Travel may be affected by industrial action this week as rail strikes continue and security staff take part in walkouts at Heathrow Airport.
Members of both the Aslef union and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) have strike days planned as part of ongoing disputes around pay, jobs and working conditions.
Meanwhile, 1,400 security staff who are members of Unite union and employed by Heathrow Airports Ltd are taking part in action related to pay.
Here are the key strike dates this week, which rail lines and airlines are affected and why unions are taking action.
When are the train strikes this week?
The next rounds of industrial action were announced by the RMT and Aslef on Thursday 27 April.
Aslef, the train drivers’ union, has planned three more dates, including one this week:
- Friday 12 May
- Wednesday 31 May
- Saturday 3 June
The union is also withdrawing non-contractual overtime on select dates, including Saturday 13 May and Monday 15 May to Saturday 20 May.
RMT members are due to strike on Saturday 13 May, the day of the Eurovision final.
Which lines are affected?
The RMT union action affects workers from the following operators:
- Chiltern Railways
- Cross Country Trains
- Greater Anglia
- LNER
- East Midlands Railway
- c2c
- Great Western Railway
- Northern Trains
- South Eastern
- South Western Railway
- Transpennine Express
- Avanti West Coast
- West Midlands Trains
- GTR (including Gatwick Express)
Meanwhile, the rail operators affected by the Aslef walk outs are:
- Avanti West Coast
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Great Western Railway
- Greater Anglia
- GTR Great Northern Thameslink
- London North Eastern Railway
- Northern Trains; Southeastern
- Southern/Gatwick Express
- South Western Railway
- SWR depot drivers
- SWR Island Line
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Trains
Aslef has rejected a 4 per cent pay offer from the 16 train companies it remains in dispute with.
The RMT union is holding more strikes after the union’s executive turned down a “clarification” on an offer from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).
What does this mean for rail passengers?
National Rail advises that its Journey Planner will be showing the revised timetable.
Passengers can check journeys for 12 and 13 May for most operators. If the timetable is not yet correct, it will show a yellow warning triangle.
Each affected operator provides further information on its website. Avanti West Coast, for instance, has suspended ticket sales for 12 and 13 May. The company says that customers who booked tickets to travel on the strike days, before the industrial action was announced, can claim a refund from where they bought the tickets.
When are the Heathrow strikes?
The industrial action by security workers at Heathrow took place on 4, 5, 6 May. Further walk outs are planned on the following dates:
- Tuesday 9 May
- Wednesday 10 May
- Thursday 25 May
- Friday 26 May
- Saturday 27 May
Which airlines are affected by the strike?
The security staff taking part in the industrial action work at Heathrow Terminal 5, which is used by British Airways.
Passengers have been advised to check their flight status before travelling to the airport.
When walkouts took place over Easter, British Airways cancelled more than 300 flights.
However, the airline did not announce cancellations as a result of strikes this month.
In advice issued to passengers, BA said: “Due to the industrial action being taken by Heathrow Airport staff, the number of security lanes in operation will be reduced. We expect that it will take longer than usual to pass through security and we will have additional BA colleagues available to support customers.”
A spokesperson for Heathrow said passengers could be reassured they would “travel as normal”.
Why are security staff striking?
Average pay for Heathrow employees has fallen by 24 per cent in real terms, according to Unite.
The union said its analysis show that security officers at Heathrow are being paid up to £6,000 per year less than their counterparts at other London airports.
It added that strikes went ahead after last-minute talks at the conciliation service, Acas, broke down.
Are strikes in France affecting travel?
Cross sector strikes have been taking place across France since January. The walk outs are part of a dispute against pension reforms under which the legal age of retirement in France will rise from 62 to 64.
Industrial action on 1 May, including by members of the unions representing air traffic control (ATC) workers, led to widespread flight cancellations.
Up to one third of flights at Paris Orly, Charles de Gaulle and Beauvais airports, as well as Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nantes and Nice were cancelled.
Meanwhile, cabin crew working for the Spanish airline Vueling took part in a strike at Paris Orly airport on 1 May.
The next day of national strikes in France is Tuesday 6 June.
