RE: Passenger numbers11 Apr 2023 10:21
Heathrow flies over 6 million people in March into a strike-hit Easter
The Easter getaway at London’s biggest airport included one of its busiest days since before Covid, as over 6 million people flew from Heathrow in March, even as security staff went out on strike into the long weekend.
March 31 was the first day of action from 1,400 staff at the hub, but it said that over 221,000 travellers used the west London hub that day. It claimed today that “service levels were excellent” and that “strong contingency plans kept the airport running smoothly throughout the strike period” which ran until Easter Sunday. It was one of the busiest days since 2019.
The strike involved security staff at Terminal 5 and workers checking cargo across the entire airport campus. Unite says that Heathrow staff are “on poverty wages while the chief executive and senior managers enjoy huge salaries.”
There were reports of long queues at the airport and British Airways cancelled hundreds of short-haul flights. But Heathrow’s CEO, John Holland-Kaye, said today that “passengers got away smoothly on their Easter holidays”, adding: “Our security team has done a brilliant job, supported by our entire management team who have been ‘here to help’ in the terminals.”
Heathrow also said today that it was offering striking workers “a materially different proposal, adding: “We have listened to colleagues on the pay offer and have proposed changes they have asked for.” It called on Unite to put the new offer to its members.