The Heathrow security staff strike began this morning as the airport and Unite could not find a last-minute solution to avert it. This means that 1,400 security employees are not showing up for work over the busy Easter travel period.
For a long time, the airport and British Airways pretended that the business would be as usual, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. The fast track and the First Wing security at Terminal 5 are closed, and premium passengers are told to use regular security lines. In addition, British Airways has canceled many morning short-haul flights and several long-haul ones to the United States.
The airport has instructed airlines to cut the number of scheduled flights slightly and not to sell more tickets for the next few days.
Many short-haul flights set to depart between 6 AM and 7 AM were canceled, and several long-haul flights are already canceled for later in the day, affecting thousands of passengers, include Los Angeles (BA283), Seattle (BA53), Miami (BA207), Chicago (BA295), Washington DC (BA293), and New York (BA183).
There can be more delays and cancellations as the day progresses.
Heathrow Airport Announcement:
Unite has confirmed a strike among two groups of Heathrow security officers for 31 March – 9 April. The airport will remain open and operational but the strikes may affect the journeys of some passengers planning to travel during this period. You can check the status of your flight with your airline for the latest information.
On strike days, passengers will only be allowed to travel through security with two items of hand baggage (carry-on baggage). Handbags and laptop bags count as a piece of hand baggage. Your allowances for checked-in luggage remain as advertised by your airline.
We expect the airport to be busy during this period and will have additional ‘Here to Help’ teams available to assist passengers. While in the terminals, if you need assistance, please speak to a colleague. Please bear with our teams as they work hard to get you on your way during this busy travel period.
Our advice to help keep the airport flowing is:
- Check your flight details and status with your airline before travelling to the airport
- Arrive no earlier than two hours before short haul flights, and three hours for long haul
- Make sure your hand luggage is security ready – liquids in a separate, sealed see-through bag (max. size 100ml), remove large electricals and place in a separate tray
Heathrow Airport and airlines ask passengers to have fewer carryons during the strike period, and passengers on fares that don’t include checked bag(s) should confirm with their airline if checked luggage fees have been waived.
Conclusion
BA pretended for too long that this strike wouldn’t affect its operations, and here we are.
Thousands of passengers have been affected by the last-minute cancellations this morning that the airline could have allowed to fly earlier, extend their trips or reroute their flights before.
It is unclear if the airline can re-accommodate all passengers on these canceled flights on other services, but I doubt it, considering how badly British Airways tends to handle any irregular operations.
Good luck to anyone scheduled to fly on BA to/from/through Heathrow Terminal 5 over the next 10 days. It will be a rough ride.