Heathrow Security Officers Announce Summer Strikes

Security officers at Heathrow airport will take part in a fresh wave of strikes this summer that could affect travellers at the UK's busiest airport.

About 2,000 officers who are members of the Unite union will walk out for 31 days between 24 June and 27 August.

Terminals 3 and 5 and checks for non-passengers will be affected and the action could spark queues at security.

Unite described it as "a major escalation" in its pay dispute with the airport.

It said workers had rejected a "below inflation pay offer of 10.1%", while noting that the higher rate of inflation, RPI, is now 11.4%.

Previous strikes have appeared to have little impact on passengers due to Heathrow's contingency measures, but the fresh wave of strikes will include Terminal 3 workers for the first time.

Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world and people from all over the UK could be affected.

The strikes could lead to longer queues going through security, but it is unclear at the moment whether any airlines will cancel flights, says the BBC's transport correspondent Katy Austin.

The walkouts coincide with busy times for travel including the Eid festival (28, 29 and 30 June), the beginning of the school holidays (21, 22, 23 and 24 July) and the August bank holiday (24, 25, 26 and 27 August).

A Heathrow spokesperson said it will do "everything" it can to minimise disruption during the strikes.

"Unite has already tried and failed to disrupt the airport with unnecessary strikes on some of our busiest days and we continue to build our plans to protect journeys during any future action.

"The simple fact remains that the majority of colleagues do not support Unite's strikes. There is a two-year inflation-beating pay rise ready for colleagues, if only Unite would allow them to have a say".

They added that talks to resolve the dispute with Unite would continue.

The strikes come as Heathrow is struggling to recover from the impact of the pandemic. The airport's operator recorded a £139m loss in the first three months of this year.

But Unite's Sharon Graham said: "This is an incredibly wealthy company, which this summer is anticipating bumper profits and an executive pay bonanza", adding that the airport had "got its priorities all wrong".

Border Force staff at Heathrow who are members of the PCS union held a series of separate walkouts this year, prompting the government to bring in military personnel to staff entry gates.

Hundreds of thousands of workers in several UK industries have been holding strikes since last summer.

Most are demanding improvements to terms and conditions and for pay to match the cost of living, which is rising at its fastest rate in nearly 40 years.

There was chaos at airports last summer when strikes and staff shortages coincided with a surge in demand for travel post-pandemic.

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said on Wednesday that customers could expect more of the same.

"Delays, disruption and cancelations will be inevitable as a result of the strike action. But this dispute is completely of Heathrow Airport's own making."

The consumer group Which? says if an airline cancels a flight because of staff strikes, passengers are entitled to compensation unless they are given two weeks' notice.

However, if a flight is cancelled because of airport staff, Border Force or air traffic control strikes, this will be classified as an extraordinary circumstance.

According to Which?, this means that passengers due to travel should be offered a refund or alternative flight, but are not owed compensation.

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