Passengers flying into local airports could escape long delays collecting their luggage in Belfast

It is estimated that a around a quarter of a million passengers arriving at UK airports on Friday are being warned to expect delays due to the start of Border Force strikes.

However a spokesman for Belfast City Airport said flights and luggage handling were “business as usual for us.”

Matthew Hall, Chief Executive at Belfast City Airport, has said that ‘Belfast City Airport is expecting to welcome thousands of passengers through its doors this week, with up to 10,000 on 23rd December alone’.

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Meanwhile a spokesman for Belfast International airport said he “is not aware aware of any issues”.

He added that the online tracker for the flights on the website is the most up to date way to see any disruption to flights.

The news comes as around 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union employed by the Home Office to operate passport booths will walkout at Heathrow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester airports, and the port of Newhaven in East Sussex.

The Border Force strikes will take place every day from Friday to the end of the year, except December 27.

Aviation data company Cirium said 1,290 flights are scheduled to land at affected airports on the first day of industrial action, with a total capacity of more than a quarter of a million passengers.

This is the busiest Christmas for airports since 2019, as it is the first festive period without coronavirus travel restrictions since the start of the pandemic.

There are fears that delays in checking the passports of arriving passengers could lead to long queues and even people being held on planes, disrupting subsequent departures.

Military personnel and volunteers from the Civil Service have been trained to step in.

Border Force head of operations Steve Dann said on Wednesday there are “robust plans in place” to limit the impact of the strikes, but the “contingency workforce will not be able to operate with the same efficiency as our permanent workforce”.

He added the organisation cannot predict the extent of any delays to passengers, but “people should be prepared for disruption”.

Electronic passport gates will remain open but they cannot be used by all passengers, such as children aged under 12.

The Border Force strikes are part of a rolling programme of industrial action by members of the PCS union in a long running dispute over pay, jobs, pensions and conditions.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka has urged people affected by disruption to vent their anger at the Government.

Talks have been held with ministers, but Mr Serwotka said pay is never discussed.

“The Government could stop these strikes tomorrow if it puts more money on the table,” he said.

“Like so many workers, Border Force employees are struggling with the cost of living crisis. They are desperate.”

Picket lines will be mounted outside airports affected by the strike on Friday morning.