Iberia pilots on strike

Pilots of the Spanish airline Iberia hold a chain of strikes.

They protest against the low-cost carrier Iberia Express, established in February, which they see as a threat to their jobs.

"The company intends to divert 40 planes from the main group to the new subsidiary, which would mean the elimination of 8,000 jobs", said a spokesperson of the pilot union SEPLA.

The strikes are due to take place every Monday and Friday for a period of fifteen weeks.

International Airlines Group, a merge of British Airlines and Iberia, considers the start-up of the low-cost airline division inevitable. The reason is the low profitability, and even loss-making, of the group's Spanish unit.

Iberia pilots already held 12 days of strikes between December and March.