The first round of summer strikes has been suspended at London’s Heathrow airport

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Unite members were expected to walk out on June 24 and 25, but the first two of their 31 working days have been canceled in a wage dispute.

Union bosses today confirmed the cancellation of the first strike by more than 2,000 security guards at London’s Heathrow Airport which was due to take place later this month.

Unite members were expected to walk out on June 24 and 25 in the first 31 days of work in a wage dispute set to run until August 27.

But Unite confirmed today that Heathrow Airports Limited (HAL) had made an improved wage offer and the initial strikes had been called off “as a goodwill gesture by the union”.

The first of the remaining 29 strike days will now be June 28, 29 and 30. There is also scheduled work on July 14-16, 21-24, August 28-31, 4-7, 11-14, 18-20 and 24-27.

Unite Regional Coordination Officer Wayne King said today: “After intense negotiations last week, HAL has submitted a new proposal.

Commuters queued for security at London Heathrow on 22 June last year amid staff shortages – that was the original plan for the Unite strikes – but 24 and 25 June have now been cancelled.

“Members will now vote on the latest offering and decide whether it meets their expectations or not.”

The full list of strike days by Heathrow security staff in summer 2023

Canceled (2 days)

Still renewed (29 days)

28 Jun 29 Jun 30 Jun 14 Jul 15 Jul 16 Jul 21 Jul 22 Jul 23 Jul 24 Jul 28 Jul 29 Jul 30 Jul 31 Jul 4 Aug 5 Aug 6 Aug 7 Aug 11 Aug 12 Aug 13 Aug 14 Aug 18 Aug 18 Aug 19 Aug 20 Aug 24 Aug 25 Aug 25 Aug

For the first time, security officers stationed in Terminal 3 are expected to join colleagues from Terminal 5 and campus security who have already taken industry action.

More than 42,600 flights are scheduled to leave Heathrow during the three-month strike period from June 24 to August 27, according to flight analytics firm Cirium.

Its data also revealed that more than 20,000 flights were scheduled to depart Heathrow on strike days – 3,241 in June, 7,166 in July and 9,756 in August.

This means 4.4 million seats were compromised by the measure, nearly half of which occurred in August alone.

Many of the strike dates at Britain’s largest airport – announced on June 7 – fall over weekends in late June, July and August.

These include the Muslim holiday in late June and the school ending for the summer in July, and mark a dramatic escalation of the bitter dispute between the union and the airport after 18 days of strikes so far.

Today, Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye insisted that strikes by security guards this time around are unlikely to cause flights to be cancelled.

“We provided excellent passenger service, without cancellations, over eight days of strikes on the busiest days in May, and we do not expect cancellations as a result of strikes over the summer holidays,” he said.

British Airways canceled around 5 per cent of its schedule at Heathrow during strikes over the Easter holiday period, but no flights were suspended due to strikes during the half-term holiday last month.

During previous strikes, the airport’s contingency plans included deploying office staff to assist passengers at security checkpoints.

Last week Mr Holland-Kaye urged Unite to put the airport’s latest proposal of a 10 per cent pay increase and a lump sum of £1,150 to a vote of its members, as ‘we know most of our colleagues will accept our offer. Table’.

The union has previously said that its members “have been absolutely clear that they seek a substantial and permanent pay rise”.

Passengers lined up at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 over the Easter weekend last year. On April 15, Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye said strikes were unlikely to cause the cancellation.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said security staff at Heathrow “can barely make ends meet and are paid much less than those at other airports”.

Joe Rhodes, deputy editor of Consumer Magazine Which? Travel said: ‘While it is encouraging that Heathrow says it is putting in place contingency plans to minimize disruption during upcoming strikes, those with flights booked during this period are likely to be concerned.

It is essential that the airport and airlines work together to keep travelers informed, and to fulfill their legal obligations to passengers in the event of cancellations or delays.

Travelers should also ensure that they have comprehensive travel insurance from the date they book their flight and check the policy carefully. Not everyone will cover it in the event of strikes by the airline or airport staff, for example.

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