Airport workers at 3 major UK airports have called off a series of strikes that looked set to cause havoc for thousands of British travellers over the bank holiday weekend.
Baggage handlers, cabin crew and check-in staff at Stansted and Gatwick airports were due to go on a series of 24-hour strikes on bank holiday Monday and 29 August, while and strikes at Manchester Airport were set to be carried out on 27 August and 1 September.
However, reports confirmed that talks - mediated by conciliation service ACAS - were held between the GMB and Unite unions and employers Swissport and that industrial action at the 3 airports has now been called off.
The proposed strikes would have affected services at number of popular airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, Thomson Fly, Monarch, and First Choice during one of the busiest periods of the year.
The airport workers had been protesting a 3 per cent pay offer from Swissport which they said amounted to a fall in real wages due to the high rate of inflation .
GMB spokesman Gary Pearce said: "We have a new improved offer to put to our members. Because of the improved offer, all planned industrial action is suspended until we get the reaction of the members."
However, he added that a separate GMB strike involving more than 30 security scanners at Stansted is still due to take place on Bank Holiday Monday after they rejected a 1.5 per cent pay rise, meaning passengers can still expect large delays and disruptions.
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