Gatwick Airport to be hit by strikes over summer holidays

By Tom Espiner & Faarea MasudBusiness reporters, BBC News

Nearly a thousand workers are set to take eight days of strike action at Gatwick Airport over the summer holidays in a row over pay, the Unite union has said.

The strike could cause some disruption during what could be the busiest summer period since the pandemic.

The workers, at four firms, include baggage handlers and ground staff.

They will strike from Friday 28 July to Tuesday 1 August, and then again from Friday 4 August to Tuesday 8 August.

Airlines that will be affected include British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair, Tui, Westjet and Wizz, the union said.

The impact of the action is uncertain, although Unite said disruption, delays and cancellations were "inevitable".

A spokesperson for Gatwick said it would "support the airlines affected... with their contingency plans to ensure that as many flights as possible operate as scheduled".

The 950 workers who are set to strike represent more than half of the ground handling staff at Gatwick, a Unite spokesman said.

The staff are not employed by Gatwick Airport, but work at four firms: ASC, Menzies Aviation, GGS and DHL Services.

These companies provide services to major airlines, including ground handling, baggage handling, and check-in work.

An EasyJet spokesperson said the airline was "extremely disappointed" by news of the walkout.

"More talks between our ground handler DHL and Unite are taking place early next week to try and resolve the issue and we urge them to reach an agreement as soon as possible," the spokesperson added.

Spokespeople at DHL and GGS said they were continuing to work with Unite to try to reach a solution.

Phil Lloyd from Menzies Aviation said Unite had rejected its offer of an 11% pay increase. "This pay award relates to our 2023 Pay Review and is in addition to the 10% increase awarded in 2022".

He added that Menzies was in "continued discussions" with airlines and that it "remains committed to seeking a resolution".

Most of the workers earn under £12 per hour, Unite said, "despite undertaking highly demanding and safety critical roles".

"During the pandemic, many companies at Gatwick Airport made large-scale redundancies and cut the pay and conditions of their remaining staff," it added.

Unite has been pushing for pay rises for members, and in June it called off strike action by security staff at Britain's busiest airport, Heathrow, after securing a new deal.

The action at Gatwick, if it goes ahead, will put further pressure on the aviation industry as it deals with restricted airspace over Ukraine due to Russia's war and the possibility of air traffic control strikes.

There is a shortage of air traffic controllers, and some strikes are already planned - for example, there is an air traffic strike in Italy on Saturday 15 July, which Ryanair has said is expected to cause cancellations and disruption.

Earlier this week, Easyjet cancelled 1,700 flights during July, August and September due to constrained airspace over Europe and continuing air traffic control difficulties.

About 100 airport security staff and technicians are set to walk out at Birmingham Airport from 18 July, but the airport has said if a strike does take place, its effect would be limited, with no cancellations.

In early July, Unite members working in security at Gatwick Airport secured a 16% pay increase.

The Gatwick staff join several other industries who have been striking periodically since last year, including nursing, the Civil Service, Border Force staff and railways. Workers are mainly demanding pay rises that stay aligned with the rising cost of living.

The exact timing of each strike will vary depending on the individual company's shift patterns, but all strikes will begin in the early hours of the morning on the 28 July and 4 August, and end in the early hours of the morning on 1 and 8 August.

On the days of the Gatwick strikes, a total of 4,410 flights - covering more than 880,000 seats - are scheduled to depart the airport, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics firm.

Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o67CZ5qopV%2Bjsri%2FjpusrKGemsC0eZVvaHJxYW19