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1000 UK Border Force staff plan to go on strike from next Friday (23rd). The strike will be held from 23rd to 26th and from 28th to 31st December. In effect, the nearly 1,000 police officers stationed at passport control desks will no longer be available, leading to long queues at peak times of the year. The strike will affect London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff airports. Over the course of the strike, more than 10,000 flights are expected to arrive in the UK, equivalent to two million passengers.
Reduces impact
The UK government has announced plans to bring in the army, civil servants and volunteers to carry out Border Force operations during the strike. Earlier this month, soldiers at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports began a passport verification exercise. The hope is that the additional staff will reduce the impact of the strike on passengers.
For passengers, the best time to travel is on a non-strike day: December 27. If you can’t fly on that date, the strikes end at 7am local time, which also creates another window to avoid delays on December 26 and 31.
However, not everyone is equally affected. Travelers with British, European and American passports are expected to be least affected. This means that travelers who need a stamp in their passport may have to wait longer. While there are reports that passengers may have to stay on the plane due to long queues, this has not been confirmed and could be a worst-case scenario.
Airlines are taking a stand
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both imposed restrictions on ticket sales on strike days to reduce passenger arrivals. Although new tickets are now available on some routes, airlines will monitor this weekend’s strike to see if more drastic action is needed. Some airports have already warned that flights may be canceled if queues get out of hand.
*Source: Simple Flying
Original Content: https://simpleflying.com/uk-airport-border-force-strike-begins-on-friday/?utm_source=SF-DL&utm_medium=newsletter
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