THE airport was plunged into chaos this morning as security staff went on strike. Hundreds of passengers were stranded while union reps negotiated with Group 4 Securicor.

Airport management had no idea that industrial action would take place until they turned up today.

The staff, who oversee security at the departure lounge, were striking because G4S bosses had refused to sign a recognition agreement that would allow the Transport and General Workers’ Union to negotiate better pay and working conditions.

After a delay of nearly an hour, which saw flights grounded, G4S bosses agreed to sign.

‘We are very pleased with the outcome,’ said T&G regional industrial representative Ron Le Cras. ‘Staff at G4S wanted to be recognised by the T&G to get fair pay and working conditions.’

Negotiations are expected to continue between the parties over the next two to three days.

Despite delays to flights, Mr Le Cras said several passengers had spoken in support of the action and had wished them well.

‘Nobody wants to see this type of disruption at the airport. We hope that nobody was seriously inconvenienced by the delayed flights.’

The decision to strike was taken last night by G4S staff members when negotiations with bosses had failed once again.

A number of attempts have been made to reach an agreement during the year, but all had failed.

G4S shop steward Mike Skillett said he was very pleased with the outcome but was sorry the stoppage was necessary. ‘We feel we have achieved what we wanted. The argument was all about union recognition and this has now been agreed.’

More than 30 G4S staff were involved in the strike.

Supervisor Cheryl Round was delighted with the level of support. ‘We have had a good turnout. We met G4S last night but they said they wouldn’t be signing, so we thought we would hit them where it hurts.’

Ms Round said the issue was mainly to do with holidays. ‘We only get three weeks and three days’ holiday, whereas other divisions get five weeks and a pension – we get nothing.’

Phil Taylor of G4S management declined to comment on today’s action.

Airport director Colin Le Ray said he was very pleased that a resolution had been found. ‘It’s of great concern when something like this happens.’

He said that airport management would continue to monitor the situation over the next few days and stay in touch with both parties.

‘Although effectively this is a dispute between G4S management and staff, we have a vested interest in the outcome.’

He expected flights to return to schedule by lunchtime.

Some passengers were concerned about the delays. Allister Carey, a 56-year-old businessman, was on the 7am flight to Gatwick. ‘I would have thought there was a better way of resolving the issue, rather than inconvenience everybody,’ he said.

Horst Konken, a 58-year-old hotelier, was flying to Manchester to watch Liverpool play Barcelona this evening. ‘I’m speechless – it’s the first time in 20 years I’ve managed to see Liverpool play. Surely this could have been settled in a different manner,’ said Mr Konken.

Passengers were able to re-enter the departure lounge from just after 7.30 this morning. Two shifts of G4S staff were working to clear the backlog.