Heathrow plays down likely impact of Border Force strikes
James ChappleHeathrow has played down the likely impact of Border Force strikes over Christmas, claiming "the vast majority of travellers will be unaffected" by the walkouts over 23-26 December and 28-31 December.
The airport said on Monday (12 December) it would do everything in its power to protect a full flight schedule on strike days. Departing passengers, it said, should expect to travel as normal.
"Arriving passengers with UK, EU, US, Canadian and some other passports will be able to use e-gates as usual, and their journeys should be largely unaffected on strike days," Heathrow continued.
"Border Force has contingency measures to ensure other arriving passengers are cleared safely and as quickly as possible. We are continuing to support them to strengthen these plans so that as few people are impacted as possible.
"If passengers who cannot use e-gates are concerned about travelling during the strikes, their airline may be able to offer them alternative travel dates."
Thousands of Border Force officials represented by the Public and Commercial Services union will walk out for eight days in a dispute over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy.
Action will take place at six UK airports – Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow (Terminals 2-5) and Manchester – as well as at the Port of Newhaven.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said extra resources would be on hand on the busiest days of the Christmas getaway, including additional senior management support.
"We are doing everything we can to protect full operating schedules on Border Force strike days and departing journeys and the vast majority of arriving journeys should be unaffected," said Holland-Kaye.
"We are ready to welcome millions of passengers heading off to enjoy the holidays with family and friends. We have extra people in the terminals on the busiest days, including me and my management team, to ensure we get people on their way as smoothly as possible and start to bring the joy back into travel."
Some 5.6 million people travelled through Heathrow in November, down from 5.9 million in October. It brings total 2022 passenger numbers up to more than 55 million, which is around 70% of 2019 levels.
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