British Airways improved its pay offer yesterday in a bid to stave off a planned 24-hour strike that threatens to disrupt travel at Britain's main airports during a key holiday later this month.

"We've made a significantly improved offer but the talks are ongoing," said a spokesman for Europe's second-biggest airline.

The spokesman gave no further details. Earlier, BA said it was talking with officials from three unions representing more than 10,000 check-in staff, baggage handlers and other employees to try to negotiate a solution to a long-running pay dispute.

Members of the GMB union are threatening to strike for 24-hours on August 27, 28, 29 or 30, a long holiday weekend, unless the airline raises its offer of an 8.5 per cent pay increase over three years.

The outcome of a vote by more than 8,000 members of the larger Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) will be known later this week. The unions are expected to coordinate any strike action.

The timing of the stop-work threat is designed to apply maximum pressure on the airline, which could ill afford a repeat of last summer's wildcat strike which forced it to scrap 500 flights and disrupted travel for more than 100,000 people.

Last year's strike cost BA £40 million. Unions estimate the strike threat this year has already cost the airline £30 million in lost bookings.

BAA Plc, which operates seven UK airports including London's Heathrow, said it would work with BA to ensure a strike did not disrupt the traffic flow of other airlines at busy airports like Heathrow.

It also said it would urge BA if there were a strike to warn passengers and avoid a repeat of last year's chaotic scenes at Heathrow.

Shares in BA, which is also grappling with higher fuel costs and cut-throat competition on short-haul routes, were 2.9 per cent firmer at 222-1/2 pence at 1115 GMT.