LISBON >> EasyJet said it cancelled more than 200 flights to and from Portugal from today as cabin crew based in the country began a three-day strike over working conditions including rotas and overtime.

The dispute will disrupt travel to and from Portugal at the height of the summer season.

Flight staff union SNPVAC, which called the strike, said more than 90% of Portuguese cabin crew walked out today. EasyJet put the figure at 73% so far but said that could increase as most of the flights operate in the afternoon.

The airline said it had been forced to cancel 232 of the 1,138 flights to and from Portugal that had been scheduled to operate over the three-day period of the strike.

SNPVAC said the strike was due to a dispute over a lack of roster stability, insufficient staffing and pressure to work overtime for commercial purposes.

“The workers are unhappy with the schedules instability. For example, I don’t know if I’ll be working at 5 a.m. or 5 p.m. tomorrow. I can’t even plan my family life around the clock,” said union representative Ana Dias.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Portugal rose 7.5% between January and June from a year earlier, paving the way for another record year, with Britons the biggest group in the first half of the year, closely followed by visitors from the United States.

At the height of the busy summer season, Portugal’s government has decreed the need for minimum services during the strike, which should include flights to the Atlantic archipelago of Madeira, Geneva, Luxembourg and London.

EasyJet has 19 aircraft based in Portugal and more than 800 employees there.