Norwich Airport will be shut to all air traffic on Friday 28 August – the start of the bank holiday weekend – after a 24-hour strike by air traffic controllers was confirmed following the collapse of pay talks.
Flights impacted include TUI services to Palma, Corfu and Dalaman, and Ryanair flights to and from Alicante, according to Norwich Evening News. Loganair flights to Aberdeen and KLM’s daily Amsterdam service are also affected.
The strike, called by union Prospect, follows the breakdown of negotiations over pay, with members ‘comprehensively rejecting’ an ‘insufficiently improved offer’ from the airport during talks yesterday.
A statement on the airport’s website says: “Due to the 24-hour strike by Prospect union members in Air Traffic Control, Norwich Airport will be closed to air traffic on Friday 28 August and no flights will operate to or from the airport that day.
“Airlines have been informed. Passengers due to travel on Friday should check with their airline for the latest information about their flight and the options available to them.
“We apologise for the disruption and inconvenience this will cause to passengers.
“We remain firmly committed to resolving this dispute through constructive dialogue and will continue to engage with Prospect with the aim of reaching agreement.”
Prospect is demanding a 10% pay rise to bring ATC pay in line with the national market rate. Norwich Airport said after a 3.5% increase in April, it is offering a further 3% consolidated increase from July 2026 and another 3% from April 2027.
ATC staff have already been taking action short of a strike, including working strictly to contract, no non-contractually obligated overtime, no swapping shifts, and withdrawal of goodwill.
Prospect says this has led to the airport closing for a few hours at a time and the cancellation of some flights on Friday and over the weekend.
However, the union claims these closures happen regularly even outside periods of industrial action, and are caused by a ‘chronic shortage’ of staff – recruitment problems it attributes to pay and conditions falling short of the national norm.
Prospect National Secretary David Avery said: “We have given Norwich Airport every opportunity to come to us with an acceptable offer that will close the pay and conditions gap with the rest of the country and help tackle the chronic staff shortages. While there has been some movement it is nowhere near enough to address the long-term staffing problems at the airport.
“As such we have no choice but to continue with strike action as planned.
“We appreciate that this will cause disruption for some passengers but when an employer treats staff with so little respect they have no option but to stick to their guns.
“Norwich Airport can avert further strike action but they have to give us an offer which is competitive with the rest of the country. We are no longer prepared to provide the goodwill upon which the airport has been operating.”
A spokesperson for Norwich Airport said: “Norwich Airport has made a substantial and responsible offer to Prospect members.
“Following a 3.5% pay increase in April 2026, the Airport is offering a further 3% consolidated increase from July 2026 and another 3% from April 2027 – a cumulative increase of approximately 6.1%. This is alongside an additional 2% retention allowance, which employees could choose to direct into their pension through salary sacrifice.
“The employees concerned have received pay increases totalling approximately 25% over the past three years, and our benchmarking shows our latest offer would result in most roles being paid at or above the average for comparable regional airports.
“Prospect is also seeking four weeks paid paternity leave and enhanced maternity provision for this group. Introducing benefits for one small group that are not available to the wider workforce would not be fair or financially sustainable for Norwich Airport.
“Despite the significant movement made by the Airport, Prospect has not provided constructive feedback. Our offer remains available and we are asking Prospect to engage constructively to reach an agreement and avoid unnecessary disruption to passengers and the wider Norfolk community.”
