London Gatwick Airport is bracing itself for a fresh round of strikes announced by the workers union over busy summer travel period. The strike could possibly disrupt around 45,000 passengers causing major operational havoc across the airport.
The workers union, 'Unite' has announced two planned strikes for later this month. During the first of these strikes set to take place on August 18, it is anticipated that approximately 216 flights will be disrupted, affecting over 45,000 passengers. The four-day strike will last till Monday, August 21, 2023 casting a shadow over the weekend.
The second strike will occur over the August public holiday weekend from August 25 to 28, potentially leading to even higher flight disruptions.
Unite anticipates that over 230 airport workers will join in the strikes. The employees are made up of workers from Wilson James and Red Handling. Wilson James operates customer assistance services at the airport on a contract basis. Red Handling is a ground handling company that is contracted to conduct ground operations for Delta Air Lines, Norwegian Air, TAP Air Portugal, Saudia, and Norse Atlantic.
The strikes are due to the workers' demand for higher compensation, as they believe they are being unfairly remunerated compared to other airport workers.