Thomas Cook Cabin Crew Back Strike Action

Thomas Cook cabin crew have voted in support of strike action in a row over rest breaks - placing the threat of disruption over summer holidays.

The result of the ballot was made public by the Unite union just days after the wider parent company lost almost a fifth of its market value when it admitted summer holiday bookings were 5% down on the previous year.

Unite said 74% of those who voted - on a turnout just above 50% - backed walkouts over changes to crew breaks, which the union said amounted to a health and safety issue.

Talks to try and agree a settlement are scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

A spokesman for Thomas Cook Airlines said: "We're disappointed Unite cabin crew members have taken the decision to vote for strike action.

"The safety of both our people and our customers is our top priority and we rigorously adhere to the rules around crew breaks.

"We're committed to working with Unite to address their concerns and have already met with the conciliation service ACAS to try to find a solution.

"Meanwhile, we've put together plans to ensure that our customers will still be able to go on holiday, despite any possible strike action."

Thomas Cook as a group, like its travel firm and airline rivals, is feeling the pain of a market badly shaken by the fallout of terror attacks in popular holiday destinations such as Turkey and Egypt.

It also pointed to damage to its business from terrorists in Brussels and Paris.

"The attack at Brussels airport in March has significantly impacted our Belgian business, due to operational disruption to our flying programme, a high level of cancellations and a significant drop in customer demand," Thomas Cook said.

Revenues for the first half of the year dipped from £2.74bn to £2.57bn and pre-tax losses fell from £303m to £288m.

Chief executive Peter Fankhauser said: "As we look ahead to our busiest period, Thomas Cook is trading well to destinations other than Turkey, with particularly strong bookings to Spain and the USA."

Mystery over the downing of an EgyptAir plane last week will also do little to ease safety concerns among holidaymakers.

Thomas Cook sought to reassure investors at the time of its results - insisting it was "well positioned to meet our existing growth expectations".