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NEWS & OFFERS: Gatwick strike, SAS sale from £1550 and Air France quick connections

Gatwick baggage screeners to strike

Gatwick Airport baggage screeners will strike over pay in late August, including over the bank holiday, Unite, the UK’s leading union, has announced. 

The workers, according to Unite, are employed by ICTS, and are amongst the lowest paid workers at the airport earning just above the minimum wage.

The workers will strike from 22 August to 26 August and from 29 August to 2 September. The union says that “All flights out of Gatwick will face disruption during these times. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved.”

However, Gatwick has said, “We are working with our suppliers to avoid any impacts, and we expect to operate a normal summer holiday flight schedule for our airlines and passengers on these dates. Of course, we hope ICTS and their union can reach a resolution before then.”

Many of these strikes are called off by negotiations beforehand, or if they do go ahead, mitigations are put in place. If you are due to travel during the strike periods, make sure you keep an eye out for further news. 

 

SAS launches new sale

SAS business class

SAS has had some great bargains in the past, but the latest sale is a bit lacklustre in comparison. However, I would still rate some of the deals as worth considering, particularly if you are trying to maintain SkyTeam status. SAS has a decent long-haul product in business class, so, in my opinion, the fares are worth it, although it is a slightly longer route to the US. The sale ends on 26 August 2025.

Travel Dates:
Europe & Africa: 15 September 2025 – 26 May 2026
North America: 1 October 2025 – 26 May 2026
Asia: 1 November 2025 – 26 May 2026

Here are the best deals I have found:

  • London to New York £1593
  • London to Miami £1863
  • London to Toronto £1778
  • London to Seoul £1550

You can find the sale page here.

 

Air France launches quick connections at Paris CDG

Paris Airport

In my interview with KLM’s UK manager, I mentioned how the airline was trying to help people connect more easily on tight connections by offering fast track security clearance. Now Air France has announced another way to speed up connections. This is good news for anyone who took out the status match with Air France and has been hesitant to try connections with the airline yet. 

At the Paris Air Show (SIAE) last June, Air France-KLM and Groupe ADP announced a strengthened partnership, named Connect France, aimed at enhancing the passenger experience at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. This summer marks the launch of the first live initiative: a system to prioritize connecting passengers in Paris based on the time they have available to make their connection.
 
Nearly half of Air France’s daily 140,000 passengers connect through its hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. To simplify their transit through the airport, Groupe ADP has implemented a dedicated route, with a new multilingual signage system.
 
Air France’s flight schedule is optimized to ensure smooth connections for both passengers and their baggage; however, unforeseen circumstances can sometimes reduce the available time for passengers to transfer between flights.
 
Now, when a connection time falls below a certain threshold (for example, 45 minutes for a connection between Toulouse and New York JFK, arriving at Terminal 2F and departing from Terminal 2E Hall K), a priority process is automatically triggered for the affected passengers—without any action required on their part. The new initiative is called the Short Connection Pass.
 
Here is how the system works:
 
1.    By the time of the arrival of the inbound flight at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, passengers will have received a text message and an email informing them that, due to the short time available to reach the boarding gate for their next flight, they are eligible for priority access at security and border control. Soon, this message will also be delivered via a notification in the Air France mobile app and through WhatsApp.
 
2.    When passengers arrive at the security and border control checkpoints, their boarding passes are scanned and Groupe ADP’s service provider is automatically notified of the short connection. Priority access is then offered to them.
 
The goal is to minimize time spent at checkpoints and ensure passengers can reach their gate in time.
 
It is interesting what information is gathered and shared to work out connection times:
  • Estimated walking time through the airport
  • Time needed to complete security screening and border formalities, as well as wait times at those checkpoints
  • The updated departure time of the next flight
“One month after signing Connect France, this initiative perfectly illustrates our shared ambition with the Air France-KLM Group: to streamline passenger flows and make Paris-Charles de Gaulle an even more efficient and attractive hub. The Short Connection Pass is simple for passengers and operationally effective—a real step forward in improving the travel experience,” said Regis Lacote, Executive Vice-President of Operations & Innovation – Director of Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.
 
“Supporting our customers and making their journey easier is a top priority. Air France’s hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport is already the most powerful in Europe in terms of available connection opportunities. Thanks to this joint initiative with Groupe ADP, we are further strengthening its appeal and reaffirming our ambition to position Paris-Charles de Gaulle among the world’s leading hubs,” stated Alain-Hervé Bernard, Executive Vice President of Operations and Cargo at Air France.

 

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