Nightmare at Heathrow – strike planned for start of school summer hols to inflict ‘considerable disruption’ on families

MORE strikes at Heathrow been announced this month which will cause "considerable disruption" to thousands of family holidays.

Staff at Heathrow refuelling company Aviation Fuel Services (AFS) are threatening to walk out for three days.

The strikes will be from July 21 to July 24, affecting the first weekend of the summer holidays and millions of passengers heading abroad.

More than 70 airlines including Virgin, Delta and KLM are expected to be affected as the Union fights for an end to their three year pay freeze with a double-digit pay rise.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “AFS needs to offer its workers a decent pay rise.

"Oil and gas companies are making massive profits so AFS has the wherewithal to make a proper offer. AFS workers have sustained wage cuts for three years so it’s time AFS rewarded their sacrifices.

“Our members at AFS will receive Unite’s complete support until this dispute is resolved and workers receive a decent pay increase.”

And Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said it will cause "considerable disruption" across Heathrow.

A spokesman for Heathrow airport said of the AFS strike: “We are in discussions with our airline partners on what contingency plans they can implement, including using other fuel suppliers already operating at the airport.”

It comes just days after thousands of passengers at Heathrow were plunged into chaos and left stranded as staff battled with a fuelling system failure.

And strikes are expected to continue to cause widespread travel chaos this summer.

EasyJet has already gone on strike this month, with further strikes to take place between the 15th and 17th, and finally between the 29th and 31st.

British Airways check-in and ground staff who belong to the GMB and Unite unions will walk out in a row over pay as early as July 8.

Holidaymakers are being urged to take care when buying travel insurance as new research reveals four in 10 policies offer no protection for cancellations caused by strikes.

And it's not just strikes causing problems - travellers are already feeling the strain of a wide-spread staffing crisis.

British Airways has cancelled another 1,500 flights this summer, on top of the pre-scheduled cancellations of 16,000 flights until October.

EasyJet warned another 10,000 could be cut this summer.

And Lufthansa, who originally confirmed they would cancel 900 flights this summer, announced another 2,200 would be cut.