Flights to and from London’s Heathrow Airport around the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are set to be disrupted by three days of strike action, a union has warned.
Unite said on Friday that the strike will begin in the early hours of Friday 18 November and is due to end in the early hours of Monday 21 November. It will lead to disruption, cancellations and delays at Heathrow terminals 2, 3 and 4.
The action involves 700 workers employed by Dnata and Menzies who carry out roles including ground handling, airside transport and cargo. The staff are seeking higher pay.
A number of major airlines will be affected including Qatar Airways, which has scheduled an additional 10 flights a week during the World Cup.
Virgin, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Emirates are among other airlines that are expected to be hit heavily by the strike action.
Passengers flying to the United States for the Thanksgiving holiday will also be adversely affected.
“Our members at Dnata and Menzies undertake highly challenging roles and are simply seeking a decent pay rise,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.
“Both companies are highly profitable and can fully afford to make a fair pay increase. The owners and directors are simply lining their own pockets rather than paying their workers fairly.”
A Heathrow spokesperson told BBC News: “We are aware of proposed industrial action from Dnata and Menzies colleagues at Heathrow, and we are in discussions with our airline partners on what contingency plans they can implement to support their ground handling should the strike go ahead.”
The spokesperson added that the airport’s priority is to ensure passengers are not disrupted by any shortages of ground handlers.
