Hundreds of thousands of passengers arriving at strike hit airports on Friday

Around a quarter of a million passengers arriving at UK airports on Friday are being warned to expect delays due to the start of Border Force strikes.

Around 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union employed by the Home Office to operate passport booths will walkout at Heathrow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester airports, and the port of Newhaven in East Sussex.

The Border Force strikes will take place every day from Friday to the end of the year, except December 27.

Aviation data company Cirium said 1,290 flights are scheduled to land at affected airports on the first day of industrial action, with a total capacity of more than a quarter of a million passengers.

This is the busiest Christmas for airports since 2019, as it is the first festive period without coronavirus travel restrictions since the start of the pandemic.

There are fears that delays in checking the passports of arriving passengers could lead to long queues and even people being held on planes, disrupting subsequent departures.

Military personnel and volunteers from the Civil Service have been trained to step in.

Border Force head of operations Steve Dann said on Wednesday there are “robust plans in place” to limit the impact of the strikes, but the “contingency workforce will not be able to operate with the same efficiency as our permanent workforce”.

He added the organisation cannot predict the extent of any delays to passengers, but “people should be prepared for disruption”.

Electronic passport gates will remain open but they cannot be used by all passengers, such as children aged under 12.

The Border Force strikes are part of a rolling programme of industrial action by members of the PCS union in a long running dispute over pay, jobs, pensions and conditions.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka has urged people affected by disruption to vent their anger at the Government.

Talks have been held with ministers, but Mr Serwotka said pay is never discussed.

“The Government could stop these strikes tomorrow if it puts more money on the table,” he said.

“Like so many workers, Border Force employees are struggling with the cost of living crisis. They are desperate.”

Picket lines will be mounted outside airports affected by the strike on Friday morning.

The worst disruption could be at Heathrow – the UK’s busiest airport – where 579 flights are due to land on Friday.

An estimated 10,000 passengers will be on flights touching down at the west London airport before 7am alone.

The first flight – a British Airways service from Cape Town – is due to land at 4.45am.

Cirium said a total of 8,910 arriving flights with a combined capacity of nearly 1.8 million seats are scheduled at affected airports across all the strike days.

Many airline passengers will also be affected by a strike by thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Network Rail on Christmas Eve, which will cause train services to stop running at around 3pm.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: “It’s the uncertainty that is worrying passengers, as they have no idea how the strikes will impact their arrival experience.

“Many are likely to face longer queues and delays during this festive period, and some could find themselves stuck on arriving aircraft before being allowed into the terminals.

“Let’s hope that border officials can process all passengers smoothly and without worry.”

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, a network of more than 700 UK travel agents, said: “It is a real shame that travellers are facing such disruption at this time of year, especially as it is the first Christmas when people should be able to travel freely after the pandemic.

“Anyone travelling over the next few days will have spent a lot of money to have a Christmas break abroad and these strikes will impact their plans.

“We encourage all parties to resolve these disputes as quickly as possible to ensure that everyone travelling can enjoy their well-earned Christmas and New Year breaks.”