Gatwick assisted-travel strike — called off
The strike was averted and these flights should operate normally. Last checked 2026-10-02.
The Gatwick assisted-travel strike is off for good: the 220+ Wilson James staff accepted a 5% pay deal, announced on 1 October, and none of the September strike days took place. They work for an airport contractor, not an airline; if your booked special assistance failed anyway, you have separate rights below.
Settled — pay deal accepted (re-checked 2 October)
The dispute is over. Wilson James staff voted overwhelmingly to accept the improved offer — a 5% rise backdated to April, with the 2027 rise set at CPI plus 1% or 3.5%, whichever is higher — and Unite announced the settlement on 1 October. None of the strike days took place.
Unite had suspended the action in mid-September so members could ballot on the offer. Everything below about assistance rights applies whether or not anyone strikes — the airport owes those duties on an ordinary Tuesday too.
When
17 to 21 September and 23 to 26 September 2026. Called off: suspended for a ballot in mid-September, then settled when staff accepted the pay deal (announced 1 October).
Who is striking, and what it actually affects
The strikers are Unite members employed by Wilson James, 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 delay and failure in assistance services, 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.
Other disruptions we are tracking
- flydubai suspends all Israel flights — what passengers are owed — From 1 October 2026 — no restart date
- Charleroi airport strike — suspended after 322 cancellations — 16–23 September 2026 — suspended
- NATS Prestwick failure, 21 September 2026 — 21 September 2026
- easyJet France pilot strike — called off after a proposed deal — 1–2 October 2026 — called off
- Italian airport strikes, September 2026 — 30 September 2026
- Mexico City airport storm and the Air France cancellations — 11–13 September 2026
- UK air traffic control failure, 8 September 2026 — 8 September 2026
The full list, with dates and airports
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.