Strikes will affect Gatwick passengers this summer (Picture: Andy Soloman/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Strikes have been a feature of life in the UK in 2023 and as the big holiday getaway begins, walkouts are also due to impact travellers heading in and out of London’s Gatwick Airport.

This year has seen workers take industrial action in a range of fields, including teachers, junior doctors and hospital consultants, with rail strikes affecting many people’s journeys and hitting major events such as Eurovision and the football World Cup.

So as the school term ends and many families jet off for the summer holidays, what impact will the Gatwick strikes have, and will they also affect travellers to and from Greece, where wildfires are leading to evacuations and repatriation flights?

Here is what you need to know.

When are the Gatwick Airport strikes?

Around 450 workers are due to strike at Gatwick Airport from Friday 28 July to Tuesday August 1, with a further four days from Friday August 4 to Tuesday August 8.

Around 450 workers from the Unite union are set to walk out (Picture: Carl Court/AFP via Getty Images)

Around 1,000 workers were originally due to take part in the Unite union strike, but nearly 600 DHL workers on the Gatwick EasyJet contract have suspended their action following an improved pay offer. They will now be balloted on whether to accept it.

The remaining 450 who are set to strike are ASC, Menzies Aviation and GGS workers.

However, Unite is also balloting other members at Gatwick Airport including Red Handling and Wilson James. That ballot will conclude on July 31 and if the vote is for strike action, there could be further walkouts from mid-August.

Unite regional officer Dominic Rothwell said: ‘As an act of good faith, Unite’s Gatwick DHL members have agreed to suspend their first set of strikes while they are balloted on the new offer.

“Strikes by ASC, Menzies and GGS workers are still scheduled to go ahead. Unite urges the remaining employers to return to the negotiating table and put forward an offer our members will accept.’

The companies conduct outsourced operations for major airlines primarily undertaking ground handling, baggage handling, ramp agent, dispatchers and check in agents roles, so ‘disruption, delays and cancellations are inevitable’, according to Unite.

Which airlines are affected?

Unite regional officer Dominic Rothwell added: ‘Strike action will inevitably cause severe delays, disruption and cancellations across Gatwick’s operations but this dispute is entirely of the companies own making.

‘They have had every opportunity to make our members’ a fair pay offer but have chosen not to do so.’

The exact impact which the strikes will have, and whether they will affect flights from Greece in particular, is not yet clear.

Why are Gatwick staff striking?

Essentially, the strike is over pay.

Unite says: ‘While the workers are on varying rates of pay, the majority are paid on average under £12 an hour, 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.

‘Unite has been in negotiations with the companies since January but they all have failed to make offers that meets the workers’ expectations.’

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