Gatwick airport to be hit with strikes in peak summer travel season

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Almost 1,000 workers at London’s Gatwick airport will strike for eight days in July and August in a dispute over pay, putting at risk holidaymakers’ plans at the peak of the summer travel season.

Unite the union said on Friday that 950 ground staff would walk out between July 28 and August 1 and between August 4 and August 8, affecting airlines including British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, Tui, WestJet and Wizz.

Gatwick, the UK’s second-busiest airport, is a major hub for flights to Europe and some intercontinental routes. Most schools in England close next week and demand for travel is expected to surge.

Unite said it had been in talks over pay with employers ASC, Menzies Aviation, GGS and DHL Services since January, but that all had “failed to make offers that meet the workers’ expectations”.

The union told the Financial Times that ASC had offered a pay rise of 7.9 per cent for 2023 and an increase of 4 per cent in 2024. DHL offered 8.5 per cent for 2023, while GGS offered 10 per cent over three years alongside a productivity bonus of 2 per cent.

Menzies said it had offered a rise of 11 per cent for 2023.

Dominic Rothwell, the union’s regional officer, said the stoppages would “inevitably cause severe delays, disruption and cancellations” but blamed the companies for declining to “make our members a fair pay offer”.

The move by staff at Gatwick comes weeks after more than 2,000 Unite members working as security staff at Heathrow called off a “summer of strife” after agreeing a revised pay offer from the UK’s hub airport.

Workers across the public and private sectors have staged a historic wave of industrial action since last year amid demands for higher pay to offset rising living costs. In a push to end some strikes, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday announced an increase of between 5 and 7 per cent for public sector employees for 2023-24.

Unite is also balloting members for a separate walkout at three other Gatwick-based companies. It said voting was expected to close at the end of this month, and that workers could begin striking by mid-August.

Phil Lloyd, senior vice-president UK at Menzies Aviation, said it was in “continued discussions with airline partners” and had invited Unite to restart talks.

“We will continue to work to pursue an agreeable solution to protect service to our airline and airport partners and their customers,” he added.

British Airways said its ground handling agent, GGS, was “surprised” by Unite’s announcement and “continuing to work with the union to resolve this issue as a matter of urgency so as not to disrupt . . . customers’ travel plans”.

DHL said it was “disappointed” but continued “to work closely with Unite to reach a satisfactory conclusion for all parties”.

Gatwick airport and ASC did not respond to requests for comment.

The airline industry has been hit by staff shortages after cuts made during the pandemic, with all parts of the sector, especially air traffic control, struggling to keep up with demand.

EasyJet said on Monday that it had cancelled 1,700 flights, mostly at Gatwick, because of “challenging conditions” in air traffic control.