Air passengers facing strike misery

Published on Saturday 25 September 2004 13:25

HUNDREDS of baggage handlers at Gatwick airport were going on strike today in a row over workloads and the suspension of a union official.

It follows a separate strike yesterday at Heathrow airport by workers who refuel aircraft.

That dispute was suspended after a new pay deal, which will be put to workers today, was made.

Thomas Cook Airlines and MyTravel said they would will bring in their own baggage handlers to make sure passengers at Gatwick were not disrupted by the 24-hour strike.

Dozens of management volunteers will take on baggage-handling duties in an effort to reduce the impact of a strike.

More than 20 airlines at airport are bracing themselves for disruption to check-in, luggage and aircraft dispatch procedures because of a stoppage by 600 workers employed by the ground agent, Servisair.

Yesterday morning, around 40 members of the Transport and General Workers Union walked out and were due to remain on strike for 48 hours.

But last night, the union said that the workers, employed by aircraft refuelling company AFS (H&G Fuel Contracting Services), had suspended their action after a revised pay offer was made by the company. Earlier, the union had announced that the workers would stage two more strikes next month if the pay dispute continued.

Heathrow insisted that flights had not been affected by yesterday’s strike despite claims by the union that there had been some disruption.

The workers refuel around a third of the 1200 daily flights at Heathrow.

The union had announced that the workers would stage two more strikes next month if the pay dispute continued.

Last month, the threat of travel chaos for tens of thousands of holidaymakers was lifted when a planned strike by British Airways staff was called off.