Travellers are being hit with more chaos as union Unite said 300 security and passenger services staff are set to walk out at a major UK airport. The 300 staff at Gatwick are going on strike on six days in July, adding to woes for people going on holiday.
Unite said the issue could potentially cause big delays at check-in. The pay strikes involve 100 baggage security screeners employed by ICTS and 200 Wilson James workers who provide special assistance services for vulnerable passengers.
Both sets of workers, who earn just above the minimum wage, have rejected pay offers from their employers and will strike from 12 to 14 July and 19 to 21 July. Unite said further industrial action would be scheduled if the disputes are not resolved.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These workers undertake incredibly demanding roles at one of the UK’s busiest airports. They are simply seeking a fair day’s pay. ICTS and Wilson James are wealthy companies and can well afford to put forward acceptable pay offers. Our members at Gatwick have Unite’s total backing in taking strike action for a decent pay rise
Unite said the strikes will cause ‘significant disruption’ to security screening and passenger services. In addition, around 100 dNata HGV drivers and warehouse workers who provide all of EasyJet’s onboard catering at Gatwick are being balloted for strike action in a row over shift pay payments.
Unite regional officer Dominic Rothwell said: “The employers in these disputes are responsible for any disruption caused to passengers at Gatwick. These disputes could be easily resolved if reasonable offers are put forward.
“There is still time to avoid industrial action, but that will require these companies to table deals that are acceptable to our members.”
A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “We are working with our suppliers to avoid any impacts and we expect to operate a normal summer holiday flight schedule for our airlines and passengers on these dates.
Meanwhile dozens of flights have been cancelled to and from the UK due to a shortage in air traffic controllers. Both Ryanair and Wizz Air have been forced to apologise to passengers due to the wave of delays and cancellations.
Ryanair confirmed that 60 flights were cancelled, with another 150 delayed. Ryanair’s Chief Ops Officer Neal McMahon said ATC services were at their “worst levels ever”.
He added: “These repeated ATC delays and cancellations are unacceptable. We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays and flight cancellations, which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control.”
And a Wizz Air spokesperson said: “Wizz Air was prepared to ensure smooth summer operations for its passengers; however, the air traffic control system seems to be experiencing significant issues this summer.
“As an industry, we are compelled to escalate these issues with the relevant air traffic management authorities, including Eurocontrol, to ensure proper mitigation actions are implemented to minimise disruptions.”
Yesterday (Friday June 28), flights were temporarily suspended at London Gatwick Airport after a plane was forced to delay a takeoff, blocking the runway with ‘hot brakes’.
This week Youtravel announced that all bookings will be cancelled up to and including 26 July. It said it had taken the ‘difficult’ decision to extend cancellations beyond 5 July while talks to secure its future continue.
Youtravel is owned by German company FTI Group, whose tour operator brand FTI Touristik filed for insolvency earlier this month. Many UK travel agents use products provided by the group so potentially thousands of travellers could have their plans thrown into disarray. It confirmed all active bookings for arrivals up to and including 26 July would be cancelled without charge by Monday 1 July giving agents holding packages for UK travellers with accommodation booked via Youtravel just days to act.