Iberia resumes flights

MADRID, Spain -- Spain's largest airline, Iberia, is resuming service after temporarily grounding all its flights on Thursday evening when 99 of its senior pilots resigned.

The pilots' union is seeking a 20-percent pay raise and better pensions.

The carrier's decision to suspend all domestic and international flights affected about 80,000 passengers and threatened to cause chaos just at the start of the European holiday season.

The 99 pilots belong to the pilot's Sepla trade union and are responsible for flight operations.

Announcing the temporary suspension of flights, Iberia President Xabier de Irala the airline could not guarantee the safety and the well-being of its passengers.

Sepla said the pilots' resignations did not come as a surprise to the airline because they had taken place over the last two weeks, the state news agency EFE reported.

Iberia's pilots have been calling a series of one-day strikes during what is the busiest period of the year for the Spanish airline.

Pilots had called strikes for each Tuesday in July and each Monday in August.

The strike action forced Iberia to cancel 230 flights worldwide on Tuesday, in a move that cost the airline between $5 million and $7.1 million.

Iberia's 1,875 pilots say the airline has reneged on a 1995 agreement on wage moderation during privatisation.