Gatwick ground staff strikes threaten May half-term travel
May 12, 2025
Industrial action by ground handling and refuelling staff at London Gatwick Airport is set to begin this Friday, potentially disrupting operations during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Employees from two key service providers, Red Handling and Red Line Oil Services, are staging walkouts over pay and working conditions, with strike dates aligning with the May half-term break in England and Wales.
Strike schedule and impact
Staff from both companies will strike on different days throughout May, with overlaps expected to cause heightened disruption during peak holiday traffic from 26 to 30 May.
- Red Handling, which provides baggage handling, check-in, and flight dispatch services, plans 24-hour strikes on 18 May, 25 May, and 1 June.
- Red Line Oil Services, responsible for aircraft refuelling at the airport, will strike from 16 to 20 May and again from 23 to 27 May.
The second round of Red Line’s industrial action is expected to coincide with the peak school holiday exodus, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Initially scheduled to begin on 11 May, the Red Handling strike was temporarily suspended to allow for further negotiations with union representatives, but no agreement has been reached.
Affected carriers
Gatwick serves more than 40 airlines across 190 destinations, including being a major operational base for easyJet, Ryanair, British Airways, TUI, Vueling, and Wizz Air.
Both easyJet and Ryanair have indicated that, based on existing contingency plans, they do not expect any significant impact to their operations or passenger itineraries.
Reasons behind the strike
The industrial action is being coordinated by Unite the Union, which represents employees at both Red Handling and Red Line Oil Services. Unite claims that workers are facing poor pay, delayed wages, pension discrepancies, and inadequate break times.
Red Handling had proposed a pay increase of 4.25% this year and 3% the following year, along with a reduction in the sickness waiting period from three days to two. This offer was rejected. A revised offer consisting of a one-year deal with a 4.25% pay rise was also turned down by staff.
Sharon Graham, General Secretary of Unite, commented:
“Workers at both companies have had enough of poor pay offers and appalling treatment from their employers. It is little surprise they are taking strike action. We will back our members at Red Handling and Redline all the way during these disputes.”
Response from stakeholders
A Gatwick Airport spokesperson said the airport is “working closely with both companies and our airline partners to minimise disruption to passengers.” The airport hopes a resolution can be reached between the parties before the scheduled action begins.
easyJet issued a statement saying:
“Should any action go ahead, contingency plans that we have been advised are in place mean we do not expect any impact and our flying programme is currently planned to operate normally.”
As negotiations continue, passengers are advised to monitor airline communications closely and allow extra time for check-in and airport procedures during the affected dates.
