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UK warns arrivals from Europe to ‘expect delays’ due to border force strike

The UK government has warned that people arriving into the country from Europe over Christmas should expect delays and disruption as border guards go on strike from Friday.

UK warns arrivals from Europe to 'expect delays' due to border force strike
Photo by Ben FATHERS / AFP

The UK Border Force begins a strike on Friday, December 23rd, that is expected to cause major delays and disruption at airports and some ports.

Travellers were warned in a statement: “While the government is taking action to minimise disruption, travellers due to arrive in the UK over the Christmas period are warned to expect delays and disruption over the strike action affecting border control.

“Passengers should be prepared for longer wait times and should check with their travel agents, tour operators and airlines/carriers about possible disruptions to their journey prior to travelling.

“Our eGates will continue to function as per normal and we encourage all those eligible to use them to do so, as the quickest and most efficient way to pass through border control.”

The Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents the majority of border staff at airports, has called a strike between December 23rd and 31st, not including December 27th.

READ ALSO Do UK border strikes affect ferries, trains and the Channel Tunnel?

It is part of a wave of strikes hitting the UK as workers including nurses, paramedics, postal staff and rail workers strike for pay rises to help them cope with the soaring cost of living.

The disruption is expected to be concentrated at airports, although the ferry port of Newhaven is also affected, and is likely to lead to extremely long queues at passport control – some are predicting waits of up to 10 hours.

Affected sites are; Birmingham Airport, Cardiff Airport, Gatwick Airport, Glasgow Airport, Heathrow Airport – Terminals 2,3,4,5, Manchester Airport and Port of Newhaven.

It could also cause some flight cancellations and delays if passengers are not able to disembark at UK airports – travellers are advised to check with their airline before going to the airport.

The UK government has drafted in some members of the military to help run passport control, but this is likely to be a very limited service. 

Those travelling to the UK should also be aware of significant disruption on the railways, also due to strike action. 

You can find full details of travel between France and the UK HERE, or head to Local sites in Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Austria and Denmark for the latest on travel.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Everything you need to know about travel to, from and around Denmark this Easter

Whether you're driving to the in-laws in northern Jutland, taking the train, or flying to your family elsewhere in the world, here's everything we know about travel to, from, or around Denmark this Easter.

Everything you need to know about travel to, from and around Denmark this Easter

Track work between Copenhagen and Odense 

From 11pm on Maundy Thursday (April 6th) till midnight on Easter Sunday (April 9th) there are replacement buses on the line between Copenhagen and Odense, as Denmark’s track operator Banedanmark carries out renovation work on the tracks. 

Express InterCity trains between Copenhagen and Aalborg and Esbjerg will also no longer stop in Valby, Ny Ellebjerg or Køge Nord from March 31st until April 10th.

From Easter Monday until April 29th, the InterCity InterCityLyn+ to Aarhus is suspended, with travellers instead advised to take the PendlerLyn during rush hour. 

You can find the details of the disruptions between Copenhagen and Slagelse here, and between Slagelse and Odense here

Check your journey on DSB’s Rejseplaner web app for the latest information. 

Roads 

The Danish Road Directorate warned in its Easter traffic forecast of heavy traffic on Friday March 31st, particularly during the evening rush hour, when normal commuting traffic in and out of Copenhagen will be made even worse by people travelling to visit relatives over Easter.

Traffic is also expected to be heavier than usual on Saturday April 1st, Wednesday April 5th, and Thursday, April 6th.

The directorate expects return trips to Copenhagen after Easter Sunday on April 10th to be spread over several days, reducing the risk of traffic problems.  

It expects particularly heavy traffic on the E20 between Copenhagen, Odense and Esbjerg on the Jutland coast, and also on the E45 between Kolding and the German border at Padborg.

The coastal roads where many Danes have summer houses are also likely to be affected, with the directorate warning of traffic on national road 11 on the west coast of Jutland between Ribe and Ringkøbing, national road 16 between Hillerød on the outskirts of Copenhagen and northern Zealand, and national road 21 between Copenhagen and the Sjællands Odde peninsular in northwest Zealand. 

Here are the roads where heavy traffic is expected. 

Source: Danish Roads Directorate

Air 

While there are no strikes planned at Danish airports or among staff at the airlines servicing them, anyone flying to Spain, Germany, Italy, or the UK’s Heathrow airport should check to make sure that their flight is not going to be disrupted. 

Between now and April 13th, ground services and cargo handling unions in Spain working for Swissport are mounting 24-hour walkouts every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. 

This will impact most Spanish airports, including Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Reus, Alicante, Valencia, Murcia, Málaga, Almería, Salamanca, Valladolid, Burgos, Logroño, Zaragoza, Huesca, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife Sur airports. It is not yet clear which flights will be affected. 

The German transport unions Ver.di and EVG mounted a 24-hour mega strike on March 27th and have threatened further strikes around Easter if they do not get a better pay offer from transport operators. 

Those flying to Italy should keep in mind that air traffic controllers working for the company Enav are planning to strike from 1pm to 5pm on April 2nd. 

READ ALSO: Calendar of the transport strikes expected in Italy this spring

Finally, 1,400 security guards at Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport plan to hold rolling strikes for 10 days from March 31st until April 9th, threatening “huge disruption and delays… throughout Easter.”

Heathrow’s management have said that they aim to keep the airport “open and operational despite unnecessary threats of strike action by Unite”.

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