Passengers at Heathrow airport could be set to face disruption as security officers working at the airport have voted to take a further eight days of strike action, following a dispute over pay.
1.,400 security staff who are members of the union Unite are set to take part in walkouts across dates in May, including the bank holiday weekend for King Charles III's Coronation, which is taking place on May 6.
The new walkouts are planned for May 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 and then again on May 25, 26, 27, it has been reported.
It comes after members took strike action over the Easter holidays.
According to data by aviation analytics firm Cirium on the days of the new planned strikes a total of 5,148 flights are scheduled to depart Britain’s busiest airport – equating to over 1.1 million seats, with over 2,000 scheduled to be operated by British Airways.
The strike action involved security guards employed at Terminal Five, and included 10 days of strike action from March 31, after the union rejected a pay rise saying that it is in effect a pay cut, with the real rate of inflation currently standing at 13.4 per cent.
Speaking about the new dates planned for May, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Yet again, we have a chief executive in John Holland-Kaye who thinks it is acceptable to boost his earnings by an eye watering 88 per cent, from £800,000 to a staggering £1.5 million, while he denies his own workers a decent pay rise. This dispute is bound to escalate with more workers being balloted and disruption set to continue throughout the summer."
A Heathrow spokesperson said: "We kept Heathrow running smoothly during the first 10 days of Unite’s failed industrial action, and passengers can have confidence that we will do so again this time. We will not let Unite disrupt the flow of visitors to the UK during such an important period for the country.
"Instead of chasing headlines, Unite should listen to its members. The majority of Heathrow colleagues do not want to strike and want to accept the offer on the table. Each day that Unite refuses to allow members to vote on the 10% pay increase and a £1,150 lump sum payment is a day that costs colleagues money they deserve now."
The new walkouts will no doubt bring a fresh wave of travel chaos for those planning short breaks over May.
Airlines including British Airways were forced to cancel flights over Easter as a result of the strikes. The airport had said it would put "contingency plans" in place and drafting 1,000 extra staff - as well as its management team - into terminals to help passengers during the Easter getaway.
At the time, a British Airways spokesperson said that the airline had to "reduce the number of passengers travelling during the period of its employees' proposed strike action" and that it "regrettably had to make a small number of adjustments to our schedule".
It's not the only travel woe that faces Brits planning holidays over the coming months.
The Passport Office is currently facing industrial action, with more than 1,000 members of The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union walking out on strikes lasting until May 5.
This comes alongside Brits already being told to expect waits of up to 10 weeks for their documents to be renewed, due to an ongoing backlog following the Covid pandemic.
Travel agents have been urging holidaymakers to check their documents now before the summer holidays to check if they will be valid for holidays to Europe, and allow time for any documents that need renewing.
