Looks like some labor actions in the UK will have an impact on holiday travels this season.
The one that has the possibility of impacting United is a planned strike by UK Border Force.
December 23-26 and also Dec. 28-31
About 1,000 Border Force staff are expected to walk out on eight days between 23 December and New Year's Eve at Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow (terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5) and Manchester airports, as well as at the port of Newhaven.
What should I do if I'm travelling over Christmas?
- Airports have advised travellers to check the status of their flights before travelling
- The Home Office has said passport checks may take longer on strike days
- The strikes are likely to affect people returning to the UK rather than departing
- The length of delays will depend on how well the Home Office can fill the staffing gaps
- If your flight is cancelled due to strike action, airlines must offer rebooking or a refund
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63893115
Worst case scenario would be proactive cancellations or short-notice delays if inbound passengers cannot be processed in a timely manner.
Would encourage anyone travelling to or via UK during these times to keep a close eye on their itineraries, especially as we get closer to the dates.
I am on United to LHR on Dec 29th , so hopefully will have some data points prior to my trip on how impactful this is for United flights.
There is also planned strikes with National Rail, and expected TFL outages due to service work, all which may impact travel to/from LHR, as well as intra-terminal movement.
More info and better place to discuss those impacts in the UK forum area, but thought I would mention it for awareness:
LHR: No Rail or Tube Available over Christmas Holiday