 days, no vouchers
- Madeira and Azores routes are 100% protected by law — those flights should operate
What Is Actually Happening
The walkout has been called by CGTP, Portugal’s largest trade union confederation, after nine months of failed negotiations over a government labour reform package known as Trabalho XXI.
Trabalho XXI would make it easier to dismiss workers, expand outsourcing, and limit collective bargaining rights. Union leaders describe the proposals as an attack on workers’ protections built up over decades.
The cabin crew union SNPVAC, representing more than 5,000 flight attendants across TAP, easyJet, Ryanair and Azores Airlines, voted 79% in favour of joining the strike. That vote is what makes the aviation disruption so severe.
TAP Air Portugal is running only 79 minimum-service flights today and has cancelled the rest of its operation. The airline is contacting passengers with cancelled bookings directly and is offering free date changes via tap.com.
Ryanair says it expects near-normal operations, but its cabin crew based in Lisbon, Porto and Faro are SNPVAC members participating in the strike. Some disruption on Portuguese-based Ryanair services is possible.
easyJet is expecting some disruption. Air Europa has cancelled all services between Madrid and both Lisbon and Porto. Etihad has pulled its Abu Dhabi to Lisbon route entirely for the day.
The December 2025 general strike over the same dispute cancelled around 400 flights. Today’s action is bigger, covering more of the workforce and hitting at the peak opening fortnight of Portugal’s summer season.
On the ground, the situation is equally difficult. The Lisbon Metro’s Aeroporto line — the direct connection from the city centre to the airport — is closed until 6:30am Thursday. Carris buses and trams, Fertagus suburban rail and the Tagus river ferries are all disrupted. Taxis and Uber are operating but at surge pricing across the city.
What Passengers Are Saying Right Now
Travellers across several subreddits have been sharing updates since late last week, covering everything from which airlines are allowing free changes to what to do with no public transport in Lisbon for two days straight.
Travellers noted that TAP and SATA are allowing date changes without fees, while easyJet was described as holding firm on standard booking conditions for many passengers at the time of posting.
June 3rd airport strike in Portugal
by in r/primaverasound
At government level, the US Embassy in Lisbon issued a formal travel alert on Sunday, warning US citizens of widespread disruptions to transport, public services and government operations across Portugal.
The Embassy flagged that travellers should expect disruptions extending beyond a single day, covering transportation, public services and essential governmental operations.
A nationwide strike is scheduled across Portugal on June 3 and is expected to cause widespread disruptions across the country. Travelers and residents may experience interruptions to transportation, public services, and essential governmental operations.
— U.S. Embassy Lisbon (@USEmbPortugal) June 1, 2026
For tourists already in Lisbon, the strike and the bank holiday that immediately follows on June 4 create a two-day stretch with almost no public transport at all.
A traveller staying in Lisbon through to Saturday asked for suggestions on what to do with no public transport on Wednesday and no buses or metro on Thursday either, a point many tourists only discovered at the last minute.
Strike June 3 & Bank Holiday June 4
by in r/LisbonPortugalTravel
What You Can Actually Do
If you have a June 3 booking, act now rather than wait for the airline to contact you. TAP’s free date change window is open, and the earlier you move, the more availability you have on June 4 and 5.
- Check your flight status now on your airline’s app. TAP, easyJet and Ryanair all have live status tools. If your flight shows as cancelled, skip to the refund step.
- Use TAP’s free date change if your flight is with TAP: tap.com, Manage Booking, Change Flight. Move to June 2, 4 or 5. No fee and no fare difference.
- Check easyJet’s disruption advisory at easyjet.com and Ryanair’s at ryanair.com. Both carriers have issued Portugal-specific waivers for affected passengers.
- Book private transport to the airport today if your flight is confirmed. Do not count on the Lisbon Metro, Carris buses or Fertagus rail. Allow 90 minutes from central Lisbon and budget 40 to 70 euros for a taxi or Uber.
- Faro Airport passengers: the Algarve city bus network is disrupted. Hotel shuttles and pre-booked private transfers are your safest option.
- Flying to Madeira or the Azores: your route is legally protected at 100% under Portuguese minimum services law. Your flight should operate. Still verify and still arrange private transport to the airport.
What You Are Owed
All passengers on cancelled June 3 Portugal flights have core rights under EU Regulation 261/2004 (or UK261 for anyone departing a UK airport). These apply regardless of which airline you are flying.
Your EU261 Rights
Cancelled flight? Every passenger is entitled to a full cash refund or rerouting, plus duty of care from the moment disruption starts.
Maximum fixed cash compensation per passenger for flights over 3,500km, where the airline cannot establish extraordinary circumstances.
The refund is unconditional. If your flight is cancelled, you are entitled to a full cash refund within seven days. The airline cannot offer a travel credit or voucher instead. Use this wording at the desk or in writing: “I am invoking my right to a full cash refund under EU Regulation 261/2004 Article 8.”
Fixed cash compensation — the amount on top of the refund — is more complicated here. The June 3 action is a national general strike called against the government, not specifically against any airline. For Ryanair and easyJet, that gives a stronger basis to claim extraordinary circumstances and avoid the fixed payout. For TAP, whose own cabin crew are walking out, the 2018 ECJ Kruesemann ruling suggests the airline’s own-staff strike may not be an extraordinary circumstance. The legal outcome depends on which national regulator or court handles your specific claim.
Our advice: file the compensation claim regardless. Airlines routinely reject as a first step. If rejected, escalate to the UK CAA for UK passengers or a no-win-no-fee service such as AirHelp. A first-response rejection is not a final answer.
Duty of care applies whatever the cause. At two hours or more of delay, the airline must provide meals and refreshments. If you are stranded overnight, hotel accommodation plus transport to and from the hotel is required. Do not wait for the airline to offer it; ask at the desk and keep every receipt.
- Full refund (Article 8): unconditional cash within 7 days for any cancellation.
- Rerouting: airline must rebook you to your final destination at the earliest opportunity, no extra cost.
- Meals and refreshments: from a 2-hour delay onwards, always, regardless of cause.
- Hotel plus transport: if stranded overnight, no exceptions.
- Fixed compensation: 250 to 600 euros by flight distance — contested for this strike but always worth filing.
If your Portugal plans stretch into the summer, keep an eye on how the Trabalho XXI debate develops in Parliament. Unions have made clear that further strike action is on the table if the reform bill passes without substantial changes. Today’s disruption may not be the last one this season.
