Can I catch my flight from Heathrow during a strike?

Q I am due to fly to South Africa on 8 April from London Heathrow Terminal 5. I understand that security staff are going on strike. The airport says it will remain “open and operational” – what do they mean? And do you expect cancellations?

Kevin S

A The stress involved in being a post-pandemic traveller seems boundless. On 31 March, if there is no progress in negotiations, 1,400 members of the Unite union working as security officers at Heathrow Terminal 5 will walk out in a pay dispute. The strike will continue until Easter Sunday, 9 April. It is aimed squarely at the Easter holiday getaway on British Airways, which uses the terminal for most of its flights,

The general secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, says: “Workers at Heathrow Airport are on poverty wages while the chief executive and senior managers enjoy huge salaries. It is the airport’s workers who are fundamental to its success and they deserve a fair pay increase.”

A Heathrow spokesperson counters: “Our 10 per cent pay offer is a good one and we’re back around the table with Unite this week to discuss implementing it.”

My experience of proposed stoppages by groups of workers in the UK aviation industry, from ground staff to pilots, is that they mostly get settled in advance. The stakes are extremely high, and a strike call serves to focus minds on solving the dispute.

But I may be wrong. If the strike goes ahead, subtracting so many professionals from the operation will undoubtedly cause hold-ups. If there is no agreement, Heathrow will ask airlines to stop selling tickets for the 10 strike days and invite them to offer flexible change policies for people like you who are booked within the planned spell of industrial action. In your position, though, I would not give the strike a second thought. The earliest British Airways departures are at 6.20pm to Johannesburg, with the Cape Town flight going five minutes later. By early evening, I would expect the day’s problems to have dissipated and your progress through the airport to be smooth.

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Q What are the rules about entering the UK on a British passport that has an issue date over 10 years ago but has at least three months left before it expires?

Philippe

A Any traveller with a valid British passport – ie one that has not gone past its expiry date – can enter the UK without a problem. I infer you are asking because of all the uncertainty about passport validity following Brexit, which has, most regrettably, been fuelled by misinformation. I fear I cannot repeat too often that, at the UK’s request, two conditions have come into effect for British travellers to the European Union: the passport must not have passed its 10th birthday on the day of entry to the EU, and must have at least three months remaining until its expiry date on the day you plan to leave.

None of this is relevant for journeys by British passport holders from anywhere in the world to the UK. Yet at the height of the nonsense in 2021 and 2022 when some airlines were making up their own rules about passport validity, there were even cases of airlines denying boarding to British travellers flying to the UK because their passports were over 10 years old. (The carriers made themselves liable to pay hundreds of pounds in compensation in addition to footing the bill for new flights.)

In the past, some British travellers have even entered the UK on a passport that has expired. This has become increasingly unlikely because transport providers check travel documents and are averse to allowing on board anyone whose passport is no longer valid. Were you, though, to board an overnight flight from the US on the last day of your passport’s validity and arrive in the UK after it had expired, I would predict only a mild ticking-off from UK Border. But I do not advise you to try it.

Finally, the government says that you can enter the UK from Ireland with an expired passport, so long as it is “recent enough that it’s clear that it’s yours”. Other forms of identification will suffice, though.

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Q My wife and I are going to Australasia for the first time. I have just read your article on tipping in the US. What is the tipping culture down under?

George B

A British travellers are, in my experience, not brilliant at tipping abroad. Many UK holidaymakers tend to think that adding 10 per cent to the bill is the appropriate figure in any setting. Yet in the US that figure will be perceived as insultingly low, while in many other locations it is unnecessarily high: if you want to do as the Romans do when in Rome, you might leave a couple of euros on a €50 meal bill, but there is no problem if you do not.

Tipping is simply not part of the culture in East Asian countries such as China, Korea and Japan, and sometimes tourists are urged not to leave any change.

Australia and New Zealand are not quite as extreme. Tourism Australia says: “Hotels and restaurants do not add service charges to your bill, and tipping is always your choice.” Similarly, New Zealand Tourism says: “Tipping in New  Zealand is not obligatory, even in restaurants and bars …Tipping for good service or kindness is at the discretion of the visitor. Hotels and restaurants in New Zealand do not add service charges to their bills.”

Were you to leave 10 per cent in an upmarket restaurant in Sydney or Auckland, it would no doubt be appreciated – but it is certainly not obligatory. Minimum wage legislation means waiting staff are properly rewarded.

In cities, if a taxi fare is $10.50 and you are paying in cash, the driver is likely to round it down – in a sense, tipping you. The one exception I make is for Uber drivers, who I feel are not as well-rewarded as they deserve to be. But you can happily go through your entire trip without tipping a single cent, and no one will think the worse of you.

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Q I am travelling to France in the summer by Eurostar and have observed over time that the first train of the day leaving London is often cancelled. Is that right? If it were you, would you book the second or third train of the day to be safe?

Tom B

A My rule for pretty much any journey: always start as early in the day as possible. That way, if things start to unravel, you have more scope for resolving the problem. In the case of Eurostar trains from London to Paris, you are also likely to save money. Looking at departures on Saturday 1 July from the UK to the French capital, the 6.31am from St Pancras International is priced at £97 one way, a 23 per cent discount on the second and third trains (£126 each). This makes sense because only people in the London area are likely to contemplate getting to the station before 6am to go through security and passport control. By 8am or 9am, many more passengers can flock to St Pancras International station.

I also prefer the earliest train because the crowds have yet to build up, making the experience in the rather cramped departure lounge at the London end a little more bearable. And you will reach Paris before 10am, local time, offering the best possible start to your trip – whether you are pausing in the city or connecting to another train after a quick coffee stop.

Clearly, were the first train a regular “faller” that would make the decision questionable. Eurostar will routinely rebook people on later trains, but space may be at a premium and you theoretically could find yourself having to travel significantly later in the day. (There are 14 trains from London to Paris that day, with the last one at 8.01pm.)

The main reason for cancellations is industrial action. When resources are stretched, trains which are less heavily booked are prone to be cancelled in order to protect the largest number of passengers. But in the latest round of French strikes, the three cancellations from London to Paris on Thursday 23 March are mid morning, late afternoon and early evening.

During the 20 days of strikes by members of the RMT union working for Network Rail between June last year and the new year, early Eurostar trains were routinely cancelled – because signalling on the High Speed 1 line to the Channel Tunnel was available only from around 7.30am to 6.30pm. But that dispute has now been settled, and so I suggest you simply book the earliest train with a good degree of confidence.

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