Gatwick assisted-travel strike, 17–26 September 2026
The strike has been called but has not started. It can still be called off; check your flight status before travelling. Last checked 2026-09-13.
Gatwick expects a normal flight schedule on the strike days — what is at risk is assisted travel, as 220+ Wilson James staff walk out over pay on nine days in September. They work for an airport contractor, not an airline, so cancellation compensation is unlikely; but if you booked special assistance you have a separate set of rights that does not depend on it.
Work out what you are owed →When
17 to 21 September and 23 to 26 September 2026. Gatwick says it is working with Wilson James and currently expects a normal flight schedule on those dates.
Who is striking, and what it actually affects
The strikers are Unite members employed by <strong>Wilson James</strong>, the contractor that provides assisted travel — wheelchair assistance and support through the airport — at Gatwick. More than 220 of them rejected a two-year pay offer. They are not employed by any airline, and they are not air traffic control. The realistic effect is therefore not mass cancellation but <strong>delay and failure in assistance services</strong>, with knock-on delays at boarding and disembarkation.
Compensation is unlikely — but care is still owed
A strike by an airport contractor is not a strike by the airline's own staff, so it will normally count as an extraordinary circumstance and the fixed compensation falls away. But this disruption lands on a specific group of passengers, and they have their own law. If you booked special assistance, your rights come from the assistance regulation — retained in UK law from Regulation (EC) 1107/2006 — and those rights are owed by the airport, not the airline, and do not depend on whether anything was cancelled.
Airports most likely to be affected
- London Gatwick (LGW)
Gatwick is a UK departure, so UK261 governs compensation at £220, £350 or £520 where it is due. A flight into Gatwick from an EU airport falls under EU261 instead. Assistance rights sit in a separate regulation and apply either way.
What you are owed
| What you can claim | Does it survive a contractor strike? |
|---|---|
| Compensation for a cancellation | Unlikely — the contractor sits outside the airline |
| Assistance you booked and did not receive | Owed by the airport, whatever the cause |
| Meals and a hotel if you are delayed long enough | Owed by the airline, no cap |
| Re-routing, or a full refund — your choice | Owed |
The second row is the one that matters here and the one almost nobody claims. Assistance is a legal entitlement, not a courtesy, and a pay dispute between an airport and its contractor is not your problem.
What to do, in order
- Re-confirm your assistance booking before you travel. Airlines must pass a request to the airport at least 48 hours ahead. Re-confirm it in writing so there is a record that you asked, and keep the confirmation.
- If assistance does not arrive, record it at the time. Note the time you arrived, the desk you reported to, who you spoke to and how long you waited. A contemporaneous note is worth far more later than a recollection.
- Complain to the airport first, then to the regulator. Assistance is the airport's legal duty. If Gatwick does not resolve it, the UK Civil Aviation Authority enforces these rights and takes complaints directly.
- Claim delay costs from the airline separately. If the knock-on made you late enough to need a meal or a bed, that is the airline's duty of care and a different claim. Keep those receipts apart from the assistance complaint.
Where to send it
Two different bodies, two different claims. Assistance failures go to Gatwick and then to the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Delay and care costs go to the airline that operated the flight — the airline guides list each one's form.
The rules behind this
The line between a strike that costs the airline money and one that does not is drawn by who walked out — the strike guide sets it out, and the duty-of-care guide covers what you are owed while you wait, whatever the cause.
Sources
This page reports what has been published elsewhere. It is not affiliated with any airline or authority, and the position can change — check your own flight status.