Around 200 DHL-employed ground-handling staff at London Luton Airport will strike on 19-22 and 26-29 December after rejecting a 4.5 % pay offer, Unite the Union confirmed today. The action threatens more than 400 EasyJet flights, including services to Paris-CDG, Lyon and Nice, at what the UK Civil Aviation Authority expects to be the busiest Christmas in aviation history.
EasyJet says it plans to operate its full programme with contingency labour, yet baggage delays and missed connections are likely—especially for passengers with onward TGV or regional flights inside France. Employers moving staff home for the holidays, or bringing contractors in for New-Year projects, should urge travellers to pack essentials in carry-on and monitor flight status hourly.
![Luton Ground-Handler Walkout to Disrupt EasyJet Flights to France Over Christmas]()
The dispute also exposes a widening pay gap between DHL teams at Luton and Gatwick (estimated at £3 an hour). For mobility budgets, prolonged labour unrest in the UK ground-handling sector could erode the cost advantage of using London as a hub for France-bound travellers, nudging corporates toward direct services or alternative gateways such as Brussels or Amsterdam.
Under EU261, passengers whose flight originates in the EU—or lands there on an EU carrier—may claim compensation for cancellations under certain conditions. Although the strike involves ground handlers rather than the airline itself, EasyJet could still be liable if it cannot prove ‘extraordinary circumstances’, a nuance travel managers should flag in pre-trip briefings.
EasyJet says it plans to operate its full programme with contingency labour, yet baggage delays and missed connections are likely—especially for passengers with onward TGV or regional flights inside France. Employers moving staff home for the holidays, or bringing contractors in for New-Year projects, should urge travellers to pack essentials in carry-on and monitor flight status hourly.
The dispute also exposes a widening pay gap between DHL teams at Luton and Gatwick (estimated at £3 an hour). For mobility budgets, prolonged labour unrest in the UK ground-handling sector could erode the cost advantage of using London as a hub for France-bound travellers, nudging corporates toward direct services or alternative gateways such as Brussels or Amsterdam.
Under EU261, passengers whose flight originates in the EU—or lands there on an EU carrier—may claim compensation for cancellations under certain conditions. Although the strike involves ground handlers rather than the airline itself, EasyJet could still be liable if it cannot prove ‘extraordinary circumstances’, a nuance travel managers should flag in pre-trip briefings.
