Things can only get better, one hopes.
But Britons planning on heading to the Balearics for Christmas, or to the UK for the festivities, are facing possible travel disruption at main UK airports after around 15,000 Border Force members of the PCS union voted in favour of strike action last month in a dispute over pay pensions, jobs and redundancy.
The union this afternoon confirmed that members would walk out over from December 23-26 and again from December 28-31.
The action looks set to disrupt the pre-Christmas getaway, with the union required to give 14 days formal notice of its strike plans.
On Tuesday two aviation representatives told Abta’s Travel Matters seminar passengers should expect longer waits, but stressed the system would hold up.
However, The Telegraph – citing “an airport chief” – said cancellations were likely.
The PCS said its members working at Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff airports - whose main duties are to check passports for those arriving in the country - will strike for eight days between 23 December to New Year's Eve.
Asked why the union had picked the Christmas period to take industrial action, the union chief said: "those people will lose pay when they go on strike, they do it as a last resort and the job of the union is to ensure that the action that we call is noticed."