Talks aimed at averting strikes by baggage handlers and other staff at 18 airports will be held at the mediation service Acas next week.
Officials from the Unite union and aviation services company Swissport will meet at the conciliation service on 20 December.
More than 1,500 check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew are due to strike for 48 hours just before Christmas, in a long-running pay dispute.
Members of Unite employed by Swissport will walk out on 23 and 24 December at Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Doncaster, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Leeds/Bradford, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton and Stansted airports.
The Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, welcomed the development: “We are pleased that the company will sit down with us in an effort to resolve this dispute. We are confident that our members’ case is extremely strong, and that fairness will prevail.”
Swissport said numerous offers have been made to Unite since April 2015.
“The latest pay offer was in line with what the union representatives had previously indicated they were prepared to accept and would give all staff an overall increase of 4.65% on their current basic rates of pay, together with additional holiday pay and increases to overtime rates and other pay supplements for the majority of the workers covered by the agreement.
“Over 6,000 staff are employed in the areas impacted by the strike action, but less than 1,200 were included in the ballot, which rejected the offer by a majority of only 296. Swissport will do everything within its power to limit any impact of the proposed industrial action on the airlines it serves and their passengers.”
Meanwhile, no talks have yet been arranged to try to prevent a strike by some British Airways cabin crew on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in a row over pay. The airline said it was appalled at the decision by the Unite union and pledged to ensure that passengers could reach their destinations.
The row involves about 4,500 so-called mixed-fleet cabin crew, who joined BA since 2010 and are paid less than other staff, according to Unite.
BA, which employs about 16,000 cabin crew, said: “This calculated and heartless action is completely unnecessary and we are determined that it will fail. We will plan to ensure all our customers travel to their destinations so that their Christmas arrangements are not ruined.”
The company said it had approached Acas to seek its assistance in reaching an outcome that would avoid any possibility of disruption.
McCluskey said: “Unite remains ready and willing to talk to BA at any time. This dispute can be sorted but the company needs to come to the table with a positive offer.”
Virgin Atlantic is also facing industrial action this Christmas. Although its pilots have not planned a full strike, they will work “strictly to contract” with a removal of “goodwill” from 23 December, the PPU union said.
Postal and rail workers are also planning industrial action, in a Christmas of discontent. A dispute between Southern Rail and train drivers has already brought a large portion of the travel network to a standstill this month. Post Office workers will strike next week, including on Christmas Eve, after their union said an offer it made to resolve a row over jobs, pensions and closures was rejected.
Postal workers from the Communication Workers Union will strike for five days, including three days of walkouts by staff in “crown” offices – larger branches typically in high streets.
