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Even more misery at UK airports with passengers stuck in long queues - METRO
Passengers looking to get abroad are still being plagued with long queues across major airports such as Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham.
Check-in queues reportedly stretch back ‘three lengths of the airport’ and disruption is expected to continue after BA staff decided to strike this summer.
700 members of staff are set to walk out during the peak travel period, which runs from mid-July to the beginning of September.
Workers, including check-in staff, are yet to decide on exact dates, but holidaymakers have been warned to expect significant disruption.
Today, photos across social media show the large queues across major airports across the country.
At Birmingham Airport, queues could be seen spiralling out of the terminal to the outside area.
One passenger at Birmingham tweeted today: ‘Congratulations Birmingham Airport, you now have a queue that folds three lengths of the airport! Second time this week you have failed your #SLAs [service level agreements].’
At Heathrow, queues could be seen snaking around different parts of terminal two, At Stansted, queues could also be seen snaking outside.
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Related video: Long delays at UK airports
More strikes across Europe are expected this summer when Ryanair cabin crew staff began a three-day walkout in Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. easyJet’s operations in Spain face a nine-day strike next month.
In relation to the BA strike, GMB national officer, said: ‘With grim predictability, holidaymakers face massive disruption thanks to the pig-headedness of British Airways.
‘BA have tried to offer our members crumbs from the table in the form of a 10 per cent one-off bonus payment, but this doesn’t cut the mustard.
‘Our members need to be reinstated the 10% they had stolen from them last year with full back pay and the 10% bonus which other colleagues have been paid.
‘GMB members at Heathrow have suffered untold abuse as they deal with the travel chaos caused by staff shortages and IT failures.
‘At the same time, they’ve had their pay slashed during BA’s callous fire and rehire policy. What did BA think was going to happen?
‘It’s not too late to save the summer holidays – other BA workers have had their pay cuts reversed.
‘Do the same for ground and check-in staff and this industrial action can be nipped in the bud.’
Further disruption is also expected on the railways this Saturday as ongoing rail strikes promise to halt thousands of services for a third day.
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