Strike at Gatwick Airport Threatens Uncertainty on the Costa del Sol
The recovery of international tourism is currently clashing with the uncertainty on the Costa del Sol caused by the announcement of a new workers’ strike at London’s Gatwick Airport.
This concern has been acknowledged by Javier Hernández, the executive vice-president of Aehcos, who stated, “We cannot hide our concern for the news that we are receiving.”
Hoteliers are worried that the number of British visitors may be affected by the work stoppages involving approximately 1,000 workers directly or indirectly employed by globally important low-cost airlines like EasyJet. Despite the expectation of a new all-time record in passengers and flights during the summer of 2023, they fear the impact of the strike.
However, tourism stakeholders note that German visitors have recovered to pre-Brexit numbers after the significant decline caused by the war in Ukraine in 2021. They are hopeful that the planned strikes between July 28th and August 8th can be called off.
The company with the highest number of employees called to strike at Gatwick is DHL Services, representing six out of ten workers. As a result, EasyJet, the airline that employs them, has initiated urgent negotiations to ease tensions. This announcement was made on Wednesday by Unite, the main workers’ union in the UK. Two other companies, ASC, Menzies Aviation, and 66S, have also joined the protest, with their staff demanding pay improvements after overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on airport activity.
Unite union urges the airlines to “return to the negotiating table and present an offer that members will accept.” In the case of DHL, a last-minute agreement would prevent the planned strikes from July 28th to August 1st. It is worth noting that over the eight days of initially announced strike action, more than 4,000 flights would depart from Gatwick, coinciding with the busiest dates for passengers, as indicated by historical figures periodically communicated by Aena.