A Ryanair pilot has predicted Christmas travellers and luggage will be left behind during festive Border Force and baggage handler strikes.
Speaking anonymously, the aviation pro said pilots with the budget airline have been known to deliberately delay their flights to wait for customers and bags caught up in airport chaos over the past few months.
This practice was brought to a sharp end earlier this month when the company sent round a memo to all plane workers ordering them to "never" ask whether boarding gates can remain open less than 15 minutes before take off.
The pilot said the strict enforcement of the policy could have a big impact on customers during Border Force and baggage handler strikes later this month.
"It's potentially a lot of people (who will be affected)," they told the Mirror. "It will be the stragglers, the families with pushchairs and the elderly who are struggling. The busy family with young kids."
Speaking about upcoming Border Force strikes set to take place across UK airports, they added: "When these strikes take place, the strikes are going to cause even further delays in the airport, and that will compound the problem.
"Passengers will be delayed and be late to the gate. Ryanair is saying 'gates shut 15 minutes to go'. Most of the pilots I've spoken to will happily wait the extra few minutes if there's been a delay."
They also predicted flight cancellations during the strike period and "huge delays" for customers heading through airports, as well as passengers being stuck on planes once they've got to their destination airport.
"I expect the airport to either instruct or the situation to dictate that the passengers stay on the aircraft, because the terminal will be full," the pilot said.
"The roster is very busy at Ryanair at the moment, very very busy," the pilot added. "This is the busiest winter we've had in many years. These strikes can only make the situation worse."
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “It is standard procedure that we close our boarding gates on time, so that we can deliver an on time departure for the overwhelming majority of passengers that arrive on time.
"Due to Air Traffic Control staff shortages across Europe, if we miss our take-off slot, it could delay the flight by up to three hours.
"It is each passenger’s responsibility to ensure that they arrive to the gate on time.”
Airports are likely to be thrown into turmoil in the week over Christmas due to a number of strikes hitting the aviation sector, as Brits face 18 days of strikes affecting travel.
The PCS Union, which represents Border Force, passport and visa workers, announced eight days of industrial action over the Christmas period last week.
Unite members employed by Menzies will take part in strike action from 4am on Friday December 16 for 72 hours, affecting baggage handling at Heathrow Airport.
Mitie security staff working on Eurostar will also strike on several days in December, while the RMT union today started a long strike which will bring domestic railways to a halt for weeks.
The industrial action comes as passenger numbers in UK airports are expected to reach close to pre-pandemic festive levels.
