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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Milo Boyd

Full list of strikes expected to cause travel chaos over Easter and bank holidays

Brits heading on holidays this Easter face being swept up in a number of strikes in the UK and on mainland Europe.

Airport workers, Passport Office staff and air traffic controllers are among those walking out of the next month.

Already airlines including Ryanair and British Airways have cancelled services, with more likely to follow.

If you find yourself stranded due to a cancelled flight caused by the strikes, it's important to have a back-up plan in mind and to know your rights.

You can check out our guide to compensation and refunds to find out where you stand and the best course of action to take.

Here are the biggest travel strikes likely to impact Brits over the coming weeks.

French air traffic controller strikes

BA has already had to cancel flights (AFP via Getty Images)

France's air traffic controllers have gone on strike for 13 days since the start of the year, with another four days of strikes planned between now and April 9.

Disruption could be felt elsewhere in France as mass protests 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

Thousands of Border Force officials will walk out at the end of April in a long running dispute over pay, pensions and job security.

On April 28 as many as 15,000 Border Force workers represented by PCS Union could walk out, 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

Heathrow Airport workers are walking out (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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

While this bit of industrial action won't impact you immediately if you're 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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