Travellers warned of disruption at Heathrow Airport as workers set to strike ahead of World Cup

700 workers at Heathrow Airport are to go on strike in the run-up to the World Cup, Unite has said.

Workers employed by Dnata and Menzies will take three days of strike action, which will begin on 18 November.

It will lead to disruption at Terminals 2, 3 and 4 as thousands are set to travel to Qatar to watch the World Cup.

Those on strike undertake a wide range of roles, including ground-handling, airside transport and cargo.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members at Dnata and Menzies undertake highly challenging roles and are simply seeking a decent pay rise.

"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.

“The workers at Heathrow will have Unite’s complete support during this dispute.”

Which airlines will be affected?

The Union says Singapore Airlines, Cathay-Pacific and Emirates airlines will all be affected by the action.

Passengers returning to the United States for the Thanksgiving holiday are also set to be adversely affected.

Virgin Atlantic has also been named but the airline has confirmed the action will not affect passenger flights or services.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We’re aware of planned strike action among dnata cargo ground handling staff at London Heathrow, scheduled for 18-20 November.

"Dnata provide support to our cargo operation, however passenger services will not be affected by this strike. Dnata is keeping us up to date on developments and with mitigations in place, we anticipate limited impact to our cargo operations.

"We’ll update our cargo customers directly in the coming days with further information.”

Why is strike action taking place?

Dnata has offered its workers a five per cent increase, while the offers for Menzies workers vary between two and six per cent.

Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said: “Strike action will inevitably cause disruption, delays and cancellations to flights throughout Heathrow, with travellers to the World Cup particularly affected.

"However, this dispute is entirely of Dnata and Menzies own making. They have had every opportunity to make a fair pay offer but have chosen not to do so.”

In response, a Heathrow spokesperson told ITV Meridian: “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.

"Our priority is to ensure passengers are not disrupted by airline ground handler shortages."

Ground handling is an airline responsibility and each airline has its own arrangements for providing these services.

Alex Doisneau, managing director of dnata UK, airport operations (ground handling & cargo), said: “It is disappointing that Unite plans to progress with this costly industrial action, despite our offer to staff of an award which, with previous increases, amounts to a pay rise of 15.5% (20.2% for HGV drivers) since December 2021. This is in line with inflation and amongst the best in the industry.

“We would like to reassure our customers, partners and passengers that we are implementing contingency plans to minimise disruption to our operations.

“The union’s proposition is unrealistic and doesn’t reflect the challenging economic environment we find ourselves in as a business.

“Despite our sustained commitment to the UK and its communities, the impact of the pandemic, rapid inflation and other local market conditions mean that our UK airport operations business is now making a financial loss each month.

“The increase in salary suggested by Unite is irresponsible and would undoubtedly impact our business’ ability to operate in the best interest of our workforce in the long term.

“Our offer has been overwhelmingly accepted by other staff at the airport and we remain committed to reaching a meaningful and mutually acceptable agreement for all parties.”

Menzies is yet to comment on the action.