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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Jacob Rawley & Jacob Farr

Edinburgh travellers could have Heathrow flights cancelled amid security strikes

Edinburgh residents planning on flying down to England later this week have been warned that their trip may be impacted by Heathrow strikes.

The strikes, which have been earmarked for Friday March 31, could see hundreds of flight cancellations take place at the London airport.

The planned walkouts are understood to only impact short haul flights, which could mean that journeys to Scotland may be in the firing line during the 10-day security staff strike action.

READ MORE: Worried junior Edinburgh doctor says he 'can't afford to rent his own home'

British Airways say they have been told by the airport to cut as many as 32 flights per day over the first weekend of the strike action - March 31 to April 3, the Daily Record reports.

Travel expert Simon Calder updated travellers on his podcast where he said that Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen could see flights scrapped.

He added that it would only be BA flights to UK hubs and European tourist spots departing from Heathrow Terminal 5 that would be cancelled and that other BA services would continue as planned.

Although BA staff are not involved in the strike action, they will still be required to cut back on services due to the disruption the strikes will cause.

Heathrow Airport has asked passengers to check their flight status and to arrive at the airport no earlier than two hours prior to their short haul flight taking off and no earlier than three hours for a long haul.

They also ask that travellers arrive ready for security with their compliant liquids and electronics out of their hand luggage.

The strikes, announced by Unite the Union last week, including some 1,400 security guards, will likely go ahead as no future talks are planned, according to Calder.

A BA spokesperson said: "Following Heathrow's requirement for us to reduce the number of passengers travelling during the period of its employees' proposed strike action, we've regrettably had to make a small number of adjustments to our schedule.

"We've apologised to customers whose travel plans have been affected and have offered them a range of options, including rebooking onto a new flight with us or another airline, or requesting a full refund.

"Our teams are continuing to work closely with Heathrow to ensure that our customers' journeys run smoothly."

A Heathrow spokesperson commented: "We will not let these unnecessary strikes impact the hard-earned holidays of our passengers. Our contingency plans will keep the airport operating as normal throughout.

"We are deploying 1,000 additional colleagues and the entire management team who will be in the terminals providing assistance to passengers over the busy Easter getaway.

"As at any busy time, it may take a little longer than usual to get through security, but this will be well managed and kept flowing."

The travel expert said that the union was looking for a pay rise as they are currently on 'poverty wages', while Heathrow had reportedly already handed out a 10 percent rise.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham 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."

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