Daily media warnings of disruption risk raising anxiety among travellers ahead of the start of the peak summer getaway this weekend, amid genuine concerns about the impact of strikes planned by ground handlers at Gatwick next week.
Airlines are preparing contingency plans, with 450 members of the Unite union at three ground handling companies set to strike over pay at Gatwick from Saturday July 28 to Tuesday August 1, before a second walkout from August 4-8.
Almost 600 workers at a fourth Gatwick ground handler, DHL Services, suspended plans to strike on the first of these dates on Tuesday to ballot on an enhanced pay offer. But strikes by staff at ground handlers ASC, Menzies and GGS were still scheduled to go ahead as of Tuesday.
The strikes and plans to mitigate their impact are out of the hands of Gatwick because airlines contract the ground handlers. The planned action would not paralyse the whole airport as there are three other ground handling companies at Gatwick.
But Unite is balloting the members at these ground handlers and warns of further strikes from mid-August.
The union warned of “inevitable disruption, delays and cancellations”, with more than 440 flights a day due to depart. EasyJet flights were to be worst hit before the suspension of the strike at DHL, followed by British Airways, Tui and Vueling services.
A Gatwick spokesperson said: “We’re working closely with the airlines to ensure as many flights as possible operate as scheduled.”
An airport source added: “There are things we can do to mitigate disruption, but we don’t yet know the scale of the impact.”
An airline source admitted: “Gatwick is a concern. We hope the contingency plans can deliver.”
Flights to and from Europe remain bedevilled by delays caused by air traffic control (ATC) strikes and a 20% reduction in airspace due to the Ukraine war, with Gatwick affected more than most airports.
A source noted: “Gatwick ATC delays are three times longer than before the pandemic [because of] restrictions due to issues across European airspace.”