A summer of misery at Gatwick Airport has been averted after talks between management and unions ended with an agreement.

But the biggest winners are holidaymakers who were today celebrating the end of the British Airways "swipe card" dispute which had already crippled Heathrow and was threatening to spill over to Gatwick.

Neither side in the dispute is claiming an outright victory but BA has delayed its plan to impose electronic timekeeping on its check-in staff for a month.

And it has been agreed that a three per cent backdated pay rise be brought in for staff at the centre of the dispute.

Ten days ago, Heathrow was brought to its knees when BA's check-in staff staged a wildcat strike and walked out.

BA's Gatwick staff teetered on the brink of a walkout but took union advice to stay at their posts. If the 900 BA staff at Gatwick had walked out the North Terminal would have become a ghost zone.

The dispute is said to have cost BA in the region of £50 million and has caused untold damage to its reputation as the "world's favourite airline."

The three unions - Transport Workers, the GMB and Amicus - had met before the crunch talks to co-ordinate their efforts.

Kevin Curran, of the boilermakers' union, said that they had never been against the swipe-cards in principle but had been worried just how BA managers would be using the information gathered each time a member checked in for work using one.

The swipe card will be introduced in September and staff have been advised to accept the change to their working environment.

There are 50,000 people working for British Airways in the UK and they fly millions of passengers on business and pleasure around the world every year.

Paul Talbot, the Amicus union boss, said: "We have achieved everything we set out to do.

"It is a good deal for staff, a good deal for the company and a good deal for everyone who wants to fly on holiday this summer."