Heathrow strike action won’t lead to flight cancellations, says boss

The boss of Heathrow Airport has said strike action is not expected to result in any flight cancellations this summer.

Security workers at Britain’s busiest airport are planning 29 days of walkouts across almost every weekend between late June and August as part of a long-running pay dispute.

Officers from Terminal 3 intend to strike for the first time, joining their counterparts at campus security and Terminal 5, after rejecting a 10.1 per cent salary offer and a £1,150 lump sum payment.

 Security workers at London Heathrow are planning 29 days of walkouts across almost every weekend between July and August as part of a long-running pay dispute

Strikes on June 24 and 25 have now been cancelled, Unite announced today, after Heathrow made a better pay offer. 

The travel hub has already contended with industrial action over the Easter holidays and for eight days in May but has managed to keep services running with relatively little disruption. 

John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow, said: ‘We have delivered excellent service to passengers, with no cancellations, over eight days of strikes on the busiest days in May, and do not anticipate cancellations as a result of strikes during the summer holiday getaway.’

Unite the union claims Heathrow employees have witnessed an average real terms wage cut of 24 per cent since 2017, while its security staff are paid between £5,000 and £6,000 less per year than their equivalents at Stansted and Gatwick.

The upcoming walkouts are set to occur during some of the busiest travel periods, including the start of the school holidays, Eid celebrations and the bank holiday weekend in late August.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium has calculated that more than 20,000 flights are scheduled to depart from Heathrow on the affected days, representing about 4.4 million seats.

Heathrow said that more than 6.7 million people came through the airport last month, a 26 per cent jump on May 2022 and similar to pre-pandemic levels, thanks to the extra bank holiday celebrating King Charles III’s coronation.

Heathrow also benefited from significant demand for transatlantic flights as airlines shifted their capacity away from Europe and East Asia amid a weaker recovery in those markets.

It noted that 1.6 million passengers flew across the North Atlantic in May, while a quarter of everyone going between the United States and Europe passed through the airport.

Airlines expect to reap bumper demand over the peak season after seeing the previous three summers impacted by a combination of onerous Covid-19 restrictions, staff shortages and daily flight limits.

Consumers also appear to show few signs of cutting back on overseas travel even while inflationary pressures remain elevated.

‘Individuals and households where possible continue to prioritise their international holidays over other spending amid the cost-of-living crisis,’ said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk