Border Force staff walk out at airports as Royal Mail workers back on strike

The UK’s major airports will be hit with a walk-out of Border Force workers on Friday, as posties walk-out over pay again, causing disruption in the run up to Christmas.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will walk out from Friday 23 December to 26 December as well as 28 December and 31 December, in a protest against pay sitting below inflation.

Those arriving in the country this week have been told to expect longer queues in airports, although Heathrow said it anticipated the majority of journeys to be unaffected.

Several other airports will also see staff walk out, including Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick and Manchester.

The Home Office said it has taken extensive steps to minimise disruption for passengers, including calling in the army.

Border Force said its eGates would continue to function as normal and urged passengers to use them where possible.

It comes as posties are also taking industrial action today, with Royal Mail subject to chaos as Brits have experienced long delays with sending first-class letters and the delivery of parcels in the lead up to Christmas Day.

Around 115,000 postal workers in the Communications Workers Union are taking the action, which the Royal Mail has estimated has cost it some £100m.

A spokesperson for the Royal Mail said the service would be “doing all we can to deliver Christmas for our customers,” over the next 48 hours.

The UK has experienced a wave of industrial action this week, with nurses, ambulance drivers and railway workers among those to walk-out in rows over pay.