A BUSTLING UK airport is set to face a “major disruption” due to upcoming industrial action.
Planned strikes are set to take place at the location on dates in late September and early to mid October.
Employees at Bournemouth Airport are set to participate in strikes over the next few weeks (stock image)[/caption]
Employees at Bournemouth Airport are set to strike over pay during these dates.
The industrial action has been confirmed by Unite, a workers’ union, with around 80 members participating.
Planned action
These employees, who work in different areas of the airport including baggage handling, check-in, flight dispatching, and plane fuelling first threatened action in early September.
However, the walk out was suspended to allow workers to be balloted on whether to accept a new deal.
Bournemouth Airport said Unite had suspended strike action after receiving an improved offer, which has now been turned down.
Strikes are now scheduled to go ahead on the following days: September 30, October 1, October 16, and October 17.
Airport operations
Bournemouth Echo reported on a statement from Unite regional officer Janet Wall relating to the strike action.
“This dispute will inevitably result in major disruption to passengers but this dispute is entirely the fault of the employer,” she said.
Ryanair has stated it “will continue to operate as normal” during the strikes.
Jet2 and TUI have not released statements on the strike action as of yet.
A representative of Bournemouth Airport confirmed to The Sun that the hub “anticipates operating as normal”.
In an official statement, a spokesperson explained that “contingency plans” have been put in place “to minimise any impact from planned strike action by Unite members on 30 September and 1 October”.
“Passengers due to travel on these dates are advised that the airport expects to operate a full schedule as normal,” the notice continued.
It went on to say that “customers should check in as usual”.
Bournemouth Airport revealed that “similar contingency measures” are being prepared for the further strike proposed for 16 and 17 October.
Top 15 busiest airports in the UK
Here are the 15 busiest airports in the UK by passenger numbers in 2023
- London Heathrow – 79.2 million
- London Gatwick – 40.9 million
- Manchester – 28.1 million
- London Stansted – 28.0 million
- London Luton – 16.4 million
- Edinburgh – 14.4 million
- Birmingham – 11.5 million
- Bristol – 9.9 million
- Glasgow – 7.4 million
- Belfast International – 6.0 million
- Newcastle – 4.8 million
- Liverpool – 4.2 million
- Leeds Bradford – 4.0 million
- East Midlands – 3.9 million
- London City – 3.4 million
“We remain open to constructive dialogue with Unite, but we are disappointed that strike action is being pursued despite our previous offer which met Unite’s demands and was recommended by the union to its members,” the statement concluded.
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