Workers who refuel planes at Heathrow airport today began a 48-hour strike after rejecting a two-year pay offer.
Around 40 members of the Transport and General Workers Union walked out in the early hours of this morning after turning down the deal. The workers, employed by AFS, refuel around one third of the 1,200 daily flights at Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport.
An airport spokesman said the strike had not caused any disruption to flights by mid-morning, and was hopeful that schedules would be largely unaffected. The TGWU, however, said it believed there would be disruption to flights both later today and tomorrow.
The strike has forced some airlines to reorganise their refuelling arrangements. British Airways and Virgin last night said they expected to avoid cancellations, but officials warned that refuelling delays for other carriers could hold up flights that had refuelled as normal.
The worst impact is expected to be on US, Asian and other long-haul carriers, which may have to divert to refuel at other airports. Transatlantic operators could land at Shannon, while Asian and African airlines could stop at Paris, extending journey times by two hours or more.
Meanwhile, 600 baggage handlers and maintenance staff working for air services provider Servisair at Gatwick are planning to go on strike tomorrow after talks aimed at resolving a separate row over workloads and the suspension of a union official broke down.
Thomas Cook Airlines and MyTravel said they would bring in their own baggage handlers to make sure passengers did not suffer disruption.
