Travelers are facing further disruption after trade union Unite announced that 300 security and passenger service staff will go on strike at Britain’s major airports. 300 staff at Gatwick Airport will strike for six days in July, adding to the troubles for holidaymakers.
Unity said the issue could cause significant delays to check in. The wage strike targets 100 baggage screeners employed by ICTS and 200 workers of Wilson James, who provide special assistance services to vulnerable passengers.
Workers from both sides, who earn just above the minimum wage, have rejected wage offers from their employers and plan to strike from July 12 to 14 and from July 19 to 21. Unity said further industrial action is planned if the dispute is not resolved.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These workers have an incredibly tough job at one of the UK’s busiest airports and they just want a fair day’s pay. ICTS and Wilson James are wealthy businesses and can afford to offer an acceptable wage. Gatwick members have Unite’s full support in taking strike action to demand a decent pay rise.”
Unity said the strike would cause “significant disruption” to security and passenger services. In addition, around 100 dNata heavy goods vehicle drivers and warehouse workers, who provide easyJet meals at Gatwick, are voting on whether to strike over shift pay.
Unite regional officer Dominic Rothwell said: “Employers in these disputes are responsible for any disruption caused to passengers at Gatwick Airport. These disputes could be easily resolved if a reasonable offer was made.”
“There is still time to avoid labor unrest, but it will require these companies to offer deals that are acceptable to union members.”
A spokesman for London Gatwick Airport said: “We are working with our suppliers to avoid any impact and will operate the usual summer holiday flight schedules for airlines and passengers on these dates.”
Meanwhile, dozens of flights to and from the UK have been cancelled due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, forcing Ryanair and Wizz Air to apologise to passengers after a series of delays and cancellations.
Ryanair confirmed 60 flights had been cancelled and a further 150 delayed. Ryanair’s chief operating officer Neil McMahon said air traffic control services were at the “worst they’ve ever seen”.
He added: “These repeated air traffic control delays and cancellations are unacceptable. We apologise to passengers for the repeated air traffic control delays and cancellations of our flights, which is extremely disappointing but beyond Ryanair’s control.”
A Wizz Air spokesman said: “Wizz Air was prepared to ensure a smooth summer operation for our passengers, but it appears that our air traffic control system has experienced significant issues this summer.”
“As an industry, we must report these issues to the relevant air traffic control authorities, including Eurocontrol, so that appropriate mitigation measures are put in place to minimise disruption.”
Flights were briefly suspended at London Gatwick Airport yesterday (Friday 28 June) after a plane blocked the runway with “hot brakes”, forcing the flight to be delayed.
This week Utravel announced it was cancelling all bookings up to July 26. The company said it had taken the “difficult” decision to extend the cancellations beyond July 5 while discussions continued to secure its future.
Eutravel is owned by Germany’s FTI Group, whose tour operator brand FTI Touristik filed for insolvency earlier this month, potentially ruining the plans of thousands of travellers as many UK travel agents use products offered by the group. The group has confirmed that all valid bookings arriving by July 26th will be cancelled free of charge by Monday 1 July, giving agents with packages for UK travellers who have booked accommodation via Eutravel just a few days to act.
