Gatwick Airport to he hit by eight days of strikes over summer holidays

Gatwick Airport is set to see nearly a thousand workers strike for eight days. 

The strikes will happen over the summer holiday, likely leading to severe disruptions and delays. 

The Unite union has said disruption and cancellations are inevitable due to the scale of the action, with the workers, at four firms including baggage handlers and ground staff set to strike. 

Staff will strike over two weekends at the end of July and the beginning of August. There will be four days of strike action between Friday 28 July and Tuesday 1 August, then a further strike between Friday 4 August and Tuesday 8 August.

British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair, Tui, Westjet and Wizz are all set to be affected by the strike action, the union says. 

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.