Experts are urging Brits to check one thing before flying abroad amid predicted travel disruption at a number of popular holiday destinations. Staff strikes are scheduled to take place at 12 airports in Spain.

More than 3,000 baggage handlers at Azul Handling, which services Ryanair flights, will walk out from some of Spain’s busiest airports starting on August 15.

The affected airports include Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Alicante, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife South, Girona, Lanzarote and Santiago de Compostela.

Strikes are scheduled on August 15, 16 and 17 in three slots - 5am to 9am, 12pm to 3pm and 9pm to 11.59pm. The strikes will then continue every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the rest of the year.

The union says the action is in response to poor working conditions and labour rights violations. The disruption comes at the peak of the summer holiday season and could affect thousands of British travellers.

With this in mind, experts at Forum Insurance, have encouraged people to check the policy wording on your travel insurance “carefully”. Niraj Mamtora, director at Forum Insurance, said: “Standard travel insurance policies often exclude airspace disruptions, so you should never assume that you’re covered for events like strikes, airport closures or air traffic control outages.”

You want to make sure your insurance covers you for “travel disruption”. He continued: “To protect yourself, look for a policy that offers ‘travel disruption’ or ‘airspace closure’ as an optional extra or higher-tier feature.

“Travel disruption insurance can cover you if your flight is cancelled or delayed due to strikes or airspace closures, and may reimburse you for unused travel and accommodation, enforced stays abroad, or extra expenses if you’re stranded and no suitable alternative transport is available for more than 24 hours.

“Even when the disruption is caused by ground staff, such as baggage handlers, it can still affect flights and fall under certain travel disruption or airspace closure clauses, depending on the policy wording.

“Always check your policy wording carefully. Some insurers require that the disruption be unexpected and not known at the time you book or buy your policy. If you travel against official advice, or if the event was foreseeable, you may not be covered.”

If you’ve already booked your insurance and you’re not covered for these disruptions you should contact your airline or travel provider directly. He continued: “If your policy doesn’t include this, contact your airline or travel provider directly. 

“Airlines are often obliged to offer rebooking, refunds, or care such as meals and accommodation. Package holiday providers may also be responsible for rearranging your travel or offering compensation.

“For future trips, consider adding ‘travel disruption’ or ‘airspace closure’ cover as an optional extra. It’s a small investment that can save you significant stress and cost if the unexpected happens again.”

In a statement to the Daily Mail, the unions said: “UGT regrets having to go to these extremes and all the damages that may occur, for which the direct responsibility will be solely and exclusively the company and its reckless action with the workforce.”

And a spokesperson for Ryanair told The Independent: “Ryanair does not expect any disruption to our operation as a result of these third-party handling strikes in Spain.”