A planned strike by Heathrow Airport workers on Monday has been suspended to allow further talks on resolving a pay dispute, to the relief of thousands of holidaymakers.
Heathrow has already cancelled around 177 flights on Monday and Tuesday, but the scale of disruption would have been worse if Monday’s strike had gone ahead.
Members of the Unite union were due to walk out from one minute past midnight for 48 hours, but have now confirmed the action has been suspended ‘to allow further talks.’
Unite said in a brief statement: ‘Tomorrow’s strike by Unite members working for Heathrow Airport has been suspended to allow for further talks at Acas tomorrow.
‘Under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas, tomorrow’s talks will involve senior directors from Heathrow Airport and senior Unite officials with the aim of averting a second day of planned strike action set to start at 00:01 and finish at 23:59 on Tuesday 6 August.
‘Unite will not be making any further comment while talks are ongoing.’
Passengers are being urged to check with their airline for the latest news on flights, with some airlines now contacting passengers about cancelled or re-routed flights.
Unite members, including security staff, firefighters and engineers have voted heavily against a pay offer Heathrow said was worth 7.3% over two-and-a-half years.
Passengers are being advised to contact their airlines to seek the most up-to-date information. File image of Heathrow pictured
A Heathrow spokesman said: ‘We will continue talks with Unite tomorrow and we remain hopeful that we can find a resolution and stop this disruptive and unnecessary threat of strike action.
‘Airlines may choose to reinstate impacted flights.
‘We regret that passengers have been inconvenienced by this and urge them to contact their airline for up to date information on the status of their service.
‘On Tuesday’s planned strike, Heathrow said it has been working closely with airlines to identify departing flights which will need to be cancelled.
‘While the vast majority of flights will be unaffected, some airlines are making arrangements to operate flights from other UK airports, others will be delaying flights and unfortunately a number will be cancelled.
‘Airlines have now started to contact passengers on affected flights and passengers should contact their airline for more information.
‘We recommend passengers check their flight status before travelling to the airport and read the guidance on http://heathrow.com/ to prepare for their journey.’
Earlier today, airlines were desperately trying to re-route flights to other airports, as people scrambled to find out if there flight had been cancelled.
Passengers were left fuming earlier today after airport bosses refused to specify which ones are being cancelled – claiming it is up to individual airlines to decide.
Nancy Lambrianides, who is originally from the UK but now lives in Cyprus, could have her £4,500 holiday to Disneyland Paris ruined by the industrial action.
She and her husband booked to take their daughter, seven, and son, five to France in between visiting family in London nearly a year ago.
But with non-refundable resort passes and accommodation, she says the ‘anxiety is killing her’.
Nancy Lambrianides (pictured with her husband, daughter, seven and son, five), who is originally from the UK but now lives in Cyprus, could have her £4,500 holiday to Disneyland Paris could be ruined by the industrial action
She and her husband booked to take their daughter, seven, and son, five, (pictured together near their Cyprus home) to France in between visiting family in London
Mrs Lambrianides tweeted British Airways and Heathrow to express her frustration
Passengers are hitting out at airport staff on Twitter as they continue to refuse to reveal which 177 flights will be cancelled
Mrs Lambrianidies told MailOnline: ‘Four of us are going from Larnaca to London on August 6 and taking the Eurostar to Disneyland Paris on August 9.
‘BA said our return flights shouldn’t be affected, but with what plane are they planning to take us to Heathrow!
‘I am very upset, I booked these flights a year ago. It was a treat for the kids.
‘I don’t mind a delay, as long as we get to London in time to get the train to Paris.
‘The anxiety has been killing me since Friday. I don’t mind if they reschedule us for August 7 but they should at least tell us that.’
A Heathrow spokesman replied on Twitter this morning: ‘We cannot provide this information. If this is released it will appear on the website. We recommend to keep in touch with your airline.’
Emily Bennett, 34, has also pleaded with airport bosses to tell her if her husband Tim, 33, will be able to travel home from a wedding in Tel Aviv tomorrow.
The mother-of-two, from Surrey, wrote: ‘My two-year-old really wants his daddy home. When will I know if I have to break his little heart by telling him that a strike has stopped daddy coming home?’
Dozens of Heathrow passengers have tweeted the airport to ask what is going on
She told MailOnline: ‘My husband flew to Tel Aviv for three days for a wedding on Friday.
‘He’s due to land at 1pm tomorrow and my two-year-old keeps pointing at planes in the garden asking ‘is that daddy?’
‘We’ve both tweeted, emailed and phoned British Airways and Heathrow and British Airways tells you to check with Heathrow and Heathrow to check with British Airways.
‘There’s no clear message. No one is willing to give us an answer. He’s got to go back to work on Tuesday and I’m looking after two small children on my own because anyone who can usually help with childcare is on holiday themselves. It seems bizarre. It’s very stressful.’
Jason Scherer (pictured)and his family could be stranded in London and unable to get home to Chicago if the strike goes ahead
Jason Scherer and his family could be stranded in London and unable to get home to Chicago if the strike goes ahead.
He tweeted: ‘Come on @HeathrowAirport announce the cancelled flights. My family and I need to get back to Chicago to be able to start working again after our trip.’
Union leaders met with Heathrow management under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas until 11pm on Friday and all day on Saturday.
Unite’s members voted by almost 9-1 to reject a pay offer Heathrow said was worth 7.3 per cent over two-and-a-half years.
The strikes would leave hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers devastated if they walk out amid the busiest travel period of the year.
Passengers have been left baffled that Heathrow are still unable to reveal who will get to go on their summer break and who won’t – with less than 24 hours to go.
Alex Lewer tweeted today: ‘Finding it utterly ridiculous that with under 24hrs to go, @British_Airways and @HeathrowAirport refuse to publish a list of the 177 flights cancelled on Monday.
‘I feel they are playing it safe – hoping for the strike to be resolved at the last minute.’
Someone else wrote: ‘This is absolutely crazy! I am due to fly out on Tuesday and BA can not give any updates or information at all….
‘Just told to keep checking online….it may be that flight will be cancelled when arrive at the airport!!! Think it could be chaos!! Someone must have a clue!!’
A Heathrow spokesman replied to some passengers this morning with the message: ‘Good morning, we can appreciate the confusion here.
‘As soon as airlines inform us which flights have been cancelled we will be able to pass on this information.
‘Passengers are advised to contact their airline directly as currently we do not know which flights will be impacted.’
More strikes are planned on August 23 and 24 if the dispute is not resolved.
Meanwhile more than 4,000 BA pilots are also planning to strike, with the airline claiming industrial action by its pilots could cost it £40 million a day and affect some 130,000 passengers daily.
Andy Fleming wrote to the airline asking if there was a list of cancelled flights for Monday, and a spokesperson replied, recommending he gets in touch with his airline
A Heathrow spokesman said of their strike: ‘In preparation for the proposed industrial action on Monday 5 August and Tuesday 6 August, we have been working closely with our airline partners to identify departing flights which will need to be cancelled from Heathrow.
‘While the vast majority of flights will be unaffected, some airlines are making arrangements to operate flights from other UK airports, others will be delaying flights and unfortunately a number will be cancelled.
‘Airlines have now started to contact passengers on affected flights and passengers should contact their airline for more information.
‘We recommend passengers check their flight status before travelling to the airport and read the guidance on Heathrow.com to prepare for their journey.’
Revealed: The militant British Airways pilot threatening summer of misery that could see hundreds of flights cancelled because he thinks 11 per cent pay rise for £100,000 pilots isn’t enough
By Mark Hookham for The Mail on Sunday
This is the young militant pilot behind plans for a crippling British Airways strike that could ruin the summer holidays of thousands of families.
Hardliner Mark Keane last year helped pilots at Ryanair to win union recognition and he is now threatening to land a devastating blow against BA.
Mr Keane, who has been a pilot with BA for four years, is pushing ahead with a strike at the height of the summer break that could see hundreds of flights cancelled.
Pilots’ union Balpa is demanding a better deal from BA, having rejected an offer of an 11.5 per cent rise over three years. BA’s 4,500 pilots earn on average £100,000 a year.
Mr Keane, who lives in Dublin and commutes to Heathrow, became chairman of Balpa’s BA branch – known as the British Airways Company Council – earlier this year after an investigation by The Mail on Sunday revealed how his predecessor had sent a pornographic image of a man having sex with a chicken to five other union reps.
Airline sources claim Mr Keane – who is in his late 20s – is part of a new generation of militant BA pilots, many of whom were recruited in recent years from budget airlines and are now agitating for better pay and perks.
Hardliner: Mark Keane, pictured with a colleague at a 2017 international conference, is now threatening to land a devastating blow against BA
‘There is a bit of culture war going on,’ said one BA captain. ‘You’ve got the young lads that have come in and some of us more established pilots are saying, ‘Hold on, you signed these contracts and now you want to muscle your way into more money and better conditions.’ ‘
Mr Keane joined Ryanair in 2010 and was forced to apologise to the airline three years later when he was unmasked as the author of anonymous and false comments on a pilots’ forum about its safety procedures.
He flew with Norwegian for two years before becoming a BA 747 pilot in 2015. Sources say he soon became influential within Balpa by quietly helping persuade his former colleagues at Ryanair to join the pilots’ union.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, declared in 2017 that ‘hell will freeze over’ before the firm was unionised, but last year he was forced to formally recognise Balpa in the face of threatened strike action.
Having helped to humble one Irishman, Mr Keane has his sights on another – Willie Walsh, boss of the International Airlines Group, the owner of BA.
Pilots’ union Balpa is demanding a better deal from BA, having rejected an offer of an 11.5 per cent rise over three years (stock image)
BA says industrial action by its pilots could cost it £40 million a day and affect some 130,000 passengers daily.
Balpa has not yet set a date for strikes and talks about action will resume this week.
Balpa also recently balloted its Ryanair pilots for strike action in a dispute over working conditions. The result is due on Wednesday.
Mr Keane was last year embroiled in controversy after forwarding an offensive email featuring pictures of blacked-up actors from The Black And White Minstrel show, broadcast in the 1970s, with a caption reading: ‘Ahhh. The Black And White Minstrel Show. Wouldn’t be able to get away with that these days…’
He was accused of forwarding the email to about 45 reps, but last night insisted he had been asked by a Balpa employee to forward it ‘to bring attention to what was viewed to be inappropriate behaviour’.
Balpa said: ‘Our reps are strongly supported by the mass of BA pilots who have voted overwhelmingly to reject BA’s pay offer and in favour of industrial action.’