Passengers face ‘severe delays’ as Heathrow Airport workers vote to strike over Easter

A 10-day strike by security guards at London’s Heathrow Airport is expected to cause ‘severe delays’ for passengers passing through Terminal 5.

Security guards working at Terminal 5 in London’s Heathrow Airport voted today, Friday, March 17, to go on strike. The 1,400 workers involved in the action are all members of the Unite union and employed by Heathrow Airports Ltd (HAL).

As reported by the union, their industrial action will commence on Friday 31 March and continue until Sunday, 9 April, which is Easter Sunday, one of the travel hub’s busiest weekends of the year. They are in dispute with the facility’s bosses over pay and working conditions.

The Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, claimed that the workers deserved a fair pay increase because they are “fundamental to the airport’s success”. Passengers can expect to “experience severe delays and disruption this Easter” said the union.

A spokesperson for Heathrow was more upbeat about the situation, assuring Sky News that the facility already had “contingency plans” in place, “which will keep the airport open and operational despite unnecessary threats of strike action by Unite”.

They added: “Threatening to ruin people’s hard-earned holidays with strike action will not improve the deal. We want to do the right thing by our people and our passengers, each day only delays this pay rise from reaching Unite members’ pockets”.

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