London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Heathrow strike ‘to hit coronation travel’ amid new wave of walkouts

Heathrow strike ‘to hit coronation travel’ amid new wave of walkouts

Parking wardens in central London are also set to walk out on coronation day

Travellers planning to fly in to Heathrow for the King’s coronation next month were warned they faced disruption as airport security officers prepare to walk out for another eight days.

The strikes, scheduled for May 4-6, 9-10 and 25-27, follow a 10-day walkout by security staff that ended earlier this month.

Unite said the strikes will cause “inevitable disruption and delays” at a time when people are expected to be travelling to the UK for the King’s coronation on May 6.

However Heathrow Airport insisted that services will run smoothly during the fresh wave of strikes.

It comes as traffic wardens in Westminster are to strike on the day of the King’s coronation in a dispute over pay and conditions.

The GMB said its members employed by contractor NSL will be taking action short of a strike from May 1 to 8 and strike action on May 2, 4 and 6.

Announcing the fresh Heathrow strikes, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned: “This dispute is bound to escalate with more workers being balloted and disruption set to continue throughout the summer.”

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: “Strikes next month will cause further disruption to airport passengers but this dispute is a direct result of Heathrow’s stubborn refusal to make an offer that meets our members’ expectations.

“Our members have been crystal clear they are seeking a substantial permanent increase in pay. A small one off lump sum payment will not alleviate the financial pressures our members are facing on a daily basis.”

Unite said the current average salary of a Heathrow security officer is £30,000. This is made up of a basic £26,000, after three years’ experience, with a £4,000 shift allowance.

Around 1,400 members of Unite joined the previous walkout, which covered much of the busy Easter weekend.

Picket line outside Heathrow Airport


The industrial action saw British Airways cancel 72 flights, disrupting the travel plans of around 100,000 people who were hoping to make it to America and Europe.

The strikes involved security officers at Terminal Five, which is used exclusively by British Airways, and campus security guards who are responsible for checking all cargo that enters the airport.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We kept Heathrow running smoothly during the first 10 days of Unite’s failed industrial action, and passengers can have confidence that we will do so again this time.

“We will not let Unite disrupt the flow of visitors to the UK during such an important period for the country.

“The majority of Heathrow colleagues do not want to strike and want to accept the offer on the table. Each day that Unite refuses to allow members to vote on the 10 per cent pay increase - and a £1,150 lump sum payment - is a day that costs colleagues money they deserve now.”

Further strike action during the King’s coronation was also announced on Wednesday, with parking wardens in Westminster walking off the job on May 2, 4, and 6.

The GMB union said its members, employed by the council’s contractor NSL, are in a dispute over pay and conditions.

GMB organiser Alex Etches said: “This is a great example of a simple truth in the world that is rarely acknowledged: that behind each great historical event are hundreds of ordinary workers working behind the scenes.

“Working people like our members might seem to do unimportant jobs, but they are the engines of history.

“This dispute is simply about working people being paid a decent wage for the physically demanding and very important job that they do.

“If NSL fail to make a sensible offer in time, we’ll see just what an important job our members do as the King makes his way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Cathedral on Saturday May 6.”

Meanwhile, a strike by workers at the Passport Office is to be escalated next month.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said its members in all Passport Offices will walk out for four days at the beginning of May.

Union members have been taking industrial action since the start of the month, but it has been limited to some staff in some offices.

Almost 2,000 PCS members working as passport examiners in Belfast, Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport, Peterborough and Southport have been on strike since April 3 in the union's long-running dispute over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and jobs.

They will be joined from May 2-6 by 1,000 workers in non-examination roles such as admin, anti-fraud, policy and commercial in the same offices, as well as interview officers in Birmingham, Corby, Hemel Hempstead, Leeds, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Plymouth from May 3-6.

The prospect of a growing new wave of walkouts increased further on Wednesday with news that senior civil servants are to be balloted for strikes in an escalating dispute over pay.

The FDA said its Executive Committee voted to launch a ballot in response to the Government’s decision last week to give civil servants a pay rise of between 4.5% and 5%.

It is the first time the union has approved a national strike ballot over pay in more than 40 years.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×