CONFLICT IN MIDDLE EAST
File photo of President of United Friends Heathrow, Leister Martins, along with a group of Goan employees at the Heathrow airport.
LONDON
The conflict raging in the Middle East has disrupted flights and affected Goan passengers travelling to and from Heathrow Airport in London.
Will the disruption in flights also have an effect on the thousands of Goan employees directly or indirectly linked to Heathrow Airport?
When contacted, Leister Martins, President of United Friends Heathrow, an association of Goans employed at Heathrow Airport, said he has looked into whether the recent cancellations and disruptions involving Gulf airline services have had any impact on the Goan workforce at Heathrow Airport.
“Recent aviation disruptions in the Gulf region have led to multiple flight cancellations and reduced operations between Heathrow and Middle Eastern destinations. Several scheduled flights between Heathrow and the Middle East were cancelled during the recent regional airspace closures, affecting several Gulf carriers and routes,” said Leister.
“Additionally, airlines operating in the Gulf region—including services connected to London Heathrow—have cancelled several flights due to airspace restrictions and operational issues causing significant disruption across European and Middle Eastern routes.”
Impact on Goan workforce
Based on preliminary observations, Leister said there could be possible effects on the Goan workforce at Heathrow Airport.
“The first factor is reduced ground operations. With fewer flights operating, there may be a temporary reduction in demand for ground handling services such as passenger assistance, baggage handling, and aircraft servicing,” said Leister.
"Then there is the possibility of shift adjustments. Staff working on Gulf airline flights may experience changes to shift patterns or redeployment to other airline operations to maintain operational efficiency.”
“As the disruptions appear to be temporary and related to regional airspace issues, the overall impact on the Goan workforce seems limited at this stage, with most airport staff continuing their roles under normal operations,” he added.
File photo of Aldona MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira along with a group of Goans employed at Heathrow Airport in London.
Leister said he had been in constant contact with Goans across all five terminals at Heathrow Airport.
“So far, there has been no shortage or worries of shifts, especially for the Goan staff, as they are considered hard-working workers, and they consist of the majority in all departments specialised in their respective jobs. One just cannot do away with them,” said Leister.
“So far, Goans have not been affected, but in some companies they may not have gotten extra shifts or overtime. Otherwise, the Goan workforce at Heathrow Airport are doing their regular hours of work.”
Jude da Costa, a shift allocator for an aviation company, remarked that the flight cancellations may have presently caused minor operational adjustments rather than significant workforce disruption for the Goan community working at Heathrow.
“However, if the Gulf route suspensions continue for an extended period, it could potentially affect staffing levels or shift allocations in the future,” said Jude.
Goans employed at airport
Leister estimated there could be around 5,000 Goans either working directly at Heathrow or in airport-related jobs nearby.
“The Goan community forms a significant part of the Heathrow Airport workforce, especially in airline ground services, security, passenger assistance, baggage handling operations and hospitality,” said Leister.
“A rough estimate of Goans working at Heathrow airport, which includes all five terminals (T1/T2/T3/T4/T5), includes passenger assistance/special assistance on a given day or both am/pm shifts (400–500); ground handling & baggage (600); airline check-in and customer service (300–600); retail, catering and lounges (400–800); and security, cleaning and logistics (300–400).”
“The numbers could be even in the wider Heathrow ecosystem, with Goans working in airport-related jobs nearby, such as hotels, airline catering companies, airport logistics, warehouses and transport services.”
“The Goan workforce are very hard-working, and they have become a force to reckon with as they cover almost all departments. As of now, they are okay, but we all pray that this war gets over soon and peace prevails in the Middle East,” Leister added.
