Strike one

Talks to avert today's pilot strike and next week's Balearic coach strikes broke down yesterday with the tourist industry braced for a summer of travel chaos. At midnight last night, pilots for state air carrier Iberia embarked on the first of a series of 24-hour strikes. Just the mere threat of industrial action going ahead forced Iberia to cancel 28 per cent of today's domestic and European flights with a handful of long-haul flights being withdrawn last night. Travel agents also handled another flood of passengers booked with Iberia desperately trying to change their bookings in order to avoid today's national strike chaos which will hit hundreds of thousands of travellers. The omens certainly do not look good for the domestic tourism industry this summer and the Balearics are going to be one of the hardest hit with the combination of pilot strikes and a three-day coach strike next weekend turning people away from the Balearics.