EasyJet cancels more than 200 flights before three-day strike

British budget airline EasyJet said Wednesday it has cancelled more than 200 flights to and from Portugal because of a strike by cabin crew based in the country.

Easyjet said it cancelled 232 out of 1,138 affected flights between Thursday and Saturday, it told AFP.

Easyjet has offered to reimburse passengers on cancelled flights or to rebook them on other flights.

The Portuguese government has ordered airlines to maintain a minimum number of flights to the island of Madeira.

Easyjet also serves the Portuguese capital Lisbon as well as Porto in the north and Faro along the southern Algarve coast.

A union representing cabin crew based in Portugal announced the strike in late July to push for better working conditions.

"Working conditions never cease to worsen," Ricardo Penarroias, president of the SNPVAC union, told AFP, citing longer working hours and staff shortages. The strikers are also demanding higher bonuses.

The union on Monday said the airline should show "good sense" rather than cancelling flights.