Heathrow Airport has promised half-term holidaymakers that their flights will go ahead as planned despite a planned three-day strike by security officers at the airport.
The latest walkout by hundreds of security officers represented by the Unite union is expected to go ahead from 25th to 27th May in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
Heathrow has offered workers a 10% pay rise along with a £1,150 lump sum for 2023 and an inflation-linked increase for 2024, but Unite has rejected the proposal and claimed that its members at the West London airport are paid less than security officers at other regional airports.
According to the union, security officers at Heathrow are earning between £5,000 and £6,000 less per year than their counterparts at Stansted and Gatwick airports.
The union has already held two previous walkouts over the Easter holiday and the Coronation weekend, but anticipated disruption failed to materialise, and Heathrow says most passengers managed to clear security checkpoints within just five minutes during the strikes.
Heathrow is now so confident that the latest walkout will have little effect on its operations that it isn’t asking airlines to proactively cancel flights in order to reduce passenger numbers.
“Passengers should not be concerned about strike action by Unite over the half-term getaway,” commented Heathrow’s soon-to-be-departed CEO John Holland-Kaye on Monday.
“The 15 days of strike action over the Easter peak and Coronation weekends have had no impact on the smooth running of the airport, and passengers have not noticed any difference from the normal great service they expect at Heathrow,” Holland-Kaye continued.
The airport has urged the union to give its members the opportunity to vote on its proposed offer.
