BANK Holiday strikes at airports elsewhere in the country could have an impact in Southampton despite no staff here walking out, British Airways has said.

The airline said it was too early to tell what impact any strikes would have but Southampton Airport bosses moved to reassure passengers their journeys were unlikely to be affected.

The GMB union has called for a 24-hour walkout over pay on either August 27, 28, 29 or 30, and threatened to cause travel chaos for air passengers. The Transport and General Workers' Union has also balloted BA members and will announce the result on Thursday.

Southampton ground staff are employed by contractors Aviance, which settled a pay dispute earlier this year, and are not involved.

But striking workers at other UK airports could affect Southampton services.

If the action goes ahead, question marks hang over 15 flights a day to three destinations - Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester.

A BA spokesman said talk of a strike was "unhelpful and unwelcome". He added the company was putting the finishing touches to contingency plans despite being confident of averting a strike through negotiation.

"We wouldn't anticipate that our ground operations at Southampton would be affected," he said. "However, there are staff at the other end of the routes who are members of GMB. It is impossible to say what the impact, if any, will be. It is too early to gauge."

An airport spokesman said: "We would like to reassure passengers using Southampton Airport that it is currently business as usual. We are advising all passengers to continue with their travel plans."