Home secretary Suella Braverman has warned Britons to “think carefully” before going ahead with plans to travel abroad this Christmas.
Ms Braverman said planned strikes by Border Force officials will “undeniably” cause serious disruption to hundreds of thousands of travellers hoping to use ports and airports.
The home secretary confirmed she has plans to call in the military to fill the places of striking workers.
But she said she would not compromise on security at the border to ease the expected queues and delays, and told would-be travellers to expect long waits.
The PCS union on Wednesday announced eight days of industrial action which will see Border Force personnel down tools from 23-26 December and again from 28-31 December.
Staff manning passport booths will take action at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports and the port of Newhaven in a dispute over demands for a 10 per cent pay rise and job security.
Ms Braverman told the BBC: “It is very regrettable that they have made this decision to potentially strike over critical times in the run-up and following Christmas and the New Year.
“If they go ahead with those strikes, there will be undeniable serious disruption caused to many thousands of people who have holiday plans.
“I really want to urge people who have got plans to travel abroad to think carefully about their plans because they may well be impacted.”
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka yesterday wrote to the head of the armed forces Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, warning him that it would be “outrageous” for troops to be deployed as strike breakers during the dispute.
And there are reports that soldiers are unhappy at the prospect of being told to give up their Christmas to fill in for workers who in many cases are earning more than them.
One unnamed senior military source told the Daily Telegraph: “The government’s first lever it reaches for every time there is any difficulty – whether it’s floods, strikes, all the rest of it – is the Armed Forces, as opposed to it being the last resort.”
But Ms Braverman said: “We’ve got plans in place that will involve to a degree bringing in some of our military colleagues to help us in a variety of roles.
“Ultimately, I’m not willing to compromise on security at the border. That’s the number one priority.
“So that may well have another an adverse impact on convenience for people, frankly, whether it’s the time that they may have to wait for flights. They may well be delayed on arrivals and various travel plans.
“Ultimately, security at the border is my number one non-negotiable priority.”
Asked whether the prime minister would advise people to cancel getaway plans over Christmas, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said: “We would certainly encourage anyone hoping to fly to speak to their airline and check the latest information because sadly there will be disruption.
“We are working with the operators and ports to understand the impact of this industrial action but we want to be upfront that passengers should be prepared for their plans to be disrupted.”
The spokesperson said there had so far been no requests from the NHS for military personnel to fill in for striking health workers. But he said troops have already begun training for possible duties at the borders.
He acknowledged that this will mean disruption to Christmas plans for some members of the armed forces.
“These rolling strikes will cause disruption for everyone, and that does also include our military personnel who will be required, unfortunately, to have to step in and backfill some of these vital roles that we need to help keep the country moving,” he said.
“We recognise that they have been called on to do this before, and I’m sure the public thanks them once again for the work they are preparing to do.”
