Spain General Strike 11 Nov 2026: Flights, Trains and Metro

1. What is established, and what is not yet

Three levels of information need to be kept apart. Mixing them up is the most common mistake in articles published on this strike.

Established

• The call. CCOO and UGT announced a general strike on 7 October 2026 (France 24, 7 October 2026). The CIG, ELA, LAB, CGT, CNT and other organisations have backed it (Idealista, 9 October 2026; Le Courrier d’Espagne, 17 October 2026).
• The date and length. Wednesday 11 November 2026, 24 hours, across the whole country (Idealista, 9 October 2026).
• The reasons. Housing, wages, precarious work and cutting working hours (Le Courrier d’Espagne, 17 October 2026).
• The election context. Snap general elections are set for Sunday 29 November 2026, and the official campaign starts on Friday 13 November, two days after the strike (France 24, 7 October 2026).

Announced, but not yet confirmed

• The registration of the call with the Ministry of Labour. The EFE news agency announces it for Monday 19 October 2026 (Infobae, EFE wire of 16 October 2026). On 17 October, Le Courrier d’Espagne gave a deadline of « the week of 12 October ». The two dates do not match, and no registration had been confirmed at our check date.
• The impact on flights. The press mentions a risk to ground services and baggage handling (Euro Weekly News, 9 October 2026; Majorca Daily Bulletin, 8 October 2026). No list of cancelled flights has been published.

Not yet published

• Start and end times. A 24-hour strike could cover the whole day, but nothing confirms that.
• Minimum services, which the competent authority sets for each sector. The Ministry of Transport page on these services was not accessible during our check.
• Operator statements. We found none from AENA, the airlines, Renfe, Adif, or the metro and bus networks of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville or Bilbao.

Source: compilation of dated press reports, mainly Le Courrier d’Espagne (17 October 2026) and Idealista (9 October 2026), plus our search of 18 October 2026 for the absence of operator statements. Checked on 18 October 2026.

2. Flights: compensation and the date to know

Regulation (EC) 261/2004 covers flights departing from a Spanish airport, whatever the airline (article 3, paragraph 1, point a, Spanish text on EUR-Lex). It does not say whether a flight will be cancelled. That depends on how many staff actually strike and on minimum services, neither of which is known yet. What it does set is your rights, depending on how much notice the airline gives you.

If you are flying from the UK, the rules depend on where the flight departs, not on your passport. A flight departing from a Spanish airport falls under the EU rules described here, whichever airline operates it. A flight departing from the UK falls under the UK version of the same rules (legislation.gov.uk), with amounts set in pounds. Check which set applies to your booking before you rely on any figure in this section.

The date to keep in mind: 28 October 2026

If the airline cancels your flight and tells you at least two weeks before departure, it does not have to pay compensation (article 5, paragraph 1, point c, i). For a flight on Wednesday 11 November, that limit falls on Wednesday 28 October 2026. A cancellation notified after that date generally gives a right to compensation, unless the airline can invoke extraordinary circumstances (article 5, paragraph 3).

Source: Regulation (EC) 261/2004, Spanish text on EUR-Lex, checked on 18 October 2026. A 50% reduction can apply if an alternative transport arrives within a limited time (article 7, paragraph 2).

An airline staff strike is not an extraordinary circumstance

A strike by the airline’s own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance under the regulation. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on this in case C-28/20, in a judgment of 23 March 2021 (EUR-Lex, case C-28/20). A strike by a third party, such as an outside contractor, can be assessed case by case. That question has not been settled for 11 November.

What you can claim in every case

Assistance under article 9 is due whatever the reason for the cancellation: meals and refreshments, accommodation if needed, and two phone calls or emails. If you give up the flight, the refund must be paid within seven days (article 8). If you would rather travel later, you are entitled to re-routing to your final destination. Keep the cancellation notice, your receipts and the original flight time.

If your flight is delayed, assistance depends on how long the delay is expected to last: two, three or four hours depending on distance (article 6, paragraph 1, EUR-Lex). Check this point against the text on EUR-Lex before you travel.

3. Trains: Renfe, Ouigo and passenger rights

No statement from Renfe or Adif mentions 11 November as of our check date. Two separate strike movements need to be kept apart from this date.

A separate Renfe strike, on 29 October

The union Semaf has called a 24-hour strike of Renfe drivers for Thursday 29 October 2026 (Libertad Digital, 16 October 2026). It is not the general strike of 11 November. If your trip passes through that date, check it separately with the operator.

The press also announces Ouigo strike days for the period around 11 November. According to Euro Weekly News (12 October 2026) and Articulo14 (8 October 2026), the announced dates are the following, reported by the press, not confirmed by Semaf or Ouigo:

• Friday 30 October 2026: full day;
• Monday 2 November 2026: full day;
• Friday 6 November 2026: partial strike;
• Monday 9 November 2026: partial strike;
• Friday 4 December 2026: partial strike;
• Tuesday 8 December 2026: partial strike.

Treat this calendar as information to check, not as a fixed schedule. For an Ouigo trip, check the app or the operator’s website before you leave.

The minimum-service rates in circulation

You may come across minimum-service rates for Renfe: 73% for high-speed and long-distance trains, 75% at peak times and 50% for the rest of the day on Cercanías. These figures come from a different dispute. Le Courrier d’Espagne dates them to July 2026, while Deia links them to February 2026. The article itself says they will not necessarily apply on 11 November. Do not use them as a forecast.

Your rights if your train is late

Regulation (EU) 2021/782 gives rail passengers rights in case of delay, cancellation or interruption. According to the European Consumer Centre Spain (CEC, 10 February 2026), compensation is 25% of the ticket price for a delay of 60 to 119 minutes, and 50% from 120 minutes. The CEC also says an alternative transport must be offered when the expected delay exceeds 100 minutes. These thresholds come from a secondary source: confirm them against the official text before any claim.

The regulation also contains provisions specific to strikes. We have not checked them against the text, so we do not detail them here.

4. Metro and bus: city by city

As of the check date, no urban transport authority had published minimum services or any disruption for 11 November. The table shows the state of the information in the main cities.

Source: dated press reports, and our search of 18 October 2026 (no operator statement found). For the Basque precedent: minimum-services order of 13 October 2025, Basque Government.

Minimum services are set by the competent authority for each service. As of this date, none of these decisions has been published for 11 November. No announcement proves that service will be normal, nor that it will be disrupted. For your journey, check the operator’s app or website, and the notices posted in stations.

5. If you are in Madrid on 11 November

As of our check, neither Metro de Madrid nor EMT had published a statement for 11 November, and no minimum services are set for that day. If your stay falls on 11 November, the reliable answer will come from the operator: check on 9 and 10 November, then again the morning of. If your stay is rather in January, the guide to the Cabalgata de Reyes 2027 (Three Kings Parade) covers the timings of past editions and the routes.

Central Madrid: a walking tour with tapas

€89 per person (based on 2 adults) 3 to 3.5 hours Historic centre 11 November slot (available on 18 Oct)

According to the Viator listing, the tour is on foot and in a small group through Madrid’s historic centre, with stops at several tapas bars. The product has 450 reviews on Viator, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 (listing checked on 18 October 2026).

Keep in mind

• The route is on foot through the historic centre, with stops at tapas bars.
• The Wednesday 11 November 2026 slot was open for booking on 18 October 2026, our check date.
• The listing’s cancellation policy gives a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before departure. The listing does not mention the strike.

The availability shown is as of 18 October 2026; no operator has confirmed that the tour will run on 11 November.

Pixidia tip: read the cancellation policy and the meeting point before you book. The listing does not mention the strike, so check with the operator on the day that the tour is running. Keep the confirmation and the operator’s number in case the time or meeting point changes.

Madrid Tapas & Taverns Small Group Food & History Tour €89 per person (based on 2 adults), 11 November 2026 slot (available on 18 October 2026) · ★ 4.9 (450 Viator reviews)

See the tour and availability

6. Before 11 November: what to do

A few dates are enough to plan your week. Operators often publish their information in the 48 hours before a strike. That is common practice, not a rule, and nothing guarantees that timing. So check your journey the day before, on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November, then again the morning of.

1. Monday 19 October 2026: registration of the call, announced by the EFE agency. The outcome will show whether the strike is formally confirmed.
2. Wednesday 28 October 2026: deadline for cancelling a flight of 11 November without compensation. After that, compensation is generally due.
3. Thursday 29 October 2026: 24-hour strike of Renfe drivers called by Semaf. It is separate from the general strike.
4. Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November 2026: check the status of your flight, train, or metro or bus line in the app or on the operator’s website.
5. Wednesday 11 November 2026: 24-hour general strike, hours and minimum services to be confirmed. That morning, check again before you leave.

Where to check: the operator’s app or website (the airline for a flight, Renfe or Ouigo for a train, the network for a metro or bus), and the notices posted in stations.

If your flight is cancelled after 28 October, ask for re-routing or a refund in writing, and claim compensation with your receipts. If your train arrives more than 60 minutes late, ask the operator for compensation with your ticket. For the exact thresholds, see section 3.

Avoid changing or cancelling your trip on your own before you have checked. A cancellation decided by the traveller can cost them their rights. If your itinerary needs to change, Pixi, Pixidia’s planning assistant, can help you rearrange your days.

What other guides don’t tell you

Press articles and guides published since 7 October report the strike, but several important points are missing from them or inaccurate. Here is what you need to know, with the source for each point.

• The strike does not rule out compensation. One guide suggests that cancellations linked to the strike give no right to compensation. For a strike by the airline’s own staff, that is not accurate: the rule depends on the notice period (28 October for a flight on 11 November), and this type of strike is not an extraordinary circumstance (CJEU, case C-28/20). Regulation 261/2004 on EUR-Lex (checked on 18 October 2026).
• The absence of statements is the most useful information. As of the check date, no operator (airport, airline, Renfe, Adif, metro or bus) has published any service cut for 11 November. The alarmist claims about paralysed airports rest on no operational source. This absence was noted in our search of 18 October 2026, covering statements from airports, airlines, Renfe, Adif and metro and bus networks.
• The registration of the call has two announced dates. EFE says Monday 19 October, while Le Courrier d’Espagne mentions the week of 12 October, without confirmation. Read these dates as announcements, not accomplished facts. Infobae, EFE wire of 16 October 2026 (checked on 18 October 2026).
• The Renfe minimum-service rates quoted in the press are not those for 11 November. The 73%, 75% and 50% rates come from another dispute, which sources date differently (July or February 2026). Le Courrier d’Espagne, 17 October 2026 (checked on 18 October 2026).
• The Renfe strike on 29 October is a separate strike. Semaf has called it for 24 hours, and it is not part of the general strike. Libertad Digital, 16 October 2026 (checked on 18 October 2026).