Barcelona's first deputy mayor, Gerardo Pisarello, has demanded low-cost airline Vueling "explain" last week's incidents which left thousands of passengers on the ground. Pisarello said that the situation of cancellations and delays "cannot become normal" and have called for "maximum transparency and diligence". Vueling has seen a number of weeks of delays, cancellations and complaints from passengers, exacerbated by last week's storms.
"Vueling runs almost 60% of the flights from Barcelona-El Prat airport", Pisarello noted, adding that the city council is worried because the city's "image and reputation" is at stake, as well as "users' basic rights". "We will be very tough on this matter", he said, calling on the company to inform its customers as to what has happened.
Last Monday, 14,300 passengers were affected by flight cancellations after heavy rainfall, some having to wait days to travel. Customers of the company complained about new flights cancellations on Thursday and Friday, showing their anger about the lack of information they had received from the airline on Twitter. Vueling replied that the cancellation of some flights is normal.
Support for taxi drivers
Pisarello also commented about the 48-hour taxi driver strike called for this Wednesday, saying the city council supports driver in "all their demands". Mayor Ada Colau and the Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona had approved a limit on the number of VTC licences, those used by drivers for Uber and Cabify for example. The limit has been temporarily suspended by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia whilst it considers an appeal from the Spanish government.