The past few years have seen post-pandemic travel chaos as airlines, airports and rail services across the country struggled to manage the demand. In 2023, many travellers had their adventures from airports across the UK impacted due to a series of strikes, as border force workers took action over pay and working conditions. However, airports such as Heathrow did turn to contingency plans, avoiding some challenges.
While staff numbers have steadily increased to cope with demand, the cost of living crisis – largely caused by inflation and unforeseen multi-industry price hikes as a consequence of global and political issues – is the main reason for the latest sweep of walkouts. Here’s what we know so far about the ongoing travel strikes, how they may impact your journey, and what can be done to ease the pre-holiday stress. In 2024, there are strikes planned at Heathrow between August and September.
On Friday 16 August, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) announced that around 650 UK border force members will take further strike action at Heathrow. The new walkouts concern enforced changes to staff rotas and come after roughly 160 staff members left due to a lack of flexibility. At the time of writing (Friday 23 August), the strikes are planned from Saturday 31 August to Tuesday 3 September.
This will be followed by another work-to-rule and overtime ban until Sunday 22 September, potentially causing further disruption to travellers as the school holidays come to.