Although passengers arriving into the UK on international flights today can expect delays when passing through border control due to strike action by border agency staff, the airports appear to be operating normally at present and contingency plans appear to be working.

According to the twitter accounts of many of the UK airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, it’s business as normal, so far so go, although queues could build up as the day progresses.

If you are arriving into the UK today it is advisable to:

• Use e-Passport gates where available
• Have travel documents, including passports, ready
• Fully complete landing cards
• Stay in family groups.

For up-to-date information from Heathrow and Gatwick follow their twitter accounts at:

twitter.com/Gatwick_Airport
twitter.com/heathrowairport

To help passengers avoid the queues during Wednesday’s border agency strike, some airlines are offering passengers the option of rebooking flights free of charge. Passengers should contact their airlines for further information about rebooking.

Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand has stated on its website that passengers ticketed to travel on NZ2 29Nov from AKL or LAX to LHR who wish to change their date of travel may do so by either bringing forward or deferring to another date prior to and including Monday 5 December 2011.

British Airways
Passengers arriving at Heathrow, Gatwick or London City airports on Wednesday 30 November have the option to change their arrival date, subject to availability

Virgin
Virgin is offering rebooking options for passengers due to land at Heathrow, Gatwick or Manchester on Wednesday 30 November 2011.

Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways is offering rebooking options for passengers holding confirmed reservations for travel on 30 November arriving into London Heathrow or Manchester. Conditions apply.

Etihad Airways
Several changes have been made to Etihad’s Heathrow-bound flights including cancellations and reduced capacity – passengers are being rebooked on to alternative flights.

Etihad is operating Manchester flights as scheduled.

Flybe
For passengers flying into the UK and connecting to Flybe services, the airline is offering free-of-charge changes to bookings to later, alternative flights – contact Flybe Call Centre on 0871 700 2000

Aegean Airlines
Aegean has announced two flight cancellations – more information: http://en.aegeanair.com/all-about-us/press-office/press-releases/press-release/?prid=337

Gatwick Airport is warning of the likelihood of ‘significant delays’ on Wednesday when Border Agency staff join public sector workers striking over pension reforms.

The airport has had discussions with airlines in a bid to ease disruption caused by the industrial action and has drafted in hundreds of volunteers to provide support and assistence.

Scott Stanley, Gatwick Airport’s Chief Operating Officer said: “Gatwick continues to work closely with the UK Border Agency and its airlines to ensure robust contingency measures are put in place to ensure disruption to passengers and airport operations is kept to a minimum.

”We have had face to face meetings with our major airline carriers to discuss contingency plans for the day and have called on them to offer their arriving passengers the opportunity, where possible, to rebook their flights either in the days immediately before or after the 30th November. We would advise passengers to check with their airline to find out what plans and arrangements have been put in place.”

“We recognise that this will be a challenging time for all airport passengers, and we would warn passengers to be prepared for the potential for significant disruption at the border zones on the 30th November.

“Unfortunately, airport staff can not man the desks at the Border Zone but we will provide all necessary assistance to the Border Agency and we are determined to make sure that the needs and welfare of all our passengers will be met on the day.”

The war of words over border control strike action continues in the press and it is unknown how badly affected airport passengers are going to be by the action – reports vary from minor disruption to significant.

Border control will be affected from the evening of Tuesday 29 November until midnight on Wednesday 30 November – strike action start times will depend on shift patterns.

Any delays will affect passengers arriving into the UK that need to pass through passport control – outgoing flights should not be affected.

Tips to help avoid delays:

• Use e-Passport gates where available
• Have travel documents, including passports, ready
• Fully complete landing cards
• Stay in family groups.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has said that it has robust arrangements in place to maintain the security of the border and that it has

• trained managers, staff and contractors to carry out border checks
• requested overseas staff to provide cover
• asked airlines and ports to identify potential pressure points.

Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, said: ‘Securing the border is our priority and over the last weeks and months we have considered all options to ensure we are prepared for union action.

‘We always aim to minimise any disruption caused by the decision of unions to strike, but travellers could see longer waiting times at some ports and airports.’

For up-to-date UKBA information visit  http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

The largest coordinated industrial action will see up to 3 million workers take strike action next Wednesday, 30 November 2011.

Among strikers will be UK Border Agency staff who look after passport control and immigration at all the UK’s airports and ports.

In order to alleviate chaos at the UK’s airports, the Government is to transfer civil servants from Whitehall to man the UK’s borders, checking passports of EU travellers and also man e-passport gates where passengers use their biometric passports.

A UKBA spokesman told the BBC: “The security of the UK border remains our top priority and it is absolutely right we explore all options to ensure we minimise any disruption caused by planned union action.”

Tips for passengers arriving in the UK on 30 November:

• Have passports and travel documents to hand
• Use e-passport gates if at all possible

Turkish Airlines is set to launch flights from Gatwick Airport.

The airline will begin daily flights between Gatwick and Istanbul on 20 December 2011 using an Airbus 321-200.

Guy Stephenson, Gatwick Airport’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “We are pleased that Turkish Airlines has chosen to operate a daily service to Istanbul from Gatwick this Winter. Passengers will not only be able to enjoy the rich history of this magical city but also connect onto Turkish Airlines’ extensive global network and visit countries in the Middle and Far East.”

Yesterday, UK based Thomas Cook, Europe’s second largest tour operator, was in a hugely vulnerable state, battling to secure its long-term future. It means more than ever holiday travel plans should be financially protected. And raises the question again, is Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax to blame?

The operator found itself going to the Banks to ask for additional funding, seeing its share price drop by 75% in one day.

Immediate Cost Cuts Could Result in 1,000s of Job Losses
Immediate cost cutting action, in a bid to slow down debt that has already amounted to £1billion year to date, with fears of that figure rising to over £1.5 billion by the end of the year, Thomas Cook will look at closing 200 branches of its high street stores. This alone will costs thousands their jobs, which in turn will have a big impact on local towns and the economy as a whole.

This year, the now German-owned company, has already issued three profit warnings. Blaming its debt problems on the lack of families booking their summer holiday break. Not only has the tour operator, who also operates sub-brands such as Going Places, Cresta, Sunset and 18-30s, seen a dramatic dip in the traditional two week summer holiday but also the profitable ‘holiday extras’ such as travel insurance; as the internet offers cut price packages, flights and holiday extras.

Thomas Cook Must Act Fast to Secure Its Future For New Year Bookings
And the company must act fast to secure its financial future. Not only are the winter months when tour operators must look at paying for their hotel rooms for the following year, but also as it fast approaches its busiest time of year – the New Year for new holiday bookings. Whilst the New Year is great for bookings, travellers will want to be sure that their holiday is secure. That they won’t be stranded overseas if the company goes bust. If travellers are put off from booking their holiday with Thomas Cook at the early start of next year this could have a huge impact on the future of the tour operator in 2012.

For many, not only due to the loss of jobs, the stress for those having booked a holiday and the threat of losing a regular high street favourite, possibly one of the saddest things will be losing yet another founder of industry. Thomas Cook was founded in 1841 as the World’s first package holiday provider, and now provides over 7 million breaks to Britons every year!

Government Admit APD is a ‘Tax Grab’
No doubt as the news breaks of this holiday giant in severe trouble it will see major holiday and aviation heads raising the arguments again over the controversial APD. The Government has already admitted a few months ago, in a leaked memo by Chancellor, George Osborne, that APD was nothing more than a ‘tax grab’.

‘Axe the Tax’ Campaign Launched by Four of the Biggest Airlines
By coincidence, four of the biggest airlines to operate out of the UK – British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic – have again called on the Government to scrap APD. They have even created a campaign called ‘Axe the Tax’. The airlines are calling for the Chancellor to scrap APD in his Autumn Statement, to be given on 29th November, instead of the sharp rise in charges that the aviation industry fears will happen next April.

Financially Protect Your Holiday
Thomas Cook, as a tour operator, is a member of ATOL. This means that for any traveller booking with an ATOL protected operator will have the peace of mind that should the operator go bust before the travel date then a complete refund will be given. And if the traveller is overseas at the time of the operator going bust they will be helped home by the Civil Aviation Authority.

For those booking travel arrangements via a travel agent the advice is to ensure they are an ABTA Travel Agent. This will again mean that your holiday is secure if the agent goes bust before travel, and assistance to get home will be given should the traveller be overseas.

Booking independently? Make sure they are members of either the Travel Trust Association or the Association of Independent Tour Operators.

Ryanair has announced it is to introduce reserved seating on all its flights.

The airline, which has been trialling priority seating on more than 100 routes since May, will extend the service on all flights from 10 January 2012.

The optional pre-booked seating is available for €10 (each way) and includes priority boarding.

Former Conservative Prime Minister, Sir John Major, officially opened the multi-million-pound extension of Gatwick’s North Terminal last Thursday.

At a cost of £73 million, the 1.25-hectare extension provides 18 new check-in desks, bringing the total number to 144, four new baggage reclaim belts and means the North Terminal is on target to handle 20 million passengers per year by 2020.

Stewart Wingate, Gatwick Airport Chief Executive said: “It’s fair to say that passengers flying out of the North Terminal used to be greeted with a dated 80s feel with little aesthetic appeal and confusing wayfinding. But that was the Gatwick of yesteryear. Today, the layout and design of the upgraded forecourt, interchange facilities and the expanded terminal building provide a much more positive first impression.

“This is all part of our £1.2 billion investment programme, which has a focus on improving the overall passenger experience of our airport, from the moment they arrive at the front door, check-in, pass through security to when they board their flight. We want passengers to spend as little time in queues or waiting for luggage as is possible, and we want them to enjoy their surroundings before they jet off for their holidays.”

easyJet is set to trial allocated seating on selected routes.

The trial, which will be introduced in the spring of 2012, will mean each passenger will be allocated a specific seat, however, if they wish to sit in a specific seat, such as in the front row they can pay to reserve them.

Carolyn McCall, easyJet CEO, said, “This is another example of easyJet trying to do all it can to make travel easy and affordable for our passengers. We look forward to seeing how our passengers respond and how the trial works.

We will roll it out further only if it works operationally, from a revenue perspective and increases passenger satisfaction. If it doesn’t, we won’t.”