Published on : 15 Apr 2026
The strike at London Stansted Airport is 48 hours away — and there is still no deal. More than 100 ABM passenger assistance workers begin a three-day walkout this Friday, April 17. The cause: ABM offered an increase of just one penny per hour in the first year, followed by two or three pence more in the second year — a proposal the union says requires workers to put in an entire week to afford the equivalent of one extra tin of beans. The dispute affects every passenger flying from Stansted this weekend. Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air are among the airlines named as potentially affected. All three carriers depend heavily on efficient ground handling and on-time departures at Stansted, where even short delays can carry into later flights. This is not a drill. It is not a threat. It is a confirmed three-day walkout beginning Friday morning — and if you are flying from Stansted on April 17, 18, 19, or 20, there are specific things you need to do today.
Published: April 15, 2026 🔴 48-HOUR FINAL WARNING Airport: London Stansted Airport (STN) — Essex, UK Strike Dates: Friday 17 April – Monday 20 April, 2026 Strike Duration: 3 days — all shifts affected Workers: 100+ ABM PRM (Passenger with Reduced Mobility) assistance staff Union: Unite the Union Vote Result: 97% in favour Talks Status: Ongoing — NO DEAL reached as of today ABM Pay Offer: 1p/hour year one · 2–3p/hour year two Airlines Most Exposed: Ryanair · easyJet · Wizz Air · Jet2 · TUI Your Rights: UK261 — refund, rerouting, duty of care Action Required: Read this. Act today. Do not wait until Friday.
The workers who are striking support passengers with reduced mobility and other disabilities. They have rejected a pay offer described as inadequate, warning that industrial action will slow boarding processes and disrupt departures.
According to Unite, ABM has offered an increase of just one penny per hour in the first year, followed by a further two or three pence per hour in the second year. The union claims the proposal would require staff to work an entire week to afford the equivalent of one additional tin of beans, once taxes are taken into account.
Many ABM staff are currently paid below the London Living Wage of £14.80 an hour, placing them among the lowest-paid workers at the airport. Unite argues that recent increases have largely resulted from statutory minimum wage rises rather than company-led uplifts, leaving real earnings under pressure as costs rise. The union has also highlighted ABM’s financial performance — the company reported revenues of $2.2 billion in March, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.1%, underlining, Unite says, its ability to make a more substantial offer.
Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, called the offer “mean”: “It is beyond contempt that a profitable company such as ABM is choosing to prioritise greed and exposing its workers to a real-terms pay cut. Our members at ABM will be fully supported by Unite throughout this dispute.”
ABM’s spokesperson responded: “The offer we have proposed is a structured, staged pay increase over time, designated to provide an uplift to hourly rates. Our immediate priority is to limit disruption to the thousands of passengers with special assistance requirements who use our service every day at Stansted Airport.”
Steve Edwards, Unite Regional Officer, said: “Any strike action and the resulting disruption is entirely the fault of ABM for putting profits over people. ABM could avoid this disruption, but it relies on management coming back with a realistic pay offer that reflects the hard work our members do.”
Talks are ongoing. A deal before Friday would cancel the strike. As of today — Tuesday April 15 — no agreement has been announced.
Do not plan around a last-minute deal. Plan around the strike.
Most passengers reading this don’t require wheelchair support or PRM assistance. They will still be affected. Here is why.
PRM passengers must board first — before any other passengers — by UK law. Airlines cannot depart until every passenger requiring assistance is safely seated. During the strike period, airlines and the airport are expected to put contingency measures in place, but Unite has warned passengers to anticipate delays, particularly where additional assistance is required to board aircraft.
At Stansted’s single-terminal layout, PRM boarding happens at the gate and typically runs 20–30 minutes before general boarding. If it takes 50–60 minutes instead — because ABM is running at reduced staffing — the aircraft misses its departure slot. Stansted’s airspace is tightly managed. A missed slot means waiting for the next available window — sometimes 30–60 minutes later. That delay then travels with the aircraft through its entire day of rotations.
Budget carriers operating multiple daily rotations from Stansted face particular vulnerability. Aircraft with minimal ground time cannot absorb additional delays without triggering reactionary disruption across subsequent flights. Morning delays compound by afternoon across multiple routes, especially during peak holiday travel windows.
The result: a strike involving 100 PRM workers can delay hundreds of flights carrying tens of thousands of passengers who never needed a wheelchair.
These six steps must be completed before Friday, not at the airport on Friday.
Open your airline app and search for your specific flight number. Do not rely on email — app notifications are 15–30 minutes faster. Set up push notifications for your departure.
Airlines typically issue travel waivers before confirmed strike periods allowing fee-free date changes. Check these pages today — not Friday:
If a waiver is live for your dates — and you have flexibility — changing your travel dates today is the cleanest solution available to you. It avoids all risk with no fee.
Passengers who have already arranged PRM support are likely to watch the strike especially closely. Pre-booked assistance gives airports and contractors notice of what is needed, but it also means any staffing gaps are immediately operational rather than theoretical.
Call Stansted’s PRM assistance line and your airline to confirm your booking is on record:
If you are told capacity for PRM assistance on your specific flight is limited — demand to be rebooked on an alternative service with guaranteed assistance at no charge. This is your legal right under the Equality Act 2010 and Aviation Regulation (EC) 1107/2006.
The standard 2-hour rule is not sufficient on April 17–20. Stansted’s single terminal will experience:
3 hours before departure is your minimum. If you have a very early morning departure (before 7am), consider arriving 3.5 hours early.
Stansted access on strike days:
Checked baggage adds risk during any ground staff disruption. At Stansted, luggage handling runs through the same ground operation that ABM is part of — delays in one area of ground services can create knock-on pressure across others.
If your trip allows cabin baggage only, pack that way for April 17–20. You eliminate:
If your Stansted flight is cancelled and same-day rebooking is not available, these airports share significant route overlap:
| Airport | Distance from Stansted | Key Carriers |
|---|---|---|
| London Luton (LTN) | 30 min by road | Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet |
| London Gatwick (LGW) | 90 min by road/rail | easyJet primary hub |
| London Heathrow (LHR) | 90 min by road/rail | All major carriers |
| East Midlands (EMA) | 90 min by road | Ryanair, Wizz Air |
Important: You cannot rebook onto a Gatwick easyJet flight using a cancelled Stansted Ryanair ticket without purchasing a new ticket. Airlines will not automatically rebook you to an alternative airport — you would need to claim a refund from your original carrier and purchase a new ticket independently.
Ryanair operates roughly 60% of all Stansted departures — more than any other carrier. Every Ryanair route from Stansted is at risk across the strike period.
Ryanair’s most exposed April 17–20 routes from STN: Alicante (ALC) · Malaga (AGP) · Barcelona (BCN) · Madrid (MAD) · Rome Fiumicino (FCO) · Milan Bergamo (BGY) · Ibiza (IBZ) · Palma (PMI) · Faro (FAO) · Porto (OPO) · Dublin (DUB) · Warsaw (WAW) · Krakow (KRK) · Budapest (BUD) · Bucharest (OTP) · Lisbon (LIS) · Seville (SVQ)
Ryanair’s position on the strike: Ryanair will attempt to argue that the ABM strike is an “extraordinary circumstance” outside its control — reducing its cash compensation obligation under UK261. This is a legally contested position. Ryanair’s duty of care obligations (meals, hotel, 2 communications) remain regardless of what causes the disruption.
What Ryanair passengers must do: ✅ Download the Ryanair app now if you haven’t already ✅ Check ryanair.com/en/cheap-flights/updates for any disruption notifications from Friday ✅ If your flight is cancelled — request a full cash refund via the app immediately, not a voucher ✅ Do not sign any document or accept any offer that waives your UK261 rights at the gate
Contact Ryanair: ryanair.com | 0330 100 7838 (UK)
easyJet’s Stansted network is smaller than Ryanair’s but still significant — particularly on its Eastern European, Mediterranean, and city-break routes.
easyJet’s most exposed April 17–20 routes from STN: Amsterdam (AMS) · Geneva (GVA) · Nice (NCE) · Barcelona (BCN) · Lisbon (LIS) · Lyon (LYS) · Palma (PMI) · Naples (NAP) · Belfast (BFS) · Edinburgh (EDI) · Glasgow (GLA)
easyJet’s approach: easyJet typically honours UK261 duty of care more proactively than Ryanair. For cancellations, easyJet usually offers a refund or rebooking via the app within hours of confirming the disruption. easyJet also tends to notify passengers earlier than most low-cost carriers when disruption is anticipated.
Contact easyJet: easyjet.com | 0330 365 5000 (UK)
Wizz Air’s Stansted network is concentrated on Central and Eastern European leisure routes — Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Balkans.
Wizz Air’s most exposed April 17–20 routes from STN: Warsaw (WAW) · Bucharest (OTP) · Budapest (BUD) · Sofia (SOF) · Katowice (KTW) · Cluj (CLJ) · Tirana (TIA) · Belgrade (BEG) · Chisinau (KIV) · Vilnius (VNO)
Wizz Air critical warning: Wizz Air has no UK telephone support line. All rebooking, refund, and disruption management must be handled via the Wizz Air app or wizzair.com. On a disruption day, the app can slow or crash due to volume — download and log in now while it’s working normally.
Contact Wizz Air: wizzair.com | app only for UK passengers
Both carriers operate Mediterranean and Canary Islands package holiday flights from Stansted. Their passengers are among those most likely to have pre-booked PRM assistance — families travelling with elderly relatives, passengers recovering from surgery, anyone with a disability or mobility requirement.
Package holiday passengers have additional protections under the Package Travel Regulations 2018, separate from UK261. If your tour operator cancels your flight, they are obligated to offer you: ✅ Alternative travel arrangements of equivalent standard ✅ Full refund if no suitable alternative is available ✅ Compensation in some circumstances if you are not informed at least 14 days before departure
Contact Jet2: jet2.com | 0333 300 0042 (UK) Contact TUI: tui.co.uk | 0203 451 2688 (UK)
✅ Full cash refund to your original payment method within 7 days — mandatory, regardless of cause ✅ Rerouting on the next available service to your destination at no extra cost ✅ Rerouting on a later date of your convenience, subject to seat availability ✅ Duty of care — meals + 2 free communications, regardless of cause
✅ Meals and refreshments in proportion to waiting time ✅ Two free communications (phone calls or emails at airline’s expense) ✅ Hotel + transport if overnight stay required
✅ Full refund of your ticket + right to a return flight to your original departure point if you choose not to travel
Cash compensation under UK261 Article 7: £220–£520 per person depending on route distance. This applies when a cancellation or 3+ hour delay is within the airline’s control.
Airlines will argue: The ABM strike is an “extraordinary circumstance” outside their control, removing the cash compensation obligation.
Your position: This argument is legally contested. Courts have ruled in different directions. The general principle is: if the airline could have taken reasonable measures to avoid the disruption (including hiring alternative PRM contractors, adjusting scheduling, or reaching agreement with ABM), the extraordinary circumstances defence may not apply.
Always file a compensation claim anyway. The worst outcome is a rejection. The best is £220–£520 per person that the airline otherwise hoped you wouldn’t ask for.
File UK261 claims via:
If you are flying from Stansted to a Spanish destination this weekend, you face a second confirmed strike simultaneously. The SAERCO Spain ATC strike starts midnight April 17 — affecting 14 Spanish airports including Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and Seville — indefinite duration, no EU261 cash compensation for ATC strikes. Travel Tourister
Passengers booked on Ryanair or easyJet flights from Stansted to Spain on April 17–20 face a double disruption scenario:
If you are in this position, contact your airline today to understand your options. Moving your travel dates to after April 21 removes both risk factors.
London Stansted Airport ABM strike begins this Friday April 17 — 48 hours away — and no deal has been reached. Workers voted 97% in favour after being offered 1p per hour extra in year one — the equivalent, their union says, of a tin of beans a week. Ryanair (60% of Stansted flights), easyJet, and Wizz Air are the three most exposed carriers. PRM and wheelchair passengers face the most acute personal risk. Every Stansted passenger on April 17–20 should: check for an airline waiver today, arrive 3 hours early, travel carry-on only if possible, and know their UK261 rights to a full cash refund and duty of care.
The strike starts Friday. Act today. Not at the airport. Today.
Posted By : Vinay
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