Rail strikes UK latest: August train walkout dates confirmed as Brits’ summer holiday plans are plunged into chaos

Why are train drivers striking?

The general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, Mick Whelan, said: “We don’t want to inconvenience passengers – our friends and families use public transport, too – and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike but we’ve been forced into this position by the companies driven by the government.

“Many of our members – who were, you will remember, the men and women who moved key workers and goods around the country during the pandemic – have not had a pay rise since 2019.

“With inflation running at north of 10 per cent that means those drivers have had a real terms pay cut over the last three years. We want an increase in line with the cost of living – we want to be able to buy, in 2022, what we could buy in 2021.

“It’s not unreasonable to ask your employer to make sure you’re not worse off for three years in a row. Especially as the train companies are doing very nicely, thank you, out of Britain’s railways – with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders, and big salaries for managers – and train drivers don’t want to work longer for less.”

Will the Tube run tomorrow?

With rail chaos set to grip the UK tomorrow, many have wondered if London's underground services will be running.

Luckily, according to TFL, the underground should be running as usual.

However, tube lines may be busier than usual, and the Overground is closed.

Which rail companies are striking Tomorrow

As the summer of strikes continues, Brits are in for more rail chaos Tomorrow

But which rail companies will be going on strike?

• Arriva Rail London
• Great Western
• LNER
• Greater Anglia
• Southeastern
• Hull Trains
• West Midlands Trains

Everything YOU need to know about Jet2's flight cancellations

Jet2 have scrapped flights to Amsterdam from Birmingham and Leeds for July and August and also decided to cancel some flights to and from Jersey.

Flights from Manchester, Birmingham and London Stansted were also being reduced or suspended.

Unlike other airlines, Jet2 are cancelling flights as a recent review of its schedule and not because of the travel chaos.

Everything YOU need to know about BA's flight cancellations

British Airways has been cancelling a lot of flights throughout the year to popular destinations.

It has cancelled flights to destinations such as London, Dublin, Belfast, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and New York.

After confirming 17,600 cancellations in April, the airline confirmed a further 10,300 short-haul cancellations.

All passengers will be able to get a full refund or rebook with BA or an alternative airline.

EasyJet cabin crew call OFF Spain strikes

EASYJET cabin crew in Spain have called OFF a planned strike at the weekend after reaching a deal with the budget airline.

The airline’s flight attendants in Spain went on strike from July 1 to 3 and again from July 15 to 17, with plans to go on strike from today.

The strikes would have affected flights at Barcelona’s El Prat airport, as well as Malaga and Majorca.

But they have cancelled a further three days of strike action planned for late July after the company offered better pay and benefits in ongoing negotiations.

“After weeks of strike action and months of negotiations, the company has made us an economic proposal that, without being exactly what we were demanding, does represent an important approach to the salaries and conditions of our colleagues in Europe,” Miguel Galan, general secretary of USO’s easyJet section said.

What to expect on Sunday 31 July

• Most services will run as normal
• London Overground services will return to a good service by 09:00
• If you are travelling on London Overground before midday, plan ahead, check your travel and leave more time for your journey

SEPLA claim easyJet have refused to meet any requests

"We are disappointed with this action at this critical time for the industry," easyJet said in a statement, adding that negotiations with SEPLA are ongoing.

SEPLA claimed the airline has refused to meet any request from the pilots' collective and has presented a new proposal that further cuts their conditions in real terms.

EasyJet pilots announce nine days of strikes next month

EASYJET pilots have announced nine days of strikes in Spain next month, which threatens to add to this summer's travel chaos.

The strikes were announced by Spanish pilot union SEPLA and will affect three airports in the country.

They will be held on three different three-day periods, totalling nine days altogether.

The first of the strikes will take place from August 12-14, the second from August 19-21 and the third and final strike will be from August 27-29.

The walkouts will affect flights at easyJet's bases at Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca.

SEPLA is demanding that easyJet reestablish pilots' working conditions from before the COVID-19 pandemic and provide its pilots with a new multi-year contract deal.

EasyJet said it was aware of an upcoming pilot strike at its Spanish bases in Barcelona, Malaga and Palma in Mallorca.

Flight attendant reveals hack that could prevent delays

A FLIGHT attendant has revealed a common mistake that passengers make - and it could mean you delay the flight.

Despite most travellers wanting the flight to leave on time, some people onboard don't realise that they are causing the problem.

One frustrated flight attendant explained how holidaymakers can keep their planes sitting on the tarmac longer by not storing their luggage correctly.

In response to a thread  about annoying passenger habits, the cabin crew member said that people taking up space in the overhead bins with bags that should actually be stored under the seat in front of them was a persistent problem.

They also said people storing small bags in the overhead compartments, only to return minutes later to retrieve items they want for the flight was even more irritating.

They said: "On my airline overhead bin space is limited so putting bags that could CLEARLY go under the seat in front of you in the bin is annoying.

"This causes delays when there’s no more room for those last passengers' large bags to go and we have to take them to the front after everyone is settled.

"Even worse: after putting said small bag in the overhead bin then going back to the bag to get your earphones/chargers/etc. that you forgot and blocking either me or other passengers from getting through.

"Nothing has caused my eyes to roll more to the back of my head than this."

Saturday disruptions

• National rail strike planned
• Most services will run as normal

London Overground

• No service expected
• No Night Overground on Saturday 30 July or early hours of Sunday 31 July

Elizabeth line

•  - no service between Paddington and Abbey Wood

National rail routes

• Minimal or no train services on many routes
• Check 

Which rail companies are striking on Saturday?

As the summer of strikes continues, Brits are in for more rail chaos this Saturday.

But which rail companies will be going on strike?

• Arriva Rail London
• Great Western
• LNER
• Greater Anglia
• Southeastern
• Hull Trains
• West Midlands Trains

'Lethal combination'

Sam Alsop-Hall, chief strategy officer at healthcare recruitment company Woodrow Mercer Healthcare, said: “Where private sector operators are running public sector services that's manifesting itself in the pay and conditions that train drivers are receiving in comparison to their wider public sector peers.

“On the one hand, they have the rights, pensions and union strength of the public sector; on the other they have the competition, market prices and flexibility of the private sector.

“The upshot is they can use the public sector safety net to drive up the private sector prices: a lethal combination for train operator margins as we've seen recently.”

'Grossly hypocritical Marxist dogma'

Union bosses have been causing rail misery by calling strikes to demand a seven per cent pay rise.

RMT General Secretary Mike Lynch earns £84,000 a year, but the figure stands at £124,000 with pensions and benefits.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen told MailOnline: “The grossly hypocritical Marxist dogma adopted by the union barons of the RMT - who are themselves on six figure salaries - states 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs'. 

“Those self-same union barons would have you believe that the 'needs' of the train drivers are twice as much as the 'needs' of our nurses.”

Outrage at striking train drivers demands

Striking train drivers have been blasted for wanting more money despite being on double the salary of nurses. 

The rail workers have an average of £60,000, which is a 35 per cent rise over the last ten years, sources claimed. 

And it is way above the average salary of teachers, nurses and police. 

A small number of drivers can also earn more than £100,000 if they do a lot of overtime, industry sources added to the .

They tend to be drivers who work the most to maintain the network’s resilience during disruption. 

The figures emerged in a salary review paper by the Rail Delivery. The RMT union puts the average salary as slightly lower at £54,000.

5 month Ryanair walkout to begin in August

Things are about to get even tougher for Brits travelling on Ryanair this year.

Two Ryanair cabin crew unions, Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) and Sitcpla, have announced a strike that is set to last five months running from 8 August to 7 January 2023.

This comes as airline workers demand better pay and working conditions.

Traffic flowing at Dover

So far traffic at Dover is busy but flowing as "normal".

The Port of Dover has said: “Tourist flows normal. The roads to the Port (A2/A20) are busy but moving.”

P&;O Ferries added: “There are currently no queues at border controls and traffic is free flowing through the port.”

Why are train drivers striking?

The general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, Mick Whelan, said: “We don’t want to inconvenience passengers – our friends and families use public transport, too – and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike but we’ve been forced into this position by the companies driven by the government.

“Many of our members – who were, you will remember, the men and women who moved key workers and goods around the country during the pandemic – have not had a pay rise since 2019.

“With inflation running at north of 10 per cent that means those drivers have had a real terms pay cut over the last three years. We want an increase in line with the cost of living – we want to be able to buy, in 2022, what we could buy in 2021.

“It’s not unreasonable to ask your employer to make sure you’re not worse off for three years in a row. Especially as the train companies are doing very nicely, thank you, out of Britain’s railways – with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders, and big salaries for managers – and train drivers don’t want to work longer for less.”

Which public transport will be affected by the Commonwealth Games?

There is no parking near the venues so public transport is crucial if you are attending anything.

Organisers have given free access to public transport for all ticket holders.

This will work anywhere within the West Midlands on the day of your event, although Lee Park Valley travel is not included.

The rail strikes will severely disrupt much of the train services but park and rides should be available instead.

 of long distance coaches set up for the Commonwealth Games.

For each venue, the Commonwealth Games website has  which you can use to avoid strike action.

Leave extra time when travelling as the events and West Midlands area will be busy.

Birmingham itself does also have a tram network called West Midlands Metro which covers from Birmingham to Wolverhampton.

ASLEF's full-time organiser's statement

Finn Brennan, ASLEF’s full-time organiser on London Underground, has spoken out.

Finn said: "The news that TfL has been given just another five and a half days to respond to the “final offer” ultimatum from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, made late on Friday night, demonstrates the chaotic way the Department for Transport is being run.

"London’s public transport system is vital to the whole UK economy. It needs sustainable long-term funding to recover from the effects of the pandemic. Instead, it is being used as a political football by a Tory government that seems determined to extend its war on the frontline workers they applauded during the pandemic by directly targeting the working conditions and pensions of staff on London Underground by attaching strings to the their funding packages for TfL.

"Any deal that attacks our members working conditions will be vigorously opposed by ASLEF."

Drivers warned roads could go into ‘meltdown’ TODAY

Drivers have been warned roads could go into "meltdown" TODAY as a perfect storm of families heading off on holidays, rail strikes and sporting events will spark long tail backs. 

Congestion is set to stir up travel chaos across the country but drivers should beware of these worst affected roads, the AA has warned.

Motorists will face journey delays up and down the UK starting today and lasting until tomorrow, as the AA issued an "amber alert" for the traffic.

Cars will build up between 11am and 3pm on both days as holidaymakers and sports fans hit Britain's motorways.

This weekend marks the start of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Engish Football League season, with school holidays also now underway.

Train strikes at eight rail companies today will also pile pressure onto car journeys as the ongoing pay dispute continues.

EasyJet welcomes the decision

The airline welcomed the agreement - "This is great news for the airline, for our employees and also for customers, who can book with more confidence," it said in an email sent to Reuters.

"We have always been committed to continuing to work constructively with the unions," the company added.

EasyJet cabin crew call OFF Spain strikes

EASYJET cabin crew in Spain have called OFF a planned strike at the weekend after reaching a deal with the budget airline.

The airline's flight attendants in Spain went on strike from July 1 to 3 and again from July 15 to 17, with plans to go on strike from today.

The strikes would have affected flights at Barcelona's El Prat airport, as well as Malaga and Majorca.

But they have cancelled a further three days of strike action planned for late July after the company offered better pay and benefits in ongoing negotiations.

"After weeks of strike action and months of negotiations, the company has made us an economic proposal that, without being exactly what we were demanding, does represent an important approach to the salaries and conditions of our colleagues in Europe," Miguel Galan, general secretary of USO's easyJet section said.

Rail union members presented with pay offer

Members of a rail union are being asked if they want to accept a pay offer from Network Rail.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said if the offer is rejected there will be strikes on August 18 and 20 when its members at a number of train operators are taking industrial action, as well as the Rail, Maritime and Transport union.

The TSSA is not making a recommendation but said it was now at a point where it wanted to put the latest offer from Network Rail to members including controller grades after a number of improvements were made following a previous offer.

The offer includes a 4% pay increase to annual base pay, shift pay and overtime, backdated to January 1, and another 4% increase next year.

There will also be a 75% discount available to staff and their families on all leisure travel.

Voting will end on August 4.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We are pleased that the TSSA has recognised the offer we made is a fair and affordable one. It is only right that our employees are given a voice and a choice on the deal - something that the RMT has so far refused to do for its members.

"We continue to do everything we can to agree a deal with all our unions and avert further disruption caused by these damaging strikes."