UK airport strikes to cause Christmas chaos, travellers told to prepare for ‘significant’ delays

Travellers flying to the UK should prepare for ‘significant’ delays as Border Force staff at five major airport strike from December 23.

Officials at the UK’s largest airports will strike for eight days over the Christmas and New Year period.

Around 1000 Border Force staff from Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Cardiff plan to strike from December 23 to 26 and again from 28 to 31 December following arguments around pay, pensions and jobs.

The Public and Commercial Services Union said around 1000 officials working at passport control would strike to get a 10 per cent pay rise.

This isn’t the first strike to hit the travel sector over Christmas; industrial action has also been planned by rail, road and bus workers for the festive season.

Why is the strike happening?

General secretary of the union Mark Serwotka said this would have a “significant impact” on on those planning to travel around the UK. However, Serwotka said the action was necessary.

“This is a crisis,” he said, adding that 40,0000 of PCS’s members currently had to use food banks to afford food.

“The public sector have no option other than to take industrial action because our members currently are skipping meals, not being able to put the heating on at home because of the poverty they are living in.”

Serwotka claimed the government could stop the strikes if they paid workers what they deserved.

“The government can stop these strikes tomorrow if it puts money on the table,” he said.

What do the strikes mean for travellers?

At busy airports with limited space like Heathrow, extended queues at passport control could mean passengers are held on an aircraft after they land, instead of immediately disembarking.

A Heathrow spokesperson said immigration and customs checks “may take longer during peak times on strike days”, particularly for terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5.

In short, it could result in a scene many of us are familiar with from earlier this year; one where flights are diverted, delayed or cancelled and airports are a mess of winding queues and backed-up systems.

Not only would this disrupt travellers but cost airlines millions of pounds.

Government ‘sends in the troops’

Government was “disappointed” at the union’s decision but had “robust plans” to minimise the strikes’ impact, said a Home Office spokesperson.

This involves bringing in the Army to cover Home Office’s Border Force staff at ports and airports during the strieks.

Transport minister Baroness Vere said Army personnel had been quickly trained up for the job, however the PCS leader was doubtful, saying they wouldn’t be able to do the job after a “few days” of training.

How to prepare for an airport strike

If you’re due to fly in or out of the affected airports, the best first step is staying informed on how the strikes progress.

If they go ahead as planned, study up on your insurance policy and passenger rights, so you know what you’re entitled to if a flight is delayed or cancelled.

When an airline or airport experiences multiple delays, call centres can often become overhwlemed with callers. During these times, airlines and airports often keep their website and social media channels (like Twitter or Facebook) regular updated, so it’s worth keeping tabs on these.

Unfortunately, it’s tricky to get from Aotearoa to the UK without catching a flight. However, once you’re there, it may be worth avoiding effected airports on strike days either by taking alternative transport (like trains or coaches) or shifting travel days.