Australians travelling to UK warned of delays as airport strikes begin

Australians travelling to the UK over the Christmas vacation interval are being warned to anticipate main delays at airports, together with Heathrow in London as a consequence of deliberate strike motion.

UK Border Force workers will maintain industrial motion from Friday, December 23 to Monday, December 26 and Wednesday, December 28 to Saturday, December 31.

Heathrow, Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff airports can be affected. Staff on the port of Newhaven in southern England may even stroll off the job.

UK Border Force workers are set to strike in coming days at airports, together with London Heathrow. (AP)

British authorities officers mentioned armed forces personnel and public servants have been educated to verify passports when Border Force start putting.

“We apologise for any disruption caused to travellers entering the UK,” Border Force CEO Steve Dann mentioned.

“We are working together with partners across the travel industry to ensure we can continue to meet critical demand and support the flow of passengers and goods through our border.

He urged passengers to contact their airlines or travel company to check that their flights are running as planned.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman warned of “plain, severe disruption” because of the strikes and urged anyone flying to rethink their travel plans over the holidays.

But there are concerns that delays in checking the passports of arriving passengers could spark long queues and even travellers being held on aircraft, impacting subsequent departures.

Passport officers at UK airports are set to strike over pay and conditons. (AP)

”It might go actually, actually badly,” said UK travel expert Rhys Jones.

Delays getting through the border could lead to overcrowding in the terminal, meaning that airplanes could be asked to keep passengers onboard – leading outgoing flights to be delayed, too.

From then, it’s a snowball effect.

“Aviation works on planes being in the appropriate place on the proper time,” Jones said.

“If plane are out of place, abruptly you may have a large community disaster.”

Airlines have not cancelled flights so far, and anyone with a biometric passport can use the e-gates.

Ambulance workers hold placards on a picket line in London. Thousands of ambulance workers in Britain are staging a 24-hour strike, with unions and the government swapping accusations of blame for putting lives at risk. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (AP)

“The essential bottleneck can be the place it’s a must to see an officer,” Jones said.

The airport strikes are just one industrial action besetting the UK over the Christmas period as public sector workers press for pay increases to keep up with the inflation rate of 11 per cent.

Strikes have been called for nearly every day of December: for nurses (their first ever strike), health workers, ambulance drivers, postal workers, driving examiners, bus drivers, rail workers, highways workers, baggage handlers and Border Force.