Scots holidaymakers warned of summer chaos amid airport strike threats

SCOTS holidaymakers have been warned of a summer of hell, with thousands more cancelled flights and airport workers threatening strike action.

The Union Unite – which represents aviation workers – has threatened walk outs unless members get a substantial pay rise, just before the huge summer hols getaway begins.

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Pat McIlvogue, Unite Scotland regional industrial officer, warned of ongoing travel chaos, ‘on a scale that we have never witnessed before’.

Staff shortages, IT issues, air traffic problems and a surge of travellers post-Covid have caused a “perfect storm” of chaos for holidaymakers.

Airlines are experiencing huge staffing problems, leading to delayed and cancelled flights, which could get much worse just as families get set to fly during the peak holiday season.

Unite slammed bosses for laying off thousands of ground staff, security teams, baggage handlers and catering and retail workers during the pandemic, instead of furloughing them, which has been blamed for the airport shambles.

Mr McIlvogue said: “Far too many people were paid off as companies who took advantage of the furlough didn’t want to be stuck with National Insurance commitments and pension contributions.

“The impending staffing crisis was trumpeted by Unite two years ago, to both the Scottish and UK governments and to the companies that supply services to the airports.

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“They refused to listen. That crisis duly arrived and what we now have is a clear and present danger of chaos and disruption at airports on a scale that we have never witnessed before.

“The ­problems are likely to escalate to the peak holiday season in July and August. There is a lot of work to be done in this industry to attract and retain workers who can do the job.”

Unite are balloting members who work for British Airways at Heathrow after the company restored management pay to pre-pandemic levels but refused to reverse a 10 per cent pay cut imposed on their members.

If workers vote in favour of industrial action, strikes are expected to takes place in July.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is disgraceful. Unite will not allow our members to be treated as a second-class workforce.”

Unite has recently negotiated bumper deals for many other aviation workers but said many staff who left during the pandemic see no attraction in coming back.

Mr McIlvogue said many staff were coming into the industry on zero-hour contracts which now fall in the favour of workers, rather than employers.

He said: “The dynamic in aviation has changed, as the employers are the ones in a desperate situation. Staff can turn shifts down and we are seeing that happen.”

Airport bosses pleaded with would-be holiday-makers not to arrive at the airport more than three hours early – after throngs of people were pictured in huge queues that “snaked back to the car park” at both Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports earlier this week.

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Many passengers who make it through claim less than half the security scanners are operating, branding it “an absolute disgrace”.

It comes after hols giant TUI announced it was cancelling nearly 200 flights from Manchester this month, adding to the thousands already cancelled by BA and easyJet over the past few weeks.

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