Thousands of families could see their summer holiday plans disrupted as strikes threaten to cripple some of the UK’s major airports.
Staff at Gatwick Airport are planning to walk out over pay disputes, with additional strikes at Heathrow airport also likely to take place throughout August.
Meanwhile, scheduled strikes by EasyJet staff at Stansted have been called off.
British Airways are also embroiled in another battle over pay with any industrial action likely to cause chaos at airports across the country.
Here’s everything you need to know so far about the airport strikes this summer:
Heathrow Airport
Over 4,000 Heathrow Airport workers had planned to strike in late July in a dispute over pay.
But the industrial action scheduled for 24 July and 25 July was later called off so union members can vote on a new pay offer.
If the new pay offer is refused, two more 48-hour strikes, planned for August 5 -6 and August 23-24, are likely to go ahead.
Unite regional coordinating officer Wayne King said: “There is deepening anger over pay among workers who are essential to the smooth running of Heathrow Airport.
“They are fed up of being expected to accept crumbs while the chief executive pockets an eye popping 103 per cent rise in his pay package and shareholders are handed dividends of over £2 billion in the last two years alone."
A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said they will be implementing contingency plans to ensure the airport remains open and operating safely throughout the coordinated action.
“We will be working alongside our airline partners to minimise disruption caused to passengers as they look towards their well-deserved summer holidays," they said.
“We have proposed a progressive pay package giving at least a 4.6 per cent pay rise to over 70 per cent of our frontline colleagues.
“The total package offered is above RPI and is specifically designed to boost the wages of lower paid colleagues.
“We have invited our union colleagues back to the table and urge them to continue working with us to reach an agreement.”
Stansted Airport
In July, EasyJet staff at Stansted announced a 17-day strike after a long-running pay dispute.
Walkouts were meant to be staged on July 25 to 29, August 2 to 5, August 9 to 12, August 16 to 19 and August 23 to August 27, but were later called off after a new pay deal was accepted.
Members of the Unite union said a package accepted by EasyJet check-in staff entailed a 13% pay rise for most of the workforce for the year starting April 2019.
Unite Regional Office Mark Barter said: “I am pleased to say that our members have voted to accept a new pay deal – as a result, all the planned strike action has been called off and our members will be working normally assisting passengers in getting away on their summer holidays.”
Gatwick Airport
Over 130 security workers at Gatwick Airport have announced industrial action this summer in a feud over pay.
The workers are demanding a wage increase from £8.50 to £9 an hour to match the standard living wage.
The strike will begin at 6am on Saturday August 10 and will last for 48 hours.
Unite regional office Jamie Major said: “ICTS workers have an incredibly responsible security role scanning the luggage of every single passenger on every single aeroplane that flies out of Gatwick Airport.
“It is a very security sensitive job to ensure the safety of the travelling public, yet the majority of these workers are paid less than £9 an hour, which is not enough to live on in the expensive south east of England, with its sky high housing costs.
“Security and safety should be the absolute top priorities and yet these workers feel undervalued, demotivated and fed up of working for an employer that doles out poverty wages.”
He added: “The strike will mean passengers will inevitably experience delays and a poorer service, but this is now in the hand of ICTS bosses and the management of Gatwick Airport.”
British Airways
British Airways lost an appeal to stop pilots embarking on strike action, resulting in potential chaos for passengers planning to travel over the busy summer holiday period.
Over 4,000 members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) voted in favour of strike action over pay disputes.
Union members rejected an offer of 11.5% wage rise over three years and if an agreement is not reached, strikes could take place later this month.
BALPA General Secretary, Brian Sutton, said: “The Court of Appeal has today rightly dismissed BA’s attempt to injunct this industrial action on a technicality.
“BA’s attempt to defeat the democratic view of their pilots in court, rather than deal with us across the negotiating table, has sadly wasted huge amounts of time and money that could have been put into finding a peaceful resolution.
“Now the window for negotiation and compromise is closing fast.
“BA need to wake up to reality. Our ballot returned 93 per cent in favour of strike action. There is a serious issue here and BA has so far refused to help us tackle it.
“On BA’s own figures submitted to the court, even a single day of strike action will cost far more than we believe it would take to settle this dispute.”
