ISLANDERS travelling away for Christmas are being warned of possible disruption caused by a perfect storm of strikes and bad weather.
Tens of thousands of workers are set to join picket lines over the coming days in a wave of industrial action which could cause chaos for travellers.
More than 1,000 Border Force staff are set to walk out between 23 and 26 December and again between 28 and 31 at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports.
Around 350 ground handling staff at Heathrow employed by Menzies were also due to strike over a pay dispute, but this was suspended following talks with Unite the Union.
However, walkouts scheduled for 29 December could still go ahead, pending a vote by Unite’s members over a revised pay offer.
National Rail has warned that reduced services will continue to operate until Sunday 8 January, with ‘inevitable’ disruption expected as a result of strikes likely to affect most train companies across the network.
Some routes are expected to have no trains at all at times during the action.
‘The rail industry is working hard to minimise the effect that this will have on services but it is inevitable that services will be cancelled or severely disrupted,’ the organisation has said in an update on its website.
Meanwhile, some flights at major UK airports such as Heathrow have fallen victim to high winds – which are also understood to have created difficulties for baggage handling staff.
Condor has warned of ‘significant’ disruption to its conventional and high-speed services for freight and passengers, with wind speeds of up to 50 knots and wave heights above five metres predicted at times in the English Channel this week.
The company is putting on additional high-speed sailings to the UK and France.
Elwyn Dop, Condor’s operations director, said: ‘The forecast has and continues to be really changeable, so using the best available data at the time, we have been prudent by contacting travellers in advance to notify them of the potential for disruption and to offer alternatives wherever possible.’
A Ports of Jersey spokesperson said forecast weather conditions ‘may see some disruption to travel’.
‘Condor Ferries have already made alternative arrangements for some sailings, and cold weather in areas of the UK has seen delays at some airports,’ they added.
They said the UK Border Force strikes were expected to have ‘little or no impact’ on passengers travelling between Jersey and the UK, but added that those travelling internationally were ‘likely to face longer queues’.
‘Anyone travelling on strike days should keep up to date with advice from airlines and airports before setting off. There is no impact on direct flights from Jersey to Madeira and Tenerife, as the UK border force strikes only apply in the UK,’ they continued.
‘Ports of Jersey is in regular contact with its airline partners and will pass on any relevant updates to Jersey passengers.’
Islanders returning home on a British Airways flight on Monday were delayed by over an hour, as a lack of available ground handling staff meant they had to wait on the plane until it could be loaded – with passengers being told the flight had also been at risk of being cancelled.
Robert Mackenzie, the managing director of CI Travel Group, said: ‘Obviously for people travelling out of the Island and further afield through London there will be some challenges.’
However, he noted that the those coming back into the Island would probably avoid the fall-out caused by the Border Force strikes. An easyJet spokesperson said the airline was liaising with airports about their ‘contingency plans’, but was planning to operate its schedule at the time of writing.
