Security workers are striking over pay (Picture: Getty)
Trains and tubes aren’t the only transport strikes which have brought disruption to the UK – as workers at Heathrow Airport have also been striking.
Unite the Union members who are security guards at Heathrow Terminal Five have been taking action across April and May with further walkouts planned over the next few days.
Unite accuse Heathrow Airport Ltd (HAL) of offering its workers real terms pay cut due to inflation.
The stoppages are set to last for a few days yet – but just when will the strikes end, and are there any more on the cards?
If you have a flight booked at Terminal Five, here’s what you need to know…
When do the Heathrow Airport strikes end?
The strikes at Heathrow Airport will last for three days across May 25, 26, and 27.
They begin today and will end at 11.59pm on Saturday, May 27.
This means that those planning on jetting off for the spring bank holiday weekend may be affected.
The strike is affecting the British Airways terminal (Picture: Getty Images)
Around 1,400 members of the Unite union have walked out in the dispute, among them security officers working for British Airways – who exclusively use Terminal Five – and those who are responsible for checking all of the cargo which arrives at the airport.
The union has warned passengers to expect disruption to flights throughout this time.
Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: ‘Strike action will cause huge disruption and delays at Heathrow throughout but this dispute is entirely of HAL’s own making it has had every opportunity to make a fair pay offer but has failed to do so.’
Heathrow has said it has brought in 1,000 extra staff to try and minimise this.
The airport has issued advice to passengers travelling during this time, with those who have flights booked advised to do the following:
Check your flight details and status with your airline before travelling to the airport
Arrive no earlier than two hours before short haul flights, and three hours for long haul
Make sure your hand luggage is security ready – liquids in a separate, sealed see-through bag (max. size 100ml), remove large electricals and place in a separate tray
Strike action will end at 11.59pm on May 27 (Picture: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty)
Are any more strikes planned at Heathrow?
At the moment no other strike dates have been announced – but with the dispute unresolved it’s possible that there could be more to come.
The Unite Union accuses Heathrow Airport Ltd of what it describes as ‘brutal attacks on pay and conditions’ in the year 2020 that ‘left its employees even more exposed to the impacts of the cost of living crisis.’
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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has said: ‘Workers at Heathrow Airport are on poverty wages while the chief executive and senior managers enjoy huge salaries. It is the airport’s workers who are fundamental to its success and they deserve a fair pay increase.
‘Our members are simply unable to make ends meet due to the low wages paid by Heathrow. They are being forced to take strike action due to need not greed.
‘Unite has a laser like focus on prioritising the jobs, pay and conditions of its members and HAL needs to be in no doubt that the workers at the airport will receive the union’s unstinting support.’
MORE : RMT members of 14 train companies to launch fresh strikes next month
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Workers are staging a walkout which could hit bank holiday weekend travel.
