Families embarking on their holidays have been hit with a wave of uncertainty this summer, as a number of strikes have been announced at airports across the UK.
Staff at Heathrow have suspended two days of strike action scheduled for later this month, with strikes at Gatwick also being postponed. Passenger agents working on check-in desks for EasyJet at Stansted have also called off industrial action.
Meanwhile, British Airways pilots are still threatening to walk out in a dispute over pay, potentially leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Here’s everything you need to know so far about the airport strikes this summer:
Heathrow Airport
Staff at Heathrow had planned several walkouts in August in a dispute over pay.
Strikes scheduled for 5 and 6 August were called off after the union Unite reached a deal over pay.
Additional strikes set for the 23 and 24 August have been postponed whilst the union members consider the revised pay offer.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We have put an additional £2.5m on the table since talks began, with our current offer bringing the total pay rise to 7.8% over two years for all frontline colleagues.
“This is well above [Retail Price Index inflation], higher than any other UK airport and helps to provide long-term wage certainty and job security.
Heathrow has a duty to ensure the business is sustainable – particularly against the backdrop of increasing economic uncertainty facing the UK in the immediate future. The pay offer we have put on the table achieves that, in addition to being rewarding and fair to all our colleagues.”
Stansted Airport
In July, passenger agents working on EasyJet check-in desks at Stansted announced a 17-day strike after a long-running pay dispute.
The agents, who are employed by Stobart Aviation Services, 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 the 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
Planned strikes at Gatwick airport have been called off after a pay agreement was reached.
Union members were due to stage a 48-hour walkout on Saturday August 10, but that date was later postponed.
The staff members involved are employed by ICTS (UK) to scan passengers’ luggage for explosive materials and other prohibited items.
Strikes scheduled for August 23 and August 24 have also been postponed, to allow the workers time to vote on a new pay offer.
Unite said they would be suspending all further strikes while the deal is being voted on.
Union members were due to stage a walkout from Tuesday August 20 to Saturday August 24
Strikes scheduled for August 23 and August 24 have also been postponed, to allow the workers time to vote on the new pay offer.
Unite said they would be suspending all further strikes while the deal is being voted on.
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.
Strikes could start from August 17, but BALPA said on August 2 that it was still in talks with BA which would continue over the coming days.
The airline said in a statement: “we have been working with the pilots’ union, BALPA, to reach an agreement on pay and we are continuing talks with ACAS.
“BALPA has yet to issue any strike dates, so we are continuing to run a full schedule. By law they must give us at least 14 days’ notice of any disruption to flights.”
