Heathrow strike SUSPENDED as union dramatically calls off today’s industrial action… but it could still go ahead on Tuesday
A CONTROVERSIAL planned strike by Heathrow Airport workers on Monday has been halted at the last minute.
Union bosses confirmed that the "strike by Unite members has been suspended to allow for further talks" - but Tuesday's planned strike could still go ahead.
Members of the Unite union were due to walk off the job from one minute past midnight for 48 hours.
The two sides had been meeting throughout the weekend in a bid to avoid travel misery for thousands of Brits hoping to head off on their holidays this week.
And those talks will now continue on Monday after the strike was suspended.
Unite said on Sunday: "Tomorrow's talks will involve senior directors from Heathrow Airport and senior Unite officials."
The union said the mediation was aimed at "averting a second day of planned strike action set to start at 00:01 and finish at 23:59 on Tuesday August 6.
It added: "Unite will not be making any further comment while talks are ongoing."
Heathrow worked with airlines to cancel around 177 flights on Monday and Tuesday - but many of these have now been reinstated.
Some flights have been diverted to other airports.
Passengers have been warned to check the status of their flights with their airline and pay attention to special rules regarding carry-on luggage today.
Flights currently cancelled and diverted Monday
Departures
- 6am Air Swiss to Zurich
- 7:25am Lufthansa to Munich
- 8am British Airways to Doha
- 8:40am United Airlines to Zurich
- 8:55am United Airlines to Geneva
- 9am Virgin Atlantic to New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 9:10am United Airlines to Stuttgart
- 10:05am British Airways to Vienna
- 11:30am Lufthansa to Frankfurt
- 12:10pm United Airlines to Duesseldorf
- 1:15pm Air Canada to Mumbai
- 1:30pm Virgin Atlantic to New York
- 1:45pm United Airlines to Lisbon
- 2:35pm United Airlines to Stuttgart
- 2:50pm United Airlines to Hamburg
- 3:50pm Virgin Atlantic to Paris
- 4pm British Airways to Doha
- 4:05pm Virgin Atlantic to New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 5:15pm British Airways to Los Angeles
- 5:15pm Aeroflot to Moscow
- 5:50pm Lufthansa to Munich
- 8:10pm Virgin Atlantic to Boston (diverted to Gatwick)
- 10:20pm American Airlines to Tel Aviv
Arrivals
- 7:20am Virgin Atlantic from New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 7:45am British Airways from Philadelphia
- 8:45am Virgin Atlantic from New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 9:20am Virgin Atlantic from Atlanta
- 10:20am British Airways from Boston
- 11:30am Air Canada from Mumbai
- 2:10pm British Airways from Doha
- 2:25pm British Airways from Los Angeles
- 4pm Aeroflot from Moscow
- 8:45pm El Al from Tel Aviv
The scale of disruption would have been worse if Monday's strike had gone ahead.
Passengers are being urged to check with their airline for the latest news on flights.
Unite members, including security staff, firefighters and engineers have voted heavily against a pay offer Heathrow said was worth 7.3 per cent over two-and-a-half years.
TUESDAY'S PLANNED STRIKE
A Heathrow spokesman said on Sunday: "We will continue talks with Unite tomorrow and we remain hopeful that we can find a resolution and stop this disruptive and unnecessary threat of strike action.
"Airlines may choose to reinstate impacted flights."
He added: "We regret that passengers have been inconvenienced by this and urge them to contact their airline for up to date information on the status of their service."
On Tuesday's planned strike, Heathrow said it has been working closely with airlines to identify departing flights which will need to be cancelled.
Heathrow spokesperson added: "While the vast majority of flights will be unaffected, some airlines are making arrangements to operate flights from other UK airports, others will be delaying flights and unfortunately a number will be cancelled.
"Airlines have now started to contact passengers on affected flights and passengers should contact their airline for more information."
Flights currently cancelled and diverted tomorrow
Departures
- 8:45am Virgin Atlantic to Edinburgh
- 8:50am United Airlines to Berlin
- 9am Virgin Atlantic to New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 10:15am United Airlines to Warsaw
- 11:05am United Airlines to Brussels
- 12:20pm Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong
- 1:30pm Virgin Atlantic to New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 2:50pm United Airlines to Hamburg
- 3pm Virgin Atlantic to Beijing
- 3:05pm British Airways to Doha
- 4:05pm Virgin Atlantic to New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 6:50pm Alitalia to Milan
- 8:10pm Virgin Atlantic to Boston (diverted to Gatwick)
- 8:45pm Virgin Atlantic to Edinburgh
Arrivals
- 5:40am Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong
- 6:25am Virgin Atlantic from New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 7:20am Virgin Atlantic from New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 9:25am United Airlines from Warsaw
- 10:05am Virgin Atlantic from New York (diverted to Gatwick)
- 11:50am Virgin Atlantic from Beijing
- 1:15pm British Airways from Doha
- 7:50pm Virgin Atlantic from Boston (diverted to Gatwick)
MORE STRIKES LOOMING
British Airways, which is based at Heathrow, was expected to be one of the most heavily affected due to planned strikes.
Prior to the weekend's conciliation talks, Unite had warned that around 88,000 passengers would be affected if the industrial action went ahead on Monday and Tuesday.
Passengers on these flights will have either been rebooked onto alternative services or provided a refund.
Will I get my money back if my flight is cancelled or delayed?
If your flight is cancelled, you have the legal right to either a full refund within seven days or a replacement flight to your destination.
This applies for whatever reason your flight was cancelled or how long before you were told it would no longer be be flying.
If your flight is delayed by three hours or more and you were flying to or from a European airport, or with an EU-based airline such as Ryanair or British Airways then you can claim compensation up to €250 (£229) for short-haul flights and €400 (£367) for mid-haul flights and €600 (£530) for long-haul flights.
But the airline might not payout if it's out of their control, for example, due to bad weather or strikes.
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Unite warned that two more strikes could follow on 23 and 24 August.
A separate dispute between British Airways and its pilots is threatening to cause further disruption later this month.
The union said Heathrow’s latest pay offer amounted to just £3.75 more per day than its first offer and warned the airport could end up having to pay £4.6m in compensation costs to airlines if two further strikes take place later in August.
Wayne King, a regional officer at Unite said: “Our low paid members will sacrifice a day’s pay if they go on strike and are only too aware of the disruption it will cause.”
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