Managers at Monarch Airlines are holding urgent talks with the cabin crew trade union in a bid to avert peak period strike action.

The action is threatened over a pay dispute and the cabin crew trade union, Unite, will hold a ballot in July to determine whether strike action will take place at airports across the UK.

A Monarch spokesperson confirmed that senior management were in ongoing talks to try to prevent strike action and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

Management added that in the current economic climate and its effects on the travel industry “pay increases and additional benefits for employees are unachievable at the present time.”