Liverpool John Lennon Airport will not be affected by a strike by Border Force staff over Christmas.
Around 1,000 Border Force workers will strike for eight days from December 23. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) announced that workers at several airports across the UK will walk out over pay, jobs and conditions.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said the staff work at passport control so the strike will have a “significant impact”. Mr Serwotka also warned the Government against bringing in the military to cover for the strikes, saying there was not enough time to train them properly.
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The strike is set to involve PCU members working at Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff airports. The ECHO understands there is no industrial action planned among Border Force staff at Liverpool Airport this Christmas.
As things stand, the airport's winter schedule will be able to proceed as planned.
Officials at Manchester Airport said some of its flights will likely be cancelled, while the Airport Operators Association (AOA) have said that if the strikes cannot be averted then “concrete and deliverable contingency measures” must be put in place.
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said : “Unfortunately, we expect it will be necessary for airlines to cancel some services on the days impacted by strike action to ensure the number of arriving passengers aligns with lower UK Border Force resources.
“We will be working with our airlines to provide passengers with as much advance notice of cancelled services as possible, so that people have the chance to rebook their travel around the strike days.
“Arriving passengers should also be prepared for much longer immigration queues on strike days, owing to reduced Border Force staffing levels.”
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