Heathrow Airport Strike Set For Wednesday; Significant Delays and Cancellations Expected

A one-day strike by unions representing over two million passport-control officers, teachers, and other public sector workers is set for Wednesday.  The officers are employees of the UK Border Agency.  BAA, which operates London’s Heathrow Airport, posted a warning on Friday that travelers should expect mass cancellations of international flights.

BAA, in a letter to all airlines operating at Heathrow, called on the airlines to reduce passenger traffic by 50%.  “Modelling of the impacts of strike action on passenger flows at Heathrow show that there are likely to be very long delays of up to 12 hours to arriving passengers,” said Normand Boivin, BAA’s chief operating officer.  “The delays at immigration are likely to be so long that passengers could not be safely accommodated within the terminals and would need to be held on arriving aircraft.”

The unions are protesting the government’s plans to force them to retire later and contribute more to their pensions.  Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest in the world.