All the travel strikes planned over the Easter Holidays

Many Brits will be heading abroad this Easter, but they could find their travel plans impacted by strikes both here in the UK and at popular tourist destinations. Walkouts have been planned by airport workers, Passport Office staff and air traffic controllers, causing disruption to travellers.

Strikes are taking place in France and Spain throughout April, while walkouts are planned by Border Force staff and Passport Office workers in the UK. Some airlines, including Ryanair and British Airways have already cancelled flights due to industrial action, with more expected to follow, the Mirror reports.

We’ve rounded up below the biggest strikes which are likely to affect your holiday plans in the coming weeks. It’s always worth checking with your tour operator before you travel for the latest updates.

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French air traffic control strikes

Since the start of the year French air traffic controllers have gone on strike for 13 days, with another four days of strikes planned between now and April 9. There have been mass protests throughout the country against the raising of the national pension age from 62 to 64 rumble on.

British Airways has already had to cancel 50 flights due to weather and the strikes, with Ryanair also grounding services.

Ryanair said on its website: "Due to a French Air Traffic Control Strike, we are expecting possible cancellations or delays on flights to/from France on 23-31 March. Any affected passengers will be notified as soon as possible."

Border Force strikes

At the end of April thousands of Border Force officials will walk out in a long running dispute over pay, pensions and job security. As many as 15,000 Border Force workers represented by PCS Union could walk out on April 28, potentially leading to chaos at travel hubs.

The last time that they did the government drafted in additional civil service and military resource to mitigate the strikes. The PCS union, which represents hundreds of thousands of government workers, has been calling for a pay rise, better pensions and no cuts to redundancy terms.

Members are demanding a 10 per cent pay rise, citing eye-watering inflation of 10.6 per cent.

Heathrow strikes

Strikes are taking place at Heathrow Airport (PA)

Security staff at Heathrow Airport's Terminal five are due to walkout from March 31 until April 9, Easter Sunday. British Airways says it is pre-emptively cancelling 32 flights a day in a bid to mitigate the expected chaos.

Heathrow said that it will be 'open and operational' but passengers should be aware that a knock-on effect is likely. Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said the workers are "fundamental to (the airport's) success" and that they deserve a fair pay increase.

Passport Office strikes

Although this won’t impact you immediately if you’ve jetting off on an Easter break, it has the potential to cause big issues for travellers trying to renew their passport ahead of a big trip. More than 1,000 Passport Office staff will walk out between 3 April and 5 May from offices in Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport, Peterborough and Southport.

The organising Public and Commercial Services union said it is "likely to have a significant impact on the delivery of passports as the summer approaches".

Spanish airport strikes

Ground staff in Spain who work for Swissport Handling have walked out a number of times in recent weeks, are there's more to come. They will continue to strike every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday until 13 April.

Alicante, Almeria, Barcelona, Burgos, Gran Canaria, Huesca, Lanzarote, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Reus, Salamanca, Tenerife Sur, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza airports are affected.

Airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet don't use Swissport, but it does work with the likes of Jet2.com although it's not yet clear if the airline expects disruption.

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