Strikes planned by hundreds of workers at Heathrow for Friday have been suspended, union leaders said, while it puts a revised pay offer to its members.
However, further dates announced for action over the Christmas and new year period will stay in place pending the ballot.
Unite said the action was being suspended after last-ditch talks as a “gesture of goodwill”. Earlier, it announced that ground handlers at Britain’s biggest airport had rejected the latest “miserable” pay offer from their employer, Menzies, and called new strike dates.
A 72-hour strike beginning at 4am on Friday is now off. A further 72-hour strike is planned unless the deal is accepted, beginning on Thursday 29 December and ending at 3.59am on Sunday 1 January.
The dispute involves more than 400 workers employed by Menzies as ground handlers operating from Heathrow terminals 2, 3 and 4.
The post-Christmas stoppage would also coincide with the planned strike by Border Force staff, Unite said.
Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said: “Unite has been adamant that Menzies was able to offer an improved pay offer and that has proved to be the case.
“As an act of goodwill, the strike action scheduled to begin tomorrow has been suspended so that members can be balloted on the new offer.”
The strike was unlikely to cause widespread disruption for passengers departing from Heathrow, with neither British Airways, which operates about half of all Heathrow flights, nor Virgin Atlantic affected.
A Heathrow spokesperson earlier said that “the vast majority of passengers will not be affected” by the planned strikes, adding: “We have not been informed of any flight cancellations as a direct result of this action and encourage passengers due to fly with the small number of affected airlines to check with their airline directly for the latest information.”
Menzies Aviation said it had been disappointed by Unite rejecting its “extremely competitive” offer, which the GMB union had accepted. A spokesperson said: “We are well prepared for industrial action and have been working closely with key partners to put in place robust contingency plans.
During previous similar industrial action in November, Heathrow said no flights were cancelled as a result of the strike.
The Border Force strike is likely to affect only inbound flights and while it will probably cause delays and longer queues through immigration for returning holidaymakers after Christmas, airlines have said they are confident they will be able to operate flights without widespread disruption.
The additional strikes by Unite will add to the general wave of industrial action over the winter, with nurses striking on Thursday and more rail strikes starting again on Friday.
