Quite a lot of buzz this morning about the announcement that airport operator, BAA have warned passengers of delays of up to 12 hours on flights coming into London Heathrow on Wednesday 30 November. This has meant a number of airlines have cancelled flights or reduced services.

News on other UK airports

I spent some time this morning looking on other UK airport websites including Gatwick and Manchester – they are being a little more reserved, suggesting that they have put in place plans to limit the disruption, but expect delays. I will of course keep this post up-to-date if the situation changes.

Strikes over public sector pensions

Over two million public sector workers including UK Border Agency staff are set to walk out on Wednesday over reforms that the government are set to make on their pensions.

London Heathrow airport stats

Heathrow is London’s largest airport in the UK, is used by 90 airlines, flying to 170 destinations and has over 67 million annual passengers. The airport receives an average of 180,000 passengers every day.

Advice from BAA

We are very concerned by the impact that the proposed UK Border Agency immigration officer strike action on 30 November will have on arriving passengers at Heathrow. We recommend that you keep in touch with your airline to check the status of your flight or onward connection and for any advice about travel on that day.

Advice for Passengers

Stuart Lodge, Roundtheworldflights.com

Most major airlines are allowing a good will change in and out of the UK on 28 & 29 November or 1 December. All are free of charge, which is worth considering.

Martin Rothwell, World First insurance

Under the terms of most travel insurance policies the policyholder should be able to benefit from cover for Travel Delay, Abandonment and Missed Departure.

If you are delayed for 12 hours or more you can expect to receive a cash benefit (usually £20 for the first 12 hours and then £10 per 12 hours thereafter). But if you are delayed for 24 hours then you can cancel your trip and claim Abandonment.

Travel insurers will have a cut-off point for claiming for costs arising due to the current announced strike action. The cut-off would normally be when the strikes were first announced and became common knowledge.

My advice is to check with the airline or airport before departing for the airport, and to assist UK border control have your travel documents including passports taken out of any wallets and be patient while queueing.

Share your experiences and advice

Are you travelling in or out of the UK on Wednesday? Have you found airlines and travel companies to be helpful and if you have any advice please leave it in the comments section.

• BAA Strike Advice Updates for Travel Consumers
• Bank holiday airport strikes could affect 400,000 passengers
• Air passenger rights for cancelled and delayed EU flights
• Heathrow Terminal 5 opening day Chaos
• BA strike advice and information

Please enter your email address to receive my free newsletter