Travellers to the Football World Cup in Qatar were being warned of disruption at Heathrow on Friday, as members of the Unite union agreed to strike for three days from 18 November.
The union said the action was being taken by 700 employees of aviation service providers Dnata and Menzies Aviation, who work in ground handling, airside transport and cargo.
It said the strikes would particularly affect Qatar Airways, which had scheduled an additional 10 flights per week during the World Cup.
“Our members at Dnata and Menzies undertake highly challenging roles and are simply seeking a decent pay rise,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.
“Both companies are highly profitable and can fully afford to make a fair pay increase.
“The owners and directors are simply lining their own pockets rather than paying their workers fairly.”
Other airlines set to be hit heavily by the strike action included Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Emirates.
Passengers returning to the United States for the Thanksgiving holiday were also set to be adversely affected.
Unite said both Dnata and Menzies had only been prepared to offer “pay cuts disguised as pay increases”.
It said Dnata offered its workers a 5% increase, while the offers for Menzies workers varied between 2% and 6%.
All of the offers were far below the “real rate of inflation”, which Unite said was represented by the retail price index, which currently stood at 12.6%.
The union said both companies operate globally and were “highly lucrative”, with Menzies’ latest accounts revealing it made a profit of £69m, while Dnata’s profit was £27m.
“Strike action will inevitably cause disruption, delays and cancellations to flights throughout Heathrow, with travellers to the World Cup particularly affected,” said Unite regional officer Kevin Hall.
“However, this dispute is entirely of Dnata and Menzies own making.
“They have had every opportunity to make a fair pay offer but have chosen not to do so.”
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
