Border officers at London's Heathrow Airport strike over inflexible work schedule

About 650 British border officers at London's Heathrow Airport began a four-day strike on Saturday to protest working conditions, particularly a work schedule that allows no flexibility.

The striking border officers who handle passport checks at Terminals 2, 3, 4, and 5 belong to the PCS union, representing public sector workers. They will strike until September 3 inclusive, after which they will engage in a "work-to-rule" strike and refuse to work overtime until September 22.

The Home Office oversees the border services and has activated contingency plans to minimize the inconvenience for arriving passengers.

Due to the end of the school summer holidays, late August and early September are peak travel periods at British airports. At peak times, Heathrow, the largest airport in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe, sees around 250,000 passengers daily.

Announcing the strike in mid-August, PCS explained that about 160 border officers had left Heathrow since the imposition of the new work schedule in April. For this reason, PCS members have already gone on a seven-day strike in April, May, and June.