Written on 22^nd December 2016

Travel Bulletin: Stormy weather and strikes to disrupt flights in the UK during the holidays - Updated

Published on: 21 Dec 2016 @ 12:38

Storm Barbara to affect Northwest of the UK - 23rd and 24th December

The Met Office has issued weather warnings for Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, starting Friday, 23rd December.

Storm Barbara is forecast to form in the West Atlantic on Wednesday and will pass close to the Northwest of the UK during Friday and Saturday morning, bringing very strong winds and heavy rain, especially across the North and West of Scotland.

This brings the potential for some travel and flight disruption.

More information: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk

Swissport industrial action – 23rd and 24th December - CANCELLED

Members of the Unite union employed by Swissport, who work on behalf of airlines, have cancelled the industrial action planned for 23rd and 24th December 2016.

As a result, airlines will now be operating a normal schedule on these days.

No Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect services 24th-29th December

The Network Rail is improving the tracks this Christmas and New Year.

There will be no Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect services from 24th to 29th December and an amended timetable will run from 30th December to 2nd January 2017.

More information: Heathrow Express
More information: Heathrow Connect
More information: TfL Journey Planner

British Airways threatened industrial action – 25th and 26th December

The trade union Unite has announced that it intends to hold industrial action involving one of British Airways five cabin crew fleets on Christmas Day (25th December) and Boxing Day (26th December).

Nevertheless, British Airways are planning to run a full schedule on Christmas Day and Boxing Day despite the threatened industrial action.

More information: http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/help-in-disruption/strike/latest-information

RMT and ASLEF industrial action during the holidays affecting Southern Rail and Gatwick Express

ASLEF and RMT strikes will affect Southern Rail and Gatwick Express services on the following dates:

• Saturday 31st December to Monday 2nd January (RMT conductors’ strike)
• Monday 9th to Saturday 14th January (ASLEF & RMT drivers’ strike)
• There is also likely to be increased disruption over the Christmas and New Year period.

More information: http://www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/strike
More information: http://www.gatwickexpress.com/

Please plan your journey in advance and allow plenty of extra time to get to the airport.

The Appointment Group will provide further updates accordingly.

For any further information, please contact your dedicated Travel Executive.

The Appointment Group

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Published on: 19 Dec 2016 @ 12:41

Heavy rain, strong winds and snow to affect travel to/from the UK during Christmas

The Met Office outlook for the next six to 30 days in the UK suggests that Friday, 23rd December will start with local frost and some patchy fog in the UK South Coast, but it will turn unsettled from the West through the day.

The unsettled weather will continue as we move through the Christmas period and towards New Year. A succession of deep Atlantic depressions will bring bands of heavy rain East across all parts. Winds will often be strong, with periods of gales and the potential for some stormy conditions at times in the Northwest with risk some snow, especially in the North.

More information: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast

Swissport industrial action – 23rd and 24th December

Members of the Unite union, employed by Swissport, who work on behalf of airlines at airports including Stansted, Luton, Gatwick, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh, intend to walk out for 48 hours on 23rd and 24th December.

British Airways operations at London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London City will remain unaffected.

More information: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/flightops

British Airways threatened industrial action – 25th and 26th December

The trade union Unite has announced that it intends to hold industrial action involving one of British Airways five cabin crew fleets on Christmas Day (25th December) and Boxing Day (26th December).

British Airways have confirmed that:

• All flights to and from London Gatwick, City and Stansted will not be affected.
• Flights operated by subsidiary OpenSkies between Paris and New York will not be affected.
• Flights operated by British Airways franchise partners (Comair in South Africa and SUN-AIR in Scandinavia) will not be affected.
• Flights operated by other carriers (including oneworld Alliance partners) which have a BA codeshare flight number will not be affected.

Long haul flights to/from London Heathrow
BA is aiming to operate all long haul flights to and from London Heathrow as normal.

Short haul flights to/from London Heathrow
If you are flying to/from a short haul city not on the list below, then your flight will operate as normal and BA's normal fare rules and conditions of carriage apply:
Aberdeen, Basel, Belfast, Bergen, Bilbao, Bologna, Budapest, Dusseldorf, Gibraltar, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Hanover, Helsinki, Kiev, Krakow, Lisbon, Luxembourg, Manchester, Marseille, Oslo, Paris Orly, Pisa, Prague, Stavanger, St Petersburg, Stuttgart, Vienna, Venice, Warsaw and Zagreb.

BA aim to publish its final short haul schedule on the routes listed above in the coming days.

More information: http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/help-in-disruption/strike/latest-information

RMT and ASLEF industrial action during the holidays affecting Southern Rail and Gatwick Express

ASLEF and RMT strikes will affect Southern Rail and Gatwick Express services on the following dates:

• Monday 19th to Tuesday 20th December (RMT conductors’ strike)
• Saturday 31st December to Monday 2nd January (RMT conductors’ strike)
• Monday 9th to Saturday 14th January (ASLEF & RMT drivers’ strike)

There is also likely to be increased disruption over the Christmas and New Year period.
http://www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/strike

http://www.gatwickexpress.com/

The Appointment Group will provide updates accordingly.

For any further information, please contact your dedicated Travel Executive.
The Appointment Group