Airport strike threat

Air travellers face chaos later this month because of a threatened strike by baggage handlers and check-in staff at the country's main airports, union leaders warned today.

Hundreds of workers based at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow and Stansted will walkout in the third week of June unless fresh talks are held over a pay dispute.

The GMB union said its 1,000 members at Aviance will take industrial action next month unless peace moves begin soon.

Ed Blissett, the union's senior organiser, said provisional strike dates had been set for the third week in June, although he held back from naming the actual days.

The union has written to Aviance offering to postpone the strikes if negotiations over a pay row resumed.

The company has offered an increase of 2.5%, which was attacked by the union as a "pay freeze".

Mr Blissett warned of chaos at airports across the country, with "massive disruption" to holidaymakers unless the deadlock was broken.

The union is also involved in a separate row over terns and conditions at Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

The company has said it was willing to hold further negotiations.

Aviance operates at 17 airports - Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Jersey, Leeds-Bradford, Liverpool, Luton Manchester, Stansted, Southampton and Teesside.