Second Heathrow Airport strike suspended – but there are still two dates in August to come
THE Heathrow Airport strike due to take place on Tuesday August 6 has now been suspended - but a number of flights remain cancelled or diverted because of the late notice and uncertainty.
The airport said that a new deal has been proposed, which Unite the union will pose to its members.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Unite has chosen to postpone its strike action on Tuesday 6th August. Strike action on 23rd and 24th August is still scheduled to go ahead.
“Unite will now take an improved offer to its members and we remain hopeful that we can find a resolution and stop this disruptive and unnecessary threat of strike action.
"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.”
Unite said it would not be revealing the details of the new offer until its members have had an opportunity to consider and vote on the new package.
And until the results of the vote on the new deal is known, strikes planned for Friday August 23 and Saturday August 24 - ahead of the Bank Holiday - remain on the table.
Members of the Unite union were due to walk off the job from one minute past midnight for 48 hours on Monday August 5.
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 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.
Due to the uncertainty, Heathrow worked with airlines to cancel more than 170 flights over the two days.
On Sunday, both sides announced that the strikes on Monday had been suspended.
While many of the cancelled flights were reinstated, the late announcement meant that a handful of flights were still cancelled or diverted to other airports on Monday.
The same issue also affected a number of flights on Tuesday.
Passengers are being urged to check with their airline for the latest news on flights.
Some airlines have also introduced temporary hand-luggage rules, which means that cabin-sized suitcases will have to be checked to reduce queues at security.
The scale of disruption would have been worse if Monday's strike had gone ahead.
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
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.
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.”
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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A separate dispute between British Airways and its pilots is threatening to cause further disruption later this month.
There is also a strike at Gatwick that's planned for this weekend.
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