An autumn of discontent awaits for airlines - but don’t fret yet about flights being cancelled

As soon as industrial action is mooted by staff at any airline, revenue is affected

In a ballot with a 88 per cent turn-out, 96 per cent voted for some form of industrial action (Getty)

The high level of demand for flights during the late October half-term is evident in the fares that easyJet is commanding for a simple Gatwick-Malaga return - with fares soaring up to £431 on key Saturday flights.

The airline’s pilots know full well that the week’s break is the one bright patch, in terms of revenue, in what is proving a long and difficult autumn for the aviation industry.

The prospect of a pilots’ strike costing millions in lost revenue, and upsetting tens of thousands of passengers, is concentrating the minds of easyJet’s management, and helps explain the eleventh-hour improved proposals tabled by the airline.

As soon as industrial action is mooted by staff at any airline, revenue is affected. Some risk-averse customers choose to book with rival carriers.

But passengers who have already committed to easyJet flights can only sit and wait.

Yet experience suggests families worried about their holidays need not yet fret. Like their counterparts in France and Germany, British pilots are not averse to voting to strike. But unlike Continental aviators, they generally reach a settlement ahead of industrial action.

The issue at the heart of this dispute, though, is one that concerns men and women flying for all UK airlines.

While the nation’s air-safety record is unparalleled, there are serious concerns among pilots about new Europe-wide flying-time rules.

They believe the regulations allow airlines too much scope for scheduling a sequence of shifts at anti-social hours that can cumulatively lead to fatigue.

Every pilot who feels unfit to fly is able – indeed expected – to say so, and to refuse to accept the duty. But there are concerns that pressure from management can lead to flying crew being unwilling to declare themselves unfit, potentially creating a safety issue.

The easyJet dispute, however it is resolved, is likely to be only the first such battle.