Manchester Airport could face travel chaos after border staff announced plans to strike.
This afternoon bosses at the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union released the strike dates for their Border Force, passport and visa staff over Christmas. The industrial action will take place on December 23, 24, 25 and 26, as well as 28, 29, 30 and 31 at Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5, Manchester Airports, as well as New Haven port.
There are concerns the strikes will see the return of lengthy queues and the cancellations which blighted UK airports this summer, the Mirror reports.
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The Government has put 600 military personnel and civil servants on standby to deal with the potential disruption.
"We have had 10 consecutive years of below inflation pay rise," general secretary Mark Serwotka told a press conference today. Noting the above 10% rate of inflation this year, the union leader said: "This is a crisis."
An aviation expert has told The Telegraph that the strikes could cause flights to be seriously delayed or cancelled.
“We may need to reduce the demand at ports and airports alike down to 70 per cent to 80 per cent of normal levels,” the anonymous source said.
An airport chief added: “There is going to be some impact and there is concern we cannot keep people just flying into the country and waiting in halls in long queues. We will have to make cancellations because there is no way of getting people through the border.”
The PCS union is seeking a 10% pay rise, and a block on job cuts and reductions on pensions.
The union is one of the biggest in Whitehall with 100,000 members across 214 government departments. The union represents 15,000 workers connected to the aviation industry.
It has already announced strike dates by staff in the Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency, Rural Payment Agency on November 29, National Highways on Dec 2 and Department for Work and Pensions on December 5.
When the union announced its plan to strike last month, Mr Serwotka said: “PCS members are angry. They helped to keep this country running during the pandemic, and in return, have been treated appallingly by this government. With inflation now at 11.1%, it is inconceivable that they are expected to cope with yet another real terms pay cut.
“With tens of thousands of members on poverty pay it is no longer about tightening belts, but about choosing between heating and eating – and that is simply not acceptable for the government’s own workforce."
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: "It is hugely regrettable that the PCS Union has chosen to disrupt one of the most important times of the year for international travel by calling a strike by Border Force officers at several UK ports, including Manchester Airport, for 23-26 December and 28-31 December. We urge union and Government representatives to work together to find a solution to avert this strike action.
“Over the next few days, we are expecting UK Border Force to give clear guidance to affected airports on the level of resources they can provide on each of the strike days. We will then work with our airlines to agree the flying schedule that we can operate safely.
“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. Those due to travel during the affected period should look out for communications from their airlines over the coming days.”
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