Strikes triple blow to Britons holidaying in Spain

British holidaymakers to Spain face a triple whammy after taxi drivers and bar owners joined airport workers in announcing strike plans.

Hopes of averting 22 days of strikes by Spanish airport ground staff were dashed yesterday when peace talks failed. Nearly 12,000 workers will stage 24-hour walkouts from April 20 until the end of summer, over government plans to sell off part of the airport authority. Up to 2,000 taxi drivers in the Canary Islands and bar and restaurant owners in the Balearics said they, too, are taking industrial action.

The cabbies will strike from April 15 to 17 over unlicensed minicab drivers who they claim take their trade. No date has been announced for the closure by bars and restaurants on Ibiza and Formentera over a law banning smoking in public places. About 15 million Britons a year holiday in Spain. Ryanair alone has calculated it must cancel 300 flights for thousands of passengers over Easter unless the airport strikes are called off.

Britain's transport minister Theresa Villiers has appealed to both sides in the airport dispute to reach an agreement.