Stansted facing 17 days of strikes

EASYJET passengers have been warned to expect summer ‘chaos’ at Stansted after a union announced 17 days of strikes over low pay.

Unite said 43 staff who work on the budget airline’s check-in desks voted unanimously for the walkouts.

The union represents staff employed by Stobart Aviation Services, which runs the Easyjet contract at the Essex airport. It claimed the workers are paid less than counterparts employed by other airlines based at Stansted.

The first walkout will be July 25-2 , on the eve of the peak holiday season. The other dates affected are August 2-5, August -12, August 16-1 and August 23-27 – the final day of each strike period covers just the hours from midnight until 3.30am.

Unite regional officer Mark Barter said: ‘There is no getting away from it, these 17 days of strike action will cause severe disruption to thousands of Easyjet passengers using Stansted for their summer holidays.’

But Easyjet denied the strikes would be so disruptive. A spokesman said: ‘We are aware dates have been published for industrial action.

‘Should this go ahead we have contingency plans in place so there would be no impact on passengers.’