Thousands of holidaymakers were today facing the threat of travel chaos over the August bank holiday after the biggest union at British Airways called a 24-hour strike over pay.

The Transport and General Workers Union said thousands of its members at the airline, including baggage handlers and check-in staff at Gatwick, will walk out at 4.30am on Friday, August 27, after voting overwhelmingly for industrial action.

The GMB union is also threatening a 24-hour strike over the bank holiday weekend after its members, who work mainly as check-in staff at Heathrow and Gatwick, voted for industrial action.

The BA dispute worsened after the TGWU announced that two thirds of check-in staff and more than 84 per cent of baggage handlers had voted to take industrial action in protest at a three-year pay deal worth 8.5 per cent.

The airline repeated its call for another ballot after a fresh offer of an extra £1,000 was tabled, provided sickness absence was halved.

Operations director Mike Street said it would be absurd for a strike to go ahead on the basis of an old offer.

Brendan Gold, chief negotiator of the TGWU, said the offer was a move in the right direction but it was not acceptable to link it to sickness.

He said the size of the vote should send a clear message to BA that workers were angry about their pay at a time when the airline was making improved profits.

He said: We don't want to disrupt people's holidays and we are determined to reach a settlement."

Thursday August 19, 2004