Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Jane Corscadden

Christmas travellers to Northern Ireland could face delays due to Border Force strike

Passengers travelling to Northern Ireland could face delays in the coming days due to Border Force strikes.

Today is expected to be one of the busiest travelling days of the year as people fly home to be with friends and family for Christmas.

The UK Government and Border Force have warned travellers to expect "delays and disruption" while giving assurances that preparations were made to minimise queues.

Read more: Ryanair pledges commitment to new Belfast base creating 'hundreds of jobs'

Over 1,000 employees will walk out as part of the strikes, which will affect passport control desks at London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Cardiff, Manchester, and Glasgow airports, as well as the port of Newhaven in East Sussex.

People travelling to Northern Ireland from other parts of the world, who have connecting flights in any of these airports, could miss their connection if there are long delays and queues.

As of Friday morning, most flights arriving in Belfast are running on time with only two delays currently, both on the route from Manchester to Belfast City Airport with Flybe. The 8.15am flight is delayed until 10am, while the 1.50pm flight is delayed until 2.50pm.

Military personnel, civil servants and volunteers from across government have been trained to support Border Force at airports and ports across the UK.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) are in a long-running dispute with the government over pay, jobs, pensions and conditions.

The strike will last until early on Boxing Day, with another round from December 28 lasting until early on New Year's Eve.

More than 10,000 flights are scheduled to land at those airports during those times and more than 250,000 passengers arriving on Friday have been warned to expect delays.

READ NEXT:

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.