Gatwick Airport braces for disruption as 300 staff announce strike dates in July

Travellers must expect further disruptions, as the Unite union has announced that 300 security and passenger service employees at Britain’s major airport Gatwick will go on strike for six days in July. This is likely to increase holidaymakers’ worries even further.

Unite warned that the issue has the potential to cause significant delays to check-in. The pay strikes affect 100 baggage screening officers at ICTS and 200 Wilson James staff who provide special care services to vulnerable passengers.

Both groups of workers, who earn just above the minimum wage, have rejected wage offers from their employers and will strike from July 12 to 14 and July 19 to 21. Unite said further industrial action was planned if the disputes were not resolved.

Sharon Graham, General Secretary of Unite, said: “These workers undertake incredibly demanding tasks at one of the UK’s busiest airports. They simply want a fair day’s pay. ICTS and Wilson James are wealthy companies and can afford to make acceptable pay offers. Our members at Gatwick have the full support of Unite in their strike action for a decent pay rise.”

Unite said the strikes would cause “significant disruption” to security checks and passenger services. In addition, around 100 truck drivers and warehouse workers from dNata, which handles all of EasyJet’s in-flight catering at Gatwick, will be voted on over a dispute over shift pay.

Dominic Rothwell, Unite’s regional representative, added: “The employers in these disputes are responsible for any inconvenience caused to passengers at Gatwick. These disputes could easily be resolved if reasonable offers are made.”

He also gave holidaymakers a glimmer of hope, adding: “There is still time to avoid industrial action, but to do so, companies need to put agreements on the table that are acceptable to our members.”

A London Gatwick spokesperson was quick to reassure travellers, saying: “We are working with our suppliers to avoid any impact and we expect to be able to operate a normal summer holiday schedule for our airlines and passengers on these dates.”

But it’s not just industrial action that’s causing headaches for passengers; a shortage of air traffic controllers has led to numerous cancellations and delays at UK airports. Ryanair and Wizz Air have been hit by turmoil; Ryanair confirmed that 60 flights had been cancelled and a further 150 delayed.

Neal McMahon, Ryanair’s Chief Ops Officer, criticised ATC services as “worst ever” and said: “These repeated delays and cancellations by ATC are unacceptable. We apologise to our passengers for these repeated delays and cancellations by ATC. We deeply regret this, but Ryanair has no control over it.”

Wizz Air stated: “Wizz Air was prepared to ensure a smooth summer operation for its passengers. However, there appear to be significant problems with the air traffic control system this summer.”

“As an industry, we are compelled to escalate these issues to the relevant air traffic control authorities, including Eurocontrol, to ensure that appropriate countermeasures are taken to minimise disruption.”

Last night, EasyJet cancelled a number of flights to and from the UK at short notice. Some tourists even had to hastily change their plans after hearing the news at the check-in desks at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.

Droves of EasyJet customers have contacted the Mirror to express their frustration at how the budget airline’s move has affected them. They include people returning to the UK such as 70-year-old Carole Fuller, a solo traveller who was stranded in Bodrum, Turkey, after her flight to Edinburgh was cancelled at short notice.

On Friday 28 June, London Gatwick Airport was forced to temporarily suspend flights after a plane’s takeoff was delayed, causing the brakes to overheat and block the runway.

This week, Youtravel announced that it was cancelling all bookings up to and including July 26. The company said it had made the “difficult” decision to extend cancellations beyond July 5 as discussions about its future continue.

Youtravel is a subsidiary of the German company FTI Group, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. With many British travel agents using the group’s products, thousands of travelers could potentially see their plans disrupted.

It has been confirmed that all active bookings for arrivals up to and including 26 July will be cancelled free of charge until Monday 1 July. This leaves travel agents holding packages for UK travellers with accommodation booked through Youtravel with just a few days to act.