Unite, the biggest union in the UK related to transport staff, has announced an indefinite strike of the personnel supplying fuel for planes at Birmingham Airport, which threatens flights to Spain, including the Canary Islands, of airlines with extensive air route maps such as Ryanair or Jet2. Union representatives have warned that the stoppages "will leave most planes grounded."
In a statement, the union said: “The indefinite general strike will begin on Tuesday, August 15th, which will cause the cancellation of flights from Birmingham Airport. Airlines affected include TUI, easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, and Jet2.”
Ryanair is the airline with the most extensive flight schedule from Birmingham, with 16 routes to Spain: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Reus (Tarragona), Valencia, Alicante, Almería, Malaga, and Seville. Jet2 has a very similar schedule with 14 connections.
Unite have said that both the drivers and operators of tanker trucks in charge of supplying kerosene for aircraft will go on strike, after having an official salary cut by the company in charge of handling ground services at the airport, the British-born multinational company Menzies Aviation.
“The workers, who refuel more than three-quarters of the planes at the airport, have rejected a 9% wage offer. It is a salary cut in real terms when the real rate of inflation stands at 10.7%”, said the union highlighting that Menzies announced profits of more than a billion pounds in 2021.
Travellers on flights from Birmingham from August 15th are advised to look out for communication from their airline with updates as the date approaches.
