Strikes in Portugal: How to Check and What to Do (2026)

Strikes are a normal part of life in Portugal, and many visitors never run into one. When they do hit travellers, it is usually trains, the Lisbon metro or flights, for a day or a few days. Here is how to spot a strike before it catches you out, what still runs, and what you can claim back.

Quick answer: strikes (greves) must be announced at least 5 working days ahead, or 10 for transport, airports and other essential services, so there is nearly always a week’s warning. Check cp.pt, the metro website and your airline’s app before travel days, and search the news for greve. On strike days CP usually offers a full refund or a free swap to another train. If your airline’s own staff strike, EU261 compensation is usually due; for air traffic control or airport strikes it usually isn’t, but meals and a hotel still are.

How often do strikes happen?

CP, the national rail company, posted strike notices several times in 2024 alone, and Portugal has had two general strikes in six months, on 11 December 2025 and 3 June 2026. Most strikes involve one company or one group of workers, such as train crews or cabin crew, rather than everything at once.

Under the Labour Code (Código do Trabalho), unions must give at least 5 working days’ notice, or 10 working days for companies that meet “essential social needs”. That list includes transport, airports, stations and hospitals. Effects can start early, though: for the June 2026 general strike, the Lisbon metro shut at 11pm the night before and reopened at 6:30am the day after.

Who strikes

• CP trains: train crews, ticket inspectors and other rail staff, for a single day or a run of dates.
• Lisbon metro: closed completely in both recent general strikes, as no minimum services were set. Partial strikes of a few hours also happen.
• Porto metro and Carris (Lisbon’s city buses and trams): both had minimum services in the June 2026 general strike.
• River ferries: the Transtejo and Soflusa Tagus crossings had no minimum services in the June 2026 general strike.
• Airlines: crews at TAP, SATA, easyJet, Ryanair or any other airline can strike. easyJet cabin crew based in Lisbon, Porto and Faro struck from 2 to 6 October 2026 and have called another strike for 19 to 23 December 2026.
• Airport ground staff: strikes at Menzies (formerly Groundforce), which handles check-in and baggage for many airlines, cancelled flights at Lisbon in summer 2025; a New Year 2025/26 strike was called off after a deal.
• Air traffic control: controllers’ strikes, in Portugal or elsewhere in Europe, can delay flights and count as outside the airline’s control.
• Border police: the long airport passport queues of 2026 came from the EU’s new Entry/Exit System and staffing, not strikes. See Lisbon airport passport control.
• Hospitals: doctors’ and nurses’ unions strike from time to time. Health services must keep minimum services, so if you need care, still go to the urgência (emergency department) or call 112; see healthcare for tourists.
• Museums and monuments: staff at Museus e Monumentos de Portugal sites struck on public holidays through 2025 (see below).
• General strikes: the June 2026 one, called by the CGTP union confederation against the government’s labour law changes, hit trains, the metro, ferries and flights on the same day.

How to check before you travel

Check twice: when you book, and again the day before you travel. Strikes are sometimes called off after last-minute talks, and new ones can be announced with a week’s notice.

Where to check	What it covers
cp.pt and the CP app	Train strike notices (avisos), the list of minimum-service trains and the refund rules for each strike
Metro de Lisboa and Metro do Porto websites	Metro closures and reduced hours
Carris	Lisbon city buses, trams and lifts
Transtejo Soflusa and Fertagus	Tagus ferries and the Lisbon to Setúbal train
Your airline’s app and emails	Cancelled and rescheduled flights
DGERT (dgert.gov.pt)	Official strike notices and minimum-services orders
Portuguese news sites	Everything: search greve plus the company name, for example “greve CP”

Useful words: greve (strike), serviços mínimos (minimum services), suprimido (cancelled) and perturbações (disruption). Portuguese phrases covers the basics.

What “minimum services” means

For essential services, a strike notice must include a proposal for serviços mínimos, the level of service that has to keep running. If the union and the company don’t agree, it is set by a government order, published by DGERT, or, for companies such as CP, Carris, the metros and TAP, by an arbitration panel at the Economic and Social Council (CES). In practice it can mean:

• A list of named trains that should run, which CP publishes with its strike notice.
• A share of flights: in the October 2026 strike, easyJet said minimum services covered about 22% of its Portugal-based flying, and it planned to run about 55% of its schedule using crews from other bases.
• Nothing at all: the Lisbon metro and the Tagus ferries had no minimum services in the June 2026 general strike.

Minimum services are a floor, not a forecast: more may run if fewer workers join, but even a listed train is not guaranteed.

Trains

CP posts a notice on cp.pt for each strike, with the dates, the expected disruption and the trains covered by minimum services.

In recent strike notices, CP has let passengers with tickets for Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, InterRegional, Regional and international trains choose between:

• A full refund of the ticket price, or
• A free swap to another train of the same category and class.

You can ask in the CP app (myCP) or at a ticket office up to 15 minutes before your train leaves. After that, you can still claim up to 10 days after the strike ends, at a ticket office or through CP’s online form Reembolso por Atraso ou Supressão. Rules can change, so read the notice for your dates. More on fares and booking in the Portugal train guide and Lisbon to Porto by train.

Metro, buses, trams and ferries

The Lisbon metro is the service most likely to stop completely, so have a plan B for airport runs and day trips. Carris buses and trams and the Porto metro usually keep some service, but expect long gaps and crowded vehicles. See the Lisbon public transport guide and Porto public transport for the full networks.

Using the Cacilhas, Seixal or Barreiro boats? Check Transtejo Soflusa first; the Portugal ferries guide covers other crossings. On strike days, Uber and Bolt fill the gap, but surge pricing has not been capped since 1 September 2026, so fares can jump at peak times. Compare both apps, as Uber vs Bolt vs taxi explains.

Flights and airports

Airline crew strikes are the ones most likely to cancel your flight. Airlines contact affected passengers by email or through the app, and must offer a refund or a new flight.

Getting to the airport can be harder than the flight itself. If the metro is closed, leave extra time for a taxi or ride app, or stay near the airport the night before an early departure; see Lisbon airport hotels. For the options into town, see Lisbon airport to the city centre and Porto airport to the city centre.

Museums and monuments

Through 2025, reception and security staff at the state-run Museus e Monumentos de Portugal sites struck on public holidays over holiday pay. Closures included the Convento de Cristo in Tomar, the Fortaleza de Sagres, Mafra Palace and Guimarães Castle. A deal on holiday pay signed on 22 April 2026 ended that dispute, but general and public-sector strikes can still close state-run sites for a day.

If a big-name visit falls on a public holiday or a general strike day, check the site’s own page that morning and keep a back-up from the Lisbon museums list.

Your rights: refunds and compensation

Flights. EU Regulation 261/2004 covers flights leaving Portugal on any airline. Who is striking decides whether you get compensation:

• The airline’s own staff: compensation of €250 to €600 per person is usually due. The EU Court of Justice ruled on 23 March 2021 (case C-28/20, Airhelp v SAS) that a strike by an airline’s own staff is not an “extraordinary circumstance”. The exception is a cancellation notified at least 14 days ahead.
• Air traffic controllers or airport staff: usually treated as extraordinary circumstances, so no compensation.
• General strikes: less clear-cut, so claim and let the airline explain any refusal.

Whatever the cause, the airline must still offer a refund or a new flight, plus meals and, if you are stuck overnight, a hotel. Keep receipts. Full rules and the ANAC complaints route: flight delays and compensation in Portugal. If the airline rejects or ignores a valid claim, AirHelp can pursue it for a share of the payout.

Trains. Use CP’s refund or swap rules above, and keep your ticket.

Metro and buses. The simplest protection is not to start a 24-hour ticket on a strike day.

Insurance. Travel delay cover can pay for a missed hotel night or tour, which EU261 doesn’t. Policies usually only cover strikes that had not been announced when you bought the cover, so buy it early. See travel insurance for Portugal.

Back-up plans

• Coaches: Rede Expressos and FlixBus are separate from CP, so a rail strike doesn’t stop them, but seats on busy routes go fast once a strike is announced. See Portugal by bus and Lisbon to Porto by bus.
• Car hire: for a rail strike lasting several days, a car takes trains out of the equation. Compare prices on Discover Cars, and read renting a car in Portugal and driving in Portugal first.
• Other routes: if CP suburban trains to Sintra or Cascais are cut, regional Carris Metropolitana buses serve both, though more slowly. See Lisbon to Sintra.
• Swap your days: move a day trip to after the strike and spend the strike day on foot in the city.

Plan it: check cp.pt and your airline a week before you travel and again the day before. If the metro might be shut on your arrival or departure day, pre-book a Lisbon airport transfer. A Portugal eSIM keeps strike updates, airline apps and ride apps working from the moment you land.

FAQ

Are strikes common in Portugal?

Fairly common, especially on trains, the Lisbon metro and airlines, but most last a day or a few days and are announced in advance.

How much notice is given before a strike?

At least 5 working days by law, or 10 working days for transport, airports, hospitals and other essential services. Disruption can start the evening before.

Do trains run during a CP strike?

Trains on the minimum-services list in CP’s notice should run; others may be cancelled. If a booked train is affected, CP usually offers a full refund or a free swap to another train.

Is compensation due if a strike cancels a flight?

Usually yes if the airline’s own staff were striking and you had under 14 days’ notice. Usually no for air traffic control or airport staff strikes, though care and a refund or new flight are still owed.

Does the Lisbon metro run during a general strike?

Not in recent ones. It closed completely in December 2025 and June 2026; in June it shut from 11pm the night before until 6:30am the morning after.

Does travel insurance cover strikes?

Only if the strike hadn’t been announced when you bought the policy, so buy cover as soon as you book.

More: Portugal travel mistakes to avoid, things to know before visiting Portugal and car-free travel in Portugal.

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