Clashes between protestors and police continued Wednesday evening in Barcelona and several other towns in Spain’s Catalonia region ahead of a general strike planned for Friday, October 18.
ABC News reports that some clashes took place in the major tourist sections of central Barcelona. Elsewhere in the city and other area towns, protestors set up street barriers and engaged in running battles with the police. Over the past three days of unrest, more than 250 people have been injured.
A number of airlines have issued travel waivers due to the situation:
Iberia Airlines reports that the strike is being called by Intersindical-CSC Unions and the IAC on Friday, October 18. As a result, Iberia customers with a ticket issued by October 16 to or from Barcelona can rebook through October 23.
American Airlines is allowing customers scheduled to fly through October 20 to rebook through November 1 between the same city pair in the same cabin (or pay the difference).
Delta customers scheduled to fly on October 18 can rebook through October 21, with the new ticket to be reissued on or before that date.
United Airlines customers scheduled to fly through October 20 can rebook through November 1 with no change fee or difference in fare, so long as travel is rescheduled in the originally ticketed cabin and between the original city pair. For wholly rescheduled travel departing after November 1, or for a change in departure or destination city, the airline will waive the change fee, but a difference in fare may apply. Rescheduled travel must be completed within one year from the date when the ticket was issued.
The protests are over Monday’s sentencing of nine separatist Catalan leaders on charges stemming from the fallout of the 2017 independence referendum, which the central government of Spain said was illegal. This, too, prompted several days of protests, resulting in a hit to tourism bookings during October of that year, according to a pair of studies by AARP Travel and ForwardKeys that were released at the time.
Related Stories
General Strike Planned For Friday As Barcelona Protests Continue
New Brexit Deal Reached, But It Needs Parliamentary Approval
JetBlue, Norwegian Sign Interline Agreement on Europe Flights