Security staff at Heathrow airport will strike for 31 days this summer after the Unite union announced fresh action over pay.
More than 2,000 officers will strike, affecting almost every weekend from June to August, in what the union described as a “major escalation”.
The strikes to date have been focused on Terminal 5, used by British Airways. Airlines including Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Qatar, United, American and Delta could now be affected as staff in Terminal 3 have voted to join the strike.
Heathrow has managed similar strikes in recent weeks, including during the Easter and May half-term holiday getaways, without significant disruption to passengers. The spread of the dispute and the duration could prove a more serious test of its resources and willingness of other staff to step in.
The Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Unite is putting Heathrow on notice that strike action at the airport will continue until it makes a fair pay offer to its workers.”
She said the airport had “got its priorities all wrong”. “This is an incredibly wealthy company, which this summer is anticipating bumper profits and an executive pay bonanza. It’s also expected to pay out huge dividends to shareholders, yet its workers can barely make ends meet and are paid far less than workers at other airports.”
The security staff have rejected a 10.1% pay offer, with the union highlighting that wages have fallen 24% in real terms since 2017, with new contracts issued during the Covid pandemic.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Passengers can rest assured that we will do everything we can to minimise strike disruption so they can enjoy their hard-earned summer holidays.
“Unite has already tried and failed to disrupt the airport with unnecessary strikes on some of our busiest days and we continue to build our plans to protect journeys during any future action.” Talks would continue, Heathrow said.
The strikes will start on Saturday 24 June – slightly later than planned, after the union failed to notify the airport in accordance with strike laws last Friday.
Airlines are also concerned that repeated French air traffic control strikes will disrupt flights through the summer, with many UK international departures forced to detour around French airspace. The latest 24-hour strike concluded on Wednesday morning.
