Heathrow strike called off by dnata ground handlers after new pay offer

But hundreds of staff employed by Menzies still going ahead with protest action

Employees at dnata have cancelled their planned three-day strike at London Heathrow. WPA

Strike action announced by workers involved in ground handling, airside transport and cargo at Heathrow Airport has been partially called off, days before the start of the World Cup in Qatar.

About 700 workers employed by Emirates Group's airport services subsidiary dnata were due to strike for three days, starting on Friday. Similar workers employed by Menzies were also striking.

But employees at dnata cancelled their protest action after agreeing a new pay deal, which the company says will help employees manage the effects of rising living costs.

Employees at Menzies are still striking but experts have said while the action could cause delays it was unlikely to result in cancellations.

A Heathrow representative said: “Affected airlines already have contingency matters in place and flight cancellations are not anticipated.

"We encourage passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline.”

Independent travel expert Rob Staines said 350 Menzies ground-handling agents were participating in the walkout, with delays expected at Heathrow terminals 2, 3 and 4.

“If delayed for over 2/3 hours you must be provided with refreshments and a phone/email contact,” he tweeted.

Unite shared a post on Twitter with a picture of workers on a picket line that said: “A big shout out to Menzies ground handlers at #Heathrow Airport taking strike action today for #FairPay.”

Alex Doisneau, managing director at dnata UK, said: “We are pleased to have reached agreement on this pay award, which reflects the huge respect we have for our employees in the UK.

“The agreed package, including both a pay increase and immediate support for the short term, provides concrete support for our employees amidst the current cost-of-living crisis.

Heathrow through the years - in pictures

Heathrow Airport in London, the UK's busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here The National takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images

An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919

Waterlogged runways at London Airport - Heathrow's original name - one week before it became Britain's main aerial gateway to the US in 1946

The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport circa 1955

The air traffic control room at the airport's new terminal in 1955

US film star Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at the airport in July 1956

An aerial view showing the runways in 1958

The arrivals and departures board in 1960

A new airport gift shop, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961

The Queen's Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965

The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie Help!, in 1965

Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966

Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969

An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970

Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971

Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973

Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976

Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977

Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977

An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978

Passengers waiting near a departures board in 1979

Holidaymakers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981

British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984

Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow's Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997

Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal

Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003

Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003

Heathrow's Terminal 2 in 2004

Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport during the Christmas 2006 and New Year period

Passengers wait at Terminal 1 on August 10, 2006, after airport security was raised to critical when a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police

Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007

The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008

Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016

Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympics, which saw Great Britain's strongest performance at the Games in over a century

A composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images

Items are arranged during an auction preview at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were being sold

An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow's Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020

British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021

Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check in 2022

He said dnata was "heavily invested in the UK and we look forward to continuing our journey with our employees as we focus our efforts on strengthening our leading position in the market”.

Unite said Menzies had made pay offers below Retail Price Index inflation.

“The strike action will inevitably cause serious delays for passengers at Heathrow but this dispute is entirely of Menzies’s own making,” said Unite regional officer Kevin Hall.

“It has had every opportunity to make our members a fair pay offer but has stubbornly refused to do so.”