March 29, 2024

Cause of strike: Long queues at British airports

Status: 12/23/2022 4:01 pm

Air and rail travelers in the UK are facing delays over Christmas. There were already long queues at British airports. A rail strike is also planned for the weekend in France.

A border police strike has led to long waits at airports in Great Britain. Around 1,000 public sector employees, such as border guards, are on strike at six airports in the country. The Public Service Union (PCS) had called for a strike.

London airports Heathrow and Gatwick, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester and southern airport Newhaven are affected. Passengers were prepared for delays – sometimes there could be problems with connecting flights. About a quarter of a million passengers were expected at affected airports on Friday.

In some cases, trained members of the armed forces were dispatched to passport control at short notice. According to the PA news agency, Heathrow and Gatwick airports initially said operations were normal this morning. At first the situation is unlikely to improve significantly: this is the first of a total of eight strikes planned before the end of the year. The strike should not be on December 27 only.

Several train connections have already been canceled in France

The strike by airport workers follows strikes by nurses and emergency services in recent days. Train and bus workers in London are also planning to cut their work over the Christmas period. Most train services in the UK were to be canceled on Christmas Eve.

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A rail strike is also planned for the weekend in France. Half of all conductors want to quit. According to the SNCF train company, a third of scheduled train connections were canceled on Friday. 40 percent cancellations for Saturdays and Christmas days. The strikers are demanding better wages and more staff. French transport minister Clément Buon criticized the strike at this time as “incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.