Many Brits may be looking forward to a holiday this Christmas, but a spanner might have been thrown into the works.
It seems that holidaymakers looking to jet off for the festive season could be looking at long queues at airports.
After a summer of travel chaos and a cost-of-living crisis it’s not the news many families will be thrilled with.
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Those planning a relaxing festive break could instead be confronted by a stressful airport experience.
The ISU union – which represents 3,500 Border Force, immigration enforcement and visa officers – is threatening strike action in December.
They are fighting for an 8% pay rise for their members in a bid to keep up with an inflation rate which is currently above 10% and the increasingly acute cost of living crisis, reports the Mirror.
In a membership update posted on its website, the union said that potential strike action would be focused on "Border ports and on Channel Migrant work", and said that it is "also considering a longer period of industrial action over Christmas and the New Year period".
UK Border Force officers are now balloting to strike across the 140 ports and airports in the UK.
If this goes ahead large travel centres like Heathrow and Gatwick Airports could see long waits to pass check-in and security.
Anyone heading abroad to see family or friends should plan accordingly.
You can try and mitigate the risk of hours-long queues by travelling at less popular times.
The least busy periods for flying are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays – and the earlier in the day the better.
If you choose to travel on a bank holiday, a weekend or close to December 25 you may hit increased crowds.
Those who can may be better off taking cabin-only bags to avoid the check-in queue.
A Home Office spokesperson told the Mirror: “We work closely with all UK ports and airports to ensure passengers and goods can cross the border as smoothly as possible, and will do so in the event of any industrial action.
“Government have robust plans in place to deploy officers flexibly to support the flow of passengers and goods at the UK border.”
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