Heathrow has been accused of “brutally ditching” a “loyal and dedicated group of workers” as part of job cuts at the airport.
The union Unite said 500 ‘ambassadors’ could be set to lose their jobs as Heathrow makes cost cuts as it battles the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
It said all workers employed across the airport’s five terminals by a company called ABM on a contract funded by Heathrow will be made redundant.
Ambassador jobs include assisting passengers through security and passport control on departure, and assisting arrivals with clearing passport control, collecting baggage and accessing connecting flights.
Many of the staff Unite dubbed ‘ambassadors’ have worked throughout the pandemic, taking on extra tasks on top of their normal roles.
Hounslow council earlier this month warned that a third of the 100,000 households in the borough could be affected by job losses at the airport and the local economy could contract by 40%.
Unite regional officer Balvinder Bir said: “Heathrow airport has brutally ditched a loyal and dedicated group of workers who have been undertaking additional work since the pandemic began.
“The ambassadors at Heathrow provided a premium service in assisting passengers to access and leave the airport. Their removal will severely detract from customers’ positive experience at the airport in future.
“This is the latest group of workers to have fallen victim to the government’s failure to bring forward specific support to the aviation industry as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unless specific support is finally forthcoming thousands more jobs are at risk.
“If Heathrow wants to maintain its position as a key hub airport in Europe then it needs to urgently review this decision.”