London airport strikes should not affect Guernsey
GUERNSEY should not be affected by strikes at London airports, airlines operating on-island have said.
Heathrow airport workers planned to strike early this week, however a representative from Flybe said the Guernsey to Heathrow route had not been affected.
The airline company issued a travel alert to affected passengers.
It said that although today's [Monday 5 August] strike action had been postponed, strikes tomorrow [Tuesday 6 August] were still due to go ahead.
'Flybe flights to and from Heathrow today will now operate as normal.
'On Tuesday 6 August Flybe will do everything possible to minimise any disruption that might result from this industrial action which is entirely outside of our control.'
If tomorrow's strike goes ahead, the only Flybe flights that stand to be affected are BE2101 and BE2110, both from Heathrow to Edinburgh.
'While at this point we do not know for sure if these flights will or will not be affected, should customers on these flights wish to change their date of travel to either the 7th, 8th, or 9th of August, we will do so free of charge subject to having available seats.
'If you are currently booked on one of these potentially affected flights and wish to make a change please ensure that you get in touch before your flight’s scheduled departure time.'
Flybe apologised in advance for inconveniences experienced through the strike, a circumstance beyond their control.
Today, Heathrow had initially cancelled 177 of its flights due to the strikes however some were reinstated with postponement of the strike.
Officials from Heathrow and Unite union held talks earlier today in an attempt to prevent disruption at the airport tomorrow.
Meanwhile more than 130 security staff employees at Gatwick have announced that they plan to strike for 48 hours over this weekend beginning at 6am on Saturday.
These staff members scan the luggage of every passenger on every flight leaving the airport and receive a wage lower than £9 per hour, which is why they have called the strike.
It is expected this will cause delays and poorer service for those travelling through the airport over the weekend.
An Aurigny spokesperson said the airline did not believe the strike would happen.
'In our experience these strikes rarely go ahead and a resolution is found prior to the date announced. Our dedicated Aurigny ground handling team at Gatwick will monitor the situation.'
