More summer chaos on the cards as Gatwick Airport announces eight days of strikes affecting baggage handlers and check-in staff in dispute over pay

More summer chaos is on the cards at Gatwick Airport as 1,000 workers including baggage handlers and check-in staff stage eight days of strikes in a dispute over pay.

Members of Unite employed by four private contractors will walk out for four days from July 28 and again for four days from August 4.

The union said the action will ‘inevitably’ cause disruption to flights at the height of the summer holiday season.

Those involved in the dispute are employed by ASC, Menzies Aviation, GGS and DHL Services, which conduct outsourced operations for airlines including ground handling, baggage handling, ramp agent, dispatchers, and check-in.

Unite said it has been in negotiations with the four companies since January but claimed they have failed to make offers that meet the workers’ expectations. 

The entrance to the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport, which is London’s second busiest 

Gatwick was recently shamed as the worst airport in Europe for delays after disruption caused by staff shortages, air traffic controllers going on strike and flight restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine. 

To add to the misery, EasyJet axed around 1,700 flights up to September, which will hit more than 100,000 holidaymakers. Industry experts predict other airlines and airports will follow suit.

Passenger rights company AirHelp researched how airports handled passengers in June to understand which ones are likely to suffer the biggest disruption this summer. 

Gatwick was the worst offender, with 54 per cent of its flights either cancelled or delayed by more than 15 minutes. Manchester also featured among Europe’s ten worst airports with 43.8 per cent of flights disrupted. For Heathrow, the figure was 40 per cent.

The union’s general secretary Sharon Graham of the latest Gatwick strike: ‘Our members at Gatwick Airport undertake incredibly demanding roles and are essential to keeping the airport and airlines working, yet their employers somehow think it is acceptable to pay them a pittance.

‘As part of Unite’s unyielding focus on the jobs, pay and condition of its members, the union has drawn a line in the sand and is committed to eradicating the scourge of low pay at the airport.’ 

A total of 4,410 flights are scheduled to depart Gatwick across all the strike days, equating to more than 840,000 seats, aviation data company Cirium said. 

Gatwick was recently shamed as the worst airport in Europe for delays

It comes as British tourists are being warned to take care during a sweltering heatwave that is about to hit the Mediterranean. 

Cerberus – named after Dante’s three-headed dog in Greek mythology who guarded the gates to hell – will see temperatures rise over 45C in Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey by the end of next week.

The deadly heatwave is wreaking havoc across Europe, with wildfires raging across Croatia and tourists fainting from the blistering heat, while others have been rescued while trying to cool off in the sea.

A 50-year-old British tourist was rescued from the sea by a helicopter crew by Porto Ferro beach, on the Italian island of Sardinia. Video shows the man, who had almost lost consciousness before the lifeguard reached him, being hoisted from the sea by the helicopter and taken to shore, reports La Nuova.

In Athens, Greece, another tourist collapsed in front of the Acropolis after temperatures soared to 45C and was carried to a waiting ambulance on a stretcher by police officers.

While demand for overseas holidays remains strong among Brits, inflation means they are paying up to a quarter more for all-inclusive package holidays to Mediterranean hotspots this summer compared with last year.

While demand for overseas holidays remains strong among Brits, inflation means they are paying up to a quarter more for all-inclusive package holidays to Mediterranean hotspots 

The average cost of a week-long family full-board trip to Crete in Greece has gone up by 25 per cent, while Majorca in Spain is up 21 per cent and Tenerife 22 per cent.

Experts also revealed a 12 per cent overall average rise in the cost of holidays to the five most popular countries of Spain, Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus.

But there is also a wide variation between the destinations – with Spain rising 15 per cent but Portugal only up 5 per cent, according to the TravelSupermarket data.

And the average price across the five countries is now up more than 30 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels – far above the general inflation rate since 2019.

The rising cost of summer holidays signals yet more pain for cash-strapped Britons hit by soaring inflation amid rising energy costs, mortgage rates and food shopping. 

A Gatwick spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of the recent ballot result and will support our airlines with their contingency plans to ensure that flights operate as scheduled.’ 

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