Eight days of strike likely to cause disruptions at London Gatwick airport during summer holidays

Nearly 1,000 workers at Gatwick Airport are set to strike for eight days over the summer holidays in a row over pay.

The strike will affect airlines including British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, TUI Airways, Westjet and Wizz Air. The impact of the strike is uncertain, but trade union Unite said disruption, delays and cancellations are “inevitable”.

Gatwick Airport said it would “support the airlines affected… with their contingency plans to ensure that as many flights as possible operate as scheduled“.

The workers earn under £12 per hour and Unite said they are “undertaking highly demanding and safety-critical roles“. Unite has been pushing for pay rises for members and in June it called off strike action by security staff at Heathrow Airport after securing a new deal.

The action at Gatwick, if it goes ahead, will put further pressure on the aviation industry as it deals with restricted airspace over Ukraine due to Russia’s war and the possibility of air traffic control strikes.

The exact timing of each strike will vary depending on the individual company’s shift patterns, but all strikes will begin in the early hours of the morning on the 28 July and 4 August, and end in the early hours of the morning on 1 and 8 August.

On the days of the Gatwick strikes, a total of 4,410 flights – covering more than 880,000 seats – are scheduled to depart the airport.