Holidaymakers face huge disruption to their journeys next weekend after baggage handlers and check-in staff decided to strike on August Bank Holiday Monday.

The Unite and GMB unions said that members working at Gatwick and Stansted airports would walk out for 24 hours on Monday, August 25, and again on Friday, August 29, in disputes over pay. Workers at other airports may follow suit.

The second day of action coincides with the first day of filming of CelebAir, a new ITV2 reality show where celebrities become check-in clerks and air stewards with Monarch, one of the airlines affected by the industrial action. Union members are understood to be unhappy about the programme.

Staff employed by Swissport have rejected what they say is a “paltry” 3 per cent pay offer, which the union complained was well below the rate of inflation. Employees voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action over pay.

A ballot result at Manchester airport is expected next week, followed by Birmingham and Newcastle airports.

Steve Turner, national officer of Unite, said: “Our members are already struggling to keep up with rising food and energy costs. This pay offer is an insult to professional, hard-working men and women who have to operate in extremely difficult conditions.

“Our members have had enough. The liberalisation of ground handling services across UK airports has resulted in a race to the bottom which must and will stop. We will not stand back and allow labour costs to determine whether contracts are won or lost.”

Workers involved in the disputes at Gatwick and Stansted handle baggage and check-in arrangements for a large number of airlines, also including Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair, easyJet, First Choice and Thomsonfly. If the strike goes ahead, airlines say that they have contingency measures in place to minimise disruption to travellers.

More than 30 GMB members who screen luggage at Stansted will also strike on Bank Holiday Monday in a separate dispute after rejecting a 1.5 per cent pay offer.

A spokesman for BAA Gatwick said: “BAA Gatwick is disappointed to learn that the trade unions representing some Swissport employees have voted for strike action later this month.

“BAA Gatwick is working closely with the handling agent and the airlines it represents to minimise the potential impact on passengers planning to travel on the proposed strike dates.”

Swissport added that it believed that “a fair offer has been made to the unions in the light of the current economic climate that reflects the cost-of-living increase”.

The GMB said that its members at Stansted had voted by nine to one in favour of industrial action. The union said that the anniversary date for a pay rise was April, but the current offer would run from July.

Gary Pearce, a GMB officer, said: “GMB members cannot afford these low pay rises given the rising prices they have to pay for food, energy and transport.

“The employers, the airlines and the airport operator need to adjust their view as to what our members will now accept. The only way they have of meeting higher prices passed on to them is to raise their own prices in higher pay rises.”

A baggage handler’s basic salary is approximately £19,000, and check-in staff earn about £15,000. Airline staff admit privately that they are unhappy about ITV2’s new show, which they believe is a publicity stunt and belittles their roles.

ITV2 says that viewers “will see all the tensions and frustrations as the celebrity crew dish out the pretzels and pour the bubbly”. Monarch, which flies to holiday destinations across Europe from Gatwick, has spent eight weeks training ten celebrities.

A spokeswoman for ITV2 said: “ITV2’s CelebAir, functioning as a regular airline with paying passengers, will be affected by any proposed strikes as any other airline would be.”

A spokeswoman for Monarch added: “We are aware of the proposed action and will be monitoring the situation closely. At the moment, the filming will carry on as scheduled.”

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