World Cup football fans face strike delays at Heathrow

FOOTBALL fans heading to the World Cup in Qatar face disruption after ground crews at Heathrow announced plans for three days of strike action.

About 700 members of the Unite union will walk out starting on Friday Nov 18, two days before the event starts.

Unite warned that the industrial action “will particularly affect Qatar Airways, which has scheduled an addi- tional 10 flights a week during the World Cup”. Cancellations from terminals 2,3 and 4 are likely, it said.

Up to 4,000 England fans are expected to travel to Qatar before the start of the group stages. England face Iran and Wales face the US on Nov 21.

Ground crew are striking in a row over pay with employers Menzies and the Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata). Dnata has offered its workers a 5pc increase while offers for Menzies workers vary between 2pc and 6pc, according to Unite. Union bosses say this is too low with inflation above 10pc.

Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said: “Our members are simply seeking a decent pay rise. Both companies are highly profitable and can fully afford to make a fair pay increase.”

Alex Doisneau, managing director of Dnata UK, said: “The union’s proposition is unrealistic. The impact of the pandemic, rapid inflation and other local market conditions mean that our UK operations now make a loss each month.”

A Heathrow spokesman said: “We are in discussions with our airline partners on what contingency plans they can implement… Our priority is to ensure passengers are not disrupted by airline ground handler shortages.”

Miguel Gomez Sjunnesson, at Menzies Aviation, said: “Strike action will benefit no one ... We are ready and willing to continue pay discussions, which we believe is in the best interest of our employees. I also want to reassure our airline customers and their passengers that we have robust contingency plans in place should Unite elect to continue with unnecessary industrial action.”