London: Hundreds of workers at London’s Heathrow airport will walk out in the run-up to the soccer World Cup this month over demands for better pay, a British union said on Friday.
Unite said 700 workers involved in ground-handling, airside transport and cargo will strike for three days starting from November 18.
The World Cup in Qatar starts on November 20.
“Strike action will inevitably cause disruption, delays and cancellations to flights throughout Heathrow, with travellers to the World Cup particularly affected,” Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said in the statement.
The union said the strike action would lead to disruption, cancellations and delays at Heathrow terminals 2, 3 and 4. It said Qatar Airways, which has scheduled an additional 10 flights a week during the World Cup, would be particularly affected.
Other airlines including Virgin, Singapore Airlines, and Cathay-Pacific will also be hit, Unite said.
Menzies did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for a comment.
Heathrow, the country’s busiest airport, said it was in talks with its airline partners on what contingency plans they could implement to support their ground handling if the strikes were to go ahead.
“Our priority is to ensure passengers are not disrupted by airline ground handler shortages,” said the airport.
