At Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports
London, Thanasis Gavos
Inconvenience for hundreds of thousands of air passengers at six major British airports is expected from today until the end of the year due to a strike by travel document inspectors.
Around 1,000 Border Force members of the PCS union, who are responsible for passport control at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports, are on strike demanding higher rises due to high inflation.
The first strike that started today lasts until December 26 and is followed by another four-day strike from December 28 to 31. The strike also covers the international port of Newhaven.
In total, more than 10,000 flights are scheduled to land at the six affected airports on the days of the strike.
Today alone, 250,000 passengers are expected to arrive and are warned that during peak hours they may face queues of at least two hours to get to passport control.
For faster service, passengers over the age of 12 with a biometric passport are asked to use the automatic electronic control gates.
Checkpoints at the six airports will be staffed by soldiers who have recently received relevant training.
At the same time, today and tomorrow, Christmas Eve, the postal workers are on strike again, while the National Highways workers’ strike in England continues from Thursday.
Because of this strike, a yellow warning has been issued for rush hour traffic on major highways at the exits of major cities as holidaymakers depart.
From the morning of Saturday until the morning of December 27, the railway employees will strike again, while three days of strikes until the end of the year have also been announced by hundreds of bus drivers of a company that serves south and west London.
Besides, on Thursday, two more days of strikes by the ambulance service staff were announced, on January 11 and 23, after the mass strike of last Wednesday.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
