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Heathrow Terminal 5 security staff strike to disrupt British Airways flights for 10 days

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Unite, the trade union, has announced that over 1,400 security guards employed by Heathrow have rejected a 10% pay increase and voted in favour of strike action. According to Unite, the entry-level salary for security guards at Heathrow is c. £24,000.

The action will begin on Friday 31st March and end on Sunday 9th April. This coincides with the peak Easter holiday period, with the intention of causing maximum disruption to holidaymakers.

This is not airport-wide. Only security guards at Heathrow Terminal 5 will go on strike, which means this will largely affect British Airways passengers. Campus security guards who check cargo will also strike.

Heathrow security
Nobody is going to be laughing if the strike goes ahead

What impact will this have?

Terminal 5 is Heathrow’s busiest terminal, so this strike has the potential to cause vast amounts of disruption.

No mitigation measures have been announced. I’m not sure if Heathrow is able to redeploy security guards from one terminal to another, although that would simply spread the disruption across the entire airport.

Heathrow has said recently that it has appropriate plans in place for such a strike, although these plans are designed for the benefit of the airport and not passengers. It is likely to involve the airport forcing British Airways to cancel flights even if the airline wants to plough on.

Historically, during periods of disruption, British Airways tries to keep long haul flights going as much as possible, with short haul bearing the brunt of cancellations. Nuremberg, Pisa and Valencia flights have already moved over to Gatwick during Easter to ease pressure at the airport and other flights could follow, if slots and gates are available.

Anyone with flights during the strike period (and I am one of them!) should wait for British Airways to make a formal announcement on any flexibility it is willing to offer. You are unlikely to be able to change flights without penalty until this happens. The key is to then move quickly before the phone lines are swamped and the few alternative options are booked up.

That said ….

Heathrow security

Will this strike even go ahead?

Heathrow and other airports have been beset by a number of strikes in the past six months, from baggage handlers to UK Border Force.

Many of those strikes have been settled by the time they are supposed to start. For example, a last-minute Christmas strike by baggage handlers employed by Menzies Aviation was called off at the last minute.

(The exception to this seems to be strikes called in the public sector, such as by Border Force over Christmas and New Year. Rishi Sunak appears to be a lot less willing to negotiate than his commercial counterparts.)

I wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar happen here, with a potential rapprochement or further negotiations delaying or cancelling the strike action. I don’t think British Airways would be very happy for Heathrow to walk into a 10-day strike over Easter without trying its very best to avoid it.

Personally, I am not hugely concerned yet. With just under two weeks until the first strike is scheduled, Heathrow and Unite still have plenty of time come to an amicable agreement. If they don’t, things are going to get messy.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (140)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • TimM says:
    21 Mar21 March 05:30

    10 day’s strike is an immediate loss of 2.74% annual pay. Do they really think they will get a 12.74% pay increase or more by striking? Bird in the hand – they should just take the 10% now and argue later. Or perhaps their is just a common desire to have a 10 day unpaid holiday, in the UK of course.

    • MT says:
      21 Mar21 March 06:22

      My understanding is they get strike pay from the union, it won’t cover their lost wages but it does reduce their overall cost of striking, so 10 days partially paid holiday maybe more accurate. I do wonder just how much more than 10% they hope to get however

    • hedgecock says:
      21 Mar21 March 06:23

      By that reasoning, nobody would ever go on strike. And accepting an offer and then demanding more afterwards is a flawed negotiation strategy to say the least.

    • Nick G says:
      21 Mar21 March 06:26

      My wife is a teacher. She hasn’t been on strike but a fellow member of staff has for the fourth time this year last week. So far my wife reckons she’s about £700 down in pay as a result. That’s a fair old chunk to be missing out of principle

      • Cat says:
        21 Mar21 March 06:36

        @NickG not unless the colleague who’s striking is a very experienced headteacher. You lose 1/365 of your salary for each day of strike action. Once you take into account taxes and NI contributions it’s a fraction of that amount.

      • CC says:
        21 Mar21 March 06:43

        “out of principle”??

      • Sarah says:
        21 Mar21 March 09:40

        It’s not just about this years wages though is it? It’s about the cumulative effort of future cuts too.

    • The Original Nick. says:
      21 Mar21 March 06:29

      I’m pretty sure they’ll get strike money!

      • Cat says:
        21 Mar21 March 06:37

        I’d be amazed if they do.

        • Ken says:
          21 Mar21 March 08:16

          UNITE the union built up a healthy strike fund and in many cases will pay up to £70 a day (not to exceed actual net pay lost).

          • john says:
            21 Mar21 March 09:42

            So that’s almost £1m for 1400 workers for 10days?!

          • ken says:
            21 Mar21 March 11:06

            The purpose of voting to strike is to force better terms, not to go on strike.

            I’d imagine there is a 90%+ chance of this being settled.

            UNITE (at least in the private sector) are on a roll of sucessful winning negotiations.
            And why wouldn’t they ? I don’t see any big queues of people signing on at the dole office.

    • Cat says:
      21 Mar21 March 06:32

      @TimM – unless they accept a pay deal that includes a one-off payment, any increase in pay is going to be theirs the following year and every subsequent year.

    • Timothy Hewson says:
      21 Mar21 March 13:42

      a 12.74% does appear excessive, but during the pandemic, they all had a 20% pay cut imposed, so 12.74% doesn’t even get them to where they were before the pandemic, let alone deal with 10% inflation.

  • Linda P says:
    21 Mar21 March 06:18

    BA recently changed our Vegas flight from Terminal 3 to 5 over Easter weekend, on re booking parking it has cost us an extra £150 as i got a good deal when originally booking.
    We were not pleased as this is quite a bit of money to us in the scheme of things but we got on with it.

    WE hope our flight goes ahead as we have booked a mini road trip to the Grand Canyon and all associated hotels and car hire enroute.

    I personally think strikes are a waste of time and people should remember that it is our money the government plays with.

    • Rich says:
      21 Mar21 March 07:07

      If you weren’t pleased then you should have just stuck with the original booking and taken the free train over to T5 and back. 15 extra minutes and a bit of hassle for £150?

      • Eoc says:
        21 Mar21 March 13:10

        Go to the North side of the Canyon, its way better than the over touristed South Rim

    • MT says:
      21 Mar21 March 07:11

      Annoying on the terminal switch, could you not have stuck to the parking you head and just transferred terminal. For £ 150 I would have considered it if you had the time.

      On this occasion it is not a strike against the government and actually Heathrow in charge of negotiations and their money rather than Public money on this occasion, which actually means they are more likely to give a bit more and settle the strike ahead of time.

    • SSR BAQ says:
      21 Mar21 March 07:12

      I personally think the government that has mismanaged our money for over 13 years now, by choosing a path of austerity should pay-up – public sector pay needs to catch up and keep up with the cost of living.

      Also, strike action isn’t a waste of time – hence the number of people willing to sacrifice pay and take a stand. How else do you get an increase in pay if you’re a nurse or a teacher? Ask nicely?

      • The real Swiss Tony says:
        21 Mar21 March 08:14

        Had to chuckle at Starmer’s response to the budget when he said that. The infamous “sorry, we spent all the money” letter that was left in No. 11 13 years ago is a story that will provide ammunition for the Tories for many years to come, yet.

      • Cat says:
        21 Mar21 March 09:37

        👏🏻

        • Eoc says:
          21 Mar21 March 13:11

          And this bunch aren’t doing exactly the same?

          • tony says:
            21 Mar21 March 14:20

            Not disputing that and indeed I think there is need for wholesale change but it’s comical to allege mismanagement when you have actually admitted doing the same yourself when you did hold the keys. Because I can’t believe for one minute that the trite letter left won’t be given a good airing not just at this election but the next 6 or so, too.

    • Ken says:
      21 Mar21 March 07:18

      People should be happy struggling to pay for food and heating just so you can fly to Las Vegas ?

      Nice

      • Linda P says:
        21 Mar21 March 09:18

        For your information Ken, we are pensioners and we both have worked all our life to enjoy our retirement we both had several jobs each from our early life to pay for our pensions now.

        WE had struggled to pay in the past and went many years without anything, including heating and food.

        • Cat says:
          21 Mar21 March 09:40

          So, what you’re saying is that other people should go without heating and food so that you can fly to Vegas *because you have gone without heating and food in the past, and now it’s somebody else’s turn to suffer*?

          Solidarity with people who are struggling in this cost of living crisis.

        • ken says:
          21 Mar21 March 11:11

          I’d imagine then you will be enjoying your 10.1% increase in the State pension from April.

          What about the poor saps working now to pay those pensions ?

          • Cat says:
            21 Mar21 March 18:16

            Indeed @ken

          • M says:
            23 Mar23 March 11:58

            The state pension is not exactly something you can retire on and bank on A, always being there and B, providing enough money during retirement to be fully self sufficient. So whilst it is great the pensioners get a CPI linked increase in their state pension, it it’s still a pretty measly annual pension income without a private pension set up when starting work young.
            As for guilt tripping a pensioner into taking that once in a lifetime trip after a long life of working, really? 10% increase is already an inflation matching pay rise, to walk out of school with minimal higher education qualifications and therefore debt into a starting salary of £26k+, doesn’t seem a bad deal to me.

    • Charlie says:
      21 Mar21 March 07:26

      Not sure why the government is relevant in this case

    • ianM says:
      21 Mar21 March 08:22

      If you can afford to pay £150 for car parking I have little sympathy, you could donate that to the strike fund.

    • dougzz99 says:
      21 Mar21 March 08:33

      Depending on which car park you could have left original booking in place. T3 business and T5 long stay car parks are separated by a kerb at the front. I used to book the cheapest, also very convenient when leaving one terminal and returning to the other.

    • Andrew. says:
      21 Mar21 March 08:45

      *Laughs* – £150 to avoid a few minutes transfer! I’d book the T3 parking and take the free self-transfer to T5 to save a tenner.

      You did check that your car park operator doesn’t simply operate from the same plot, but put on different buses for the different terminals first?

    • SammyJ says:
      21 Mar21 March 08:51

      Our PHX flights booked nearly a year ago (we got the 4 J Avios Easter hols seats!) were also moved from T3 to T5.
      Best scenario would be a move back to T3 (not holding my breath!) although I’ve also paid through the nose for official parking, following a couple of very bad experiences with 3rd party operators. Will be frustrating if we’ve paid the extra for meet & greet only to then have to get a train. I’d hope LHR might move the parking to T3 though.

      • Linda P says:
        21 Mar21 March 09:26

        I agree with you Sammy J in the past years we have had some very bad experiences with car parking buses not turning up questionable parking attendants, so I always book the covered short term at Heathrow as we have found this excellent, as we are well into our70:s we want as little hassle as possible.

        also we now have quite an expensive car which we had saved for, for many years and OH does not trust anyone else to drive it as it quite high performance.

      • Lady London says:
        21 Mar21 March 13:48

        Sounds like anyone with flights to the US, or Spain etc., should already be looking at the schedules of AA (fot US), IB (for Spain) ready for when BA admits that they will give flexibility to those booked during the strike period.

        I’m only mentioning lining up alternatives on AA or IB because BA is likely only to move to its pals where they will still keep earning from your ticket (AA, AY etc being the biggest case in point on Transatlantic due to the joint revenue-sharing venture.

        Legally no compensation as BA doesn’t subcontract or employ security staff directly. However duty of care should apply to flight cancellations and significant delays meaning you do have the legal right to be rerouted in the reasonably closest replacement flight if you need to be and that can be another airline’s flight, at no extra cost.

        But good luck with thar, say if you need to switch to an airline BA might actually have to pay, such as an airline flying shorthaul or longhail out of Terminal 2, as BA will do all it can to stonewall you, delay you interminably, fail to be able to be communicated with, or indeed anything to reroute you onto such a flight regardless of your right to same having been confirmed to them by the CAA.

        So where you can, line up an alternative BA willingly book then act as soon as the opportunity arises to get out of T5.

        • David says:
          22 Mar22 March 01:55

          Already got alternative flights ready – just waiting on the email from BA to allow free changes 🙏

  • Linda P says:
    21 Mar21 March 06:23

    I also wanted to ask is the attestation form still required for the USA before travel and how long before I could not find a definite answer online. I have downloaded our NHS covid passes already, we are staying overnight before travel barring cancellation or delays.

    • Rob says:
      21 Mar21 March 06:47

      I believe it is, yes.

    • Tracey says:
      21 Mar21 March 07:36

      Still needed, download it now and date it for the day you travel, to be well prepared. BA no longer use verifly.

    • SammyJ says:
      21 Mar21 March 08:40

      On the contrary. I haven’t had to do N attestation form for the last 3 trips, since around Christmas. There is still passenger locator info to fill in (where you’re staying, phone number etc) which you don’t really notice if you do it the same time as your API. I’ve given up with all their digital upload nonsense too now, and just show the NHS pass at checkin. If you’ve got a vax certificate it’s all very simple now.

      • Nick says:
        21 Mar21 March 08:46

        Just because no one checked doesn’t mean you don’t need to do it. Yes the attestation is still required. Only takes seconds to do though and is available fully online. Not complying with US government instructions often doesn’t end well.

        • SammyJ says:
          21 Mar21 March 09:09

          There’s no reference to attestation for fully vaxxed adults in the CDC blurb any more, only for the unvaccinated. It is also the airline responsible for issuing and collecting forms, not the passenger, and the form itself isn’t referenced now. I think what might be happening in practice is that the attestation info is collected as part of the Passenger Locator info.
          If big UK/US airlines like BA & AA aren’t issuing or requesting to see lengthy printed attestation forms, then they’re not doing that lightly! They’re still checking thoroughly that you meet the criteria.of course there’s no harm i printing the bits of paper out if you’re so inclined. You most likely won’t be asked for them, and if you don’t have them and you are asked then the airline will just give you one. I’ve never printed one out, always completed info online or (Tui May 22) signed the form at checkin.

    • dougzz99 says:
      21 Mar21 March 08:44

      Stolen from a very trusted poster on FT.

      Use this Salesforce link when you are less than 3 days but more than 2 days from departure, and only reference the flight that gets you into the first port in the USA. So if you mean LHR-SFO then that flight, if NCL-LHR-JFK-SFO then it’s LHR to JFK.

      https://iberia.my.site.com/BADigitalboarding/R5_VFP_DigitalizacionEmbarque_BA

    • David Bennett says:
      21 Mar21 March 23:06

      They didn’t ask us for the Attestation Form, ESTA or evidence of COVID vaccination when we flew to LA last month.

      However, best to have them.

  • Nigerian Prince says:
    21 Mar21 March 06:29

    Don’t accept anything below 50%, take advantage of CPI numbers when you can.

  • letBAgonesbe says:
    21 Mar21 March 06:44

    Would BA have an obligation to rebook passengers on an alternative flight on a different carrier, if cancelled more than 14 days before departure?

    I have a flight booked in First to Mexico city on the 6th of April.

    • yonasl says:
      21 Mar21 March 07:37

      Yes to rebooking but you won’t get compensation.

      • camille55 says:
        21 Mar21 March 12:21

        We have redemption flights booked on BA to France in CE during this period. Originally one of the BA flights out of LHR T3 in the evening, but not long back moved to T5 in the afternoon.

        That was proper annoying because I was planning a lounge safari in T3!
        CX Biz Lounge for brunch (famed noodle bar), brisk walk around terminal to burn calories for….
        QF Biz lounge for late lunch & a few G&T’s (famed Gin bar), brisk walk to look forward to….
        Centurion Lounge for afternoon tea, brisk walk, etc….
        Galleries/BA lounge for champagne/prosecco aperitifs, brisk walk to…
        Flight for dinner on board.
        Hic… 🙂

        So I too am hoping for a switch back to T3!

        c55

  • Yvo says:
    21 Mar21 March 07:18

    We have Washington DC booked April 1st.
    A move to T3 would be welcomed – we could then use the Amex Lounge.

    Any cancellations will really cost us, US hotels were so expensive for three I couldn’t stretch to cancellable rates.

  • Nick says:
    21 Mar21 March 07:26

    Yet another reason why our company still won’t make any transatlantic business travel plans from the UK, which would always involve several US domestic flights in any itinerary. It’s still just not worth the risk for us!

    • Mikeact says:
      21 Mar21 March 07:56

      Easy to fly ex eu…

    • Mike says:
      21 Mar21 March 09:36

      Sounds a bit dumb. It’s not like a strike is unknown in Europe and even with strikes the flights generally happen anyway.

  • JDB says:
    21 Mar21 March 07:28

    While as @Rob says, there is a fair probability this might settle, and only security staff at T5 voted to strike (none of the other various groups of workers / other terminal staff voted in favour) if it came to imposing some flight cap to reduce passenger numbers, that cannot be imposed on a single terminal so all terminals would be affected.

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