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On November 24, industrial action by millions of Portuguese workers resulted in the cancellation of more than 60 Ryanair flights from a number of UK airports, including Stansted, Glasgow, and Liverpool. The strike, dubbed the biggest in the country’s history by Portugal News, was in protest at government plans to cut wages, as fears of an Ireland-style financial collapse spread throughout southwestern Europe.

Portugal, much like Spain and France, is one of the most popular holiday destinations for UK travellers. The country has warm temperatures, and a history of conquest and exploration that rivals that of neighbouring country, Spain, whose conquistadors put the Incan Empire to the sword over 450 years ago.

Ryanair and Irish rival, Aer Lingus, pulled the plug on flights to Lisbon, Porto, and Faro as Portuguese air traffic controllers joined last week’s strike. Newspapers report that train stations, ferry terminals, airports, and most other forms of public transport were derailed completely or manned by skeleton crews for the duration of the walkout.

The strike, which lasted 24 hours, is rumoured to have cost the country upwards of €500m (£420m), a debt that is likely to guarantee a Portuguese bid for huge loans from the EU, similar to the requests handed in by Greece and Ireland this year.

Ryanair was unimpressed, saying “we have cancelled more than 2,000 flights and delayed more than 12,000 (in 2010), causing disruption to more than 2.5 million passengers.” The airline referred to similar industrial action in Spain, Belgium, and France, and cited wide scale disruption to global air traffic as a reason to revoke air traffic controllers’ right to strike.

However, Portugal News suggests that Ryanair has taken out its frustration on its passengers rather than foreign unions, offering “no help whatsoever” to UK passengers stranded in Porto and Lisbon airports. Travellers have even had to pay for replacement flights, in an event that mirrors this year’s Volcanic Ash Crisis for levels of chaos and uncertainty.