Summer holidaymakers have been warned of severe travel disruption at Luton airport as ground handlers working for Wizz Air announce strike action.
It’s the second airport to be hit by industrial action this month, with ground handlers at Gatwick Airport beginning several days of strike action on Friday affecting thousands of passengers.
Workers at GH London Ground Handling Services Ltd are set to cause substantial delays to Wizz Air flights at Luton on August 30, September 6 and 13 amid a dispute over pay and conditions, Unite union said on Wednesday.
More than 80 union members will stage 24-hour strikes on three consecutives Wednesdays as negotiations break down over “longstanding” problems, the union said.
Unite regional officer Richard Gates said: “The strikes will cause huge disruption to Wizz’s schedule but GH London has brought this dispute on itself. Unite has given the company every opportunity to improve its conduct and it has refused to do so.”
A Wizz Air spokesperson said the airline is attempting to limit disruption for travellers.
“We are in touch with Luton Airport and our ground handling partner and are doing everything within our control to limit disruptions for passengers,” they told the Standard.
“In case of any disruptions, we will reach out to any affected passengers who booked directly with the airline via email and SMS and let them know their options as soon as we have an update.”
Wizz Air was ranked the worst airline for UK flight delays in the past two years, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data, but its UK managing director has promised services are improving.
Marion Geoffroy said the Hungarian carrier has reviewed “every single aspect of its operations” to boost resilience, and has performed well in recent months.
It has overhauled flight schedules, rostering and the availability of spare aircraft parts since 2022.
Wizz Air operates flights from eight UK airports including Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick and Luton.
The announcement comes just days before 45,000 travellers at Gatwick airport are set to face flight delays and disruptions as hundreds of ground handlers there strike.
Unite members working for ground handling company Red Handling will walk out for four days from Friday, August 18, and a further four days from Friday, August 25, which includes the August bank holiday weekend.
Members of the union employed by Wilson James, which operates Gatwick’s passenger assistance contract, will walk out for three days from August 18, and a further three days from August 22.
The strikes will involve more than 230 workers in total. Unite said both companies involved had failed to make offers that meet the workers’ expectations.
Red Handling is responsible for ground handling for Norse Atlantic, Norwegian, Delta, TAP Air Portugal and Saudi.
During the first four-day strike action at Red Handling, Unite believes that 216 flights could be disrupted or delayed, affecting around 45,000 passengers.
