Heathrow refueling workers suspend strike after improved offer

Refueling workers at London Heathrow airport called off a strike that was set to begin Thursday and had threatened further disruptions at the UK travel hub. The walkout was suspended after Aviation Fuel Services Ltd. made a “sustainably improved offer,” the Unite union said in a statement Wednesday. The roughly 50 employees involved will now be given time to consider the proposal, which came about in talks facilitated by a conciliation service, the group said. AFS is a joint venture among fuel companies BP Plc, TotalEnergies SE, Q8 Aviation and Valero Energy, and supplies fuel to more than 70 airlines including American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines and Emirates, according to the union. The threatened action by refueling workers was one of a number of labor disputes that have contributed to travel chaos across Europe this summer. British Airways earlier this month reached an agreement with check-in employees to head off a strike, after the carrier scrapped thousands of flights amid a staffing crunch.<br/>