BRITAIN is braced for Christmas travel mayhem as thousands of airport employees are to go on strike over the festive season.Employees at some 18 UK airports won't work for 48 hours from December 23, it has emerged.
Check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew employed by firm Swissport are taking industrial action in a long-running pay dispute.
Members of their employment union Unite voted overwhelmingly for the action, which is expected to leave Christmas travel plans in chaos.
The airports affected include Stansted, Luton, Manchester and Birmingham, which each handle around 50,000 passengers every day.
It comes as British Airways cabin crew voted to walkout in a dispute over pay over the Christmas period.
And earlier today, it emerged pilots at Virgin Atlantic had voted for industrial action short of a strike in a dispute over union recognition.