Christmas getaway at risk as Heathrow baggage handlers strike

Christmas getaways are at risk from a strike by hundreds of ground handlers at Heathrow on one of the airport’s busiest weekends of the year.

Some 350 Menzies staff will stage a 72-hour walkout from Friday, Dec 16, hitting services at terminals 2, 3 and 4.

The trade union Unite claimed that disruption would spark getaway misery for tens of thousands of passengers.

Flights operated by Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Air Portugal, Austrian airlines, Qantas, Egypt Air, Aer Lingus and Finnair will be particularly affected.

It came as hopes were raised of a possible breakthrough in separate long-running industrial action on the railways, with union chiefs expecting a "modest" pay offer to be tabled by train companies in the coming days.

Heathrow said contingency planning is underway for the airport strike, and insisted most passengers heading away for Christmas will not be impacted.

Ground handlers are taking action because they were not offered the same 9.5pc pay rise given to colleagues running air freight earlier this year.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Menzies needs to have a long hard look at itself. This is a highly lucrative company, which has made a fair pay offer to one group of its workers but isn’t prepared to make a similar offer to its ground handlers.”

Miguel Gomez Sjunnesson, from Menzies Aviation European, said:  “We are well prepared for further industrial action and are working closely with key partners to put in place robust contingency plans."

A previous strike involving 250 handlers did not cause any flight cancellations and 97pc of flights left on time, he said.

A spokesman for Heathrow said: “Most passengers at the airport will not notice any impact on their journey if the strike goes ahead. In the meantime we encourage airport partners who would be affected to continue with their contingency planning and we will support them to minimise the impact on their passengers.”

Separately, the row over rail travel appears to be moving closer to resolution.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT), met with minister Huw Merriman on Friday, along with representatives from Network Rail and train operators.

Talks are set to continue through the weekend to agree a pay deal that would suspend the most intense campaign of industrial action to date.

Eight days of strikes, the first of which is on Dec 13, have been announced by the RMT longside a ban on members working overtime between December 18 and January 3.

Government sources said the “mood music” had shifted and there was cautious optimism over striking a deal.

Industry sources cautioned that both sides had repeatedly been close to a breakthrough over the course of the year, only for talks to collapse.

The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) - another rail union - announced that it had served notice for additional strikes on December 17 unless an offer is agreed.

Luke Chester, the TSSA's organising director, said: “We understand it is only the Government withholding authority that's standing in the way of an offer being put in writing.”

Mr Merriman said talks had been constructive and added: “I was clear that the parties should work towards creating a modern and financially sustainable railway which provides value for money for all passengers and taxpayers.”

Mr Lynch said: “We have not been able to, because of the structure in which we are negotiating - they have never put an offer on the table, so hopefully today or over the weekend they will do that. I have a feeling that things might be quite modest.

“We will have to see how that goes in the next few days. Things are moving, but we have to find out whether it is meaningful or just window dressing.”

Rail chiefs are also finalising contingency planning if the talks fail to yield a breakthrough.

Emergency timetables are ready for the planned walkouts by 40,000 RMT members on December 13, 14, 16 and 17, and January 3, 4, 6 and 7.

But an additional rest day working ban that will starve the railways of vital flexibility from staff throughout the festive season is a leap into the unknown, industry sources said.

Officials were this weekend working with industry representatives to agree a timetable between December 18 and January 3 that would avoid a slew of last-minute cancellations.

One industry source said: “It won't be as bad as strike days, but it will be far from a normal service."