Birmingham Airport strikes: When are the Border Force strikes and will flights be cancelled?

Air passengers at several UK airports, including Birmingham face major disruption in coming weeks after border control staff voted to go on strike.

Border Force workers at five major airports will stage eight days of strikes across Christmas as part of wider action by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union which is also affecting the Department for Work and Pensions, National Highways and DVSA.

Border Force is the arm of the Home Office responsible for immigration and customs controls for people and goods entering the UK.

Around 1,000 Border Force staff employed by the Home Office will walk out at London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports on 2 to 26 December, and 28 to 31 December. Members will also strike at the port of Newhaven on the same dates.

Why and when are strikes taking place?

At Birmingham Airport, members of the PCS (Public and Commercial Services) union will walk out on December 23, 24 and 25 and December 28, 29 and 30.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said the strike will have a “significant impact” on travellers. He warned the Government against bringing in the military to cover for the strikes, saying there was not enough time to train them properly.

Workers are striking as part of a bitter dispute over pay, pensions and jobs which has seen the union reject a 2% pay offer from the government. Mr Serwotka said the government could stop the strikes tomorrow if it “puts money on the table” and warned that the union could escalate its actions in the new year if a settlement cannot be reached.

What has Birmingham airport said and will flights be affected by the strikes?

A spokesman for Birmingham Airport has said flights will operate as scheduled on days when Border Force employees go on strike.

Some passengers flying into Birmingham Airport during the strike dates can expect a slightly longer wait than normal at peak times.

The airport says a contingency team of Ministry of Defence personnel will cover absent Border Force workers at Birmingham Airport.

On the dates listed above, the airport said all departing passengers will be unaffeted by the strikes, and arriving passengers from Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands will also be unaffected.

The airport says arriving passengers with biometric (UK and EU) passports will need to use electronic border gates as normal and can expect some delays especially at peak times. Arriving passengers without biometric passports will have to join the queue for face-to-face processing by border officials and can expect a slightly longer wait than normal at peak times.

Nick Barton, chief executive of Birmingham Airport, said: “Throughout the Border Force strike period, we and our airlines partners will operate our normal schedule of flights both in and out of Birmingham Airport.

“The Border Force strike will not affect any departing passengers, irrespective of destination, and for inbound passengers we have mitigation plans which aim to make their entry into the UK as swift and easy as possible.”