UK airport strike dates: How will passengers be affected at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick? All you need to know

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 has said it is "disappointed" at the strike action
Steve Parsons/PA

Heathrow Airport

Staff at Heathrow had planned several walkouts in August in a dispute over pay.

Heathrow Airport is Britain's busiest
Rachel Moore / Pixabay

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.

Staff working on EasyJet check-in desks called off strikes due to take place in July and August 
PA

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, which means the strikes scheduled for 9 and 10 September are set to go ahead.

Another walkout by members of Balpa is planned for 27 September.

British Airways pilots are planning strike action in a dispute over pay.
REUTERS/HANNAH MCKAY

Since the strikes were announced last week, BA have been advising passengers with reservations for 9 and 10 September: “If you have a flight booked with us on those dates, it is likely that you will not be able to travel due to Balpa’s action.”

Many customers scrambled to rearrange flights, only to learn hours later that the notification was sent in error and that their original travel plans were unaffected.

A spokesperson for BA said: “We’re extremely sorry that some of our customers are having difficulties trying to rearrange their flights.

“Our teams have been working tirelessly to help as many of our customers as possible in these unprecedented circumstances.

“Our teams have been providing our customers with as many options as possible, as quickly as possible, including a full refund or rebooking to a different date of travel or airline.”

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