HUNDREDS of security staff at two of Scotland’s busiest airports have overwhelmingly backed a strike as a pay dispute deepens.

ICTS central search workers at Glasgow and Aberdeen airports have been in dispute with the company for several months.

Their union Unite, whose ongoing Runway to Success campaign seeks to improve job security and terms and conditions in a sector where outsourcing is endemic, called the ballot when members rejected a 4 per cent pay offer backdated to January and a £500 one-off payment.

A staggering 98.5 per cent of the 200 workers at Glasgow airport and 89.7 per cent of their comrades in Aberdeen backed a walkout, which could come at the height of the summer getaway period.

Calling on ICTS, whose profits grew by almost a third over the last year to £3.2 million, to up its offer, Unite’s lead industrial officer for aviation in Scotland Pat McIlvogue said: “ICTS has chosen to take this dispute to the point of strike action rather than act in a responsible way by negotiating a fair pay offer with Unite.

“Strike action is now inevitable because 300 ICTS workers at Aberdeen and Glasgow airports have been left with no choice but to fight for what they deserve.

“We are calling on AGS, the owner of the airports, to intervene in a final attempt to get ICTS to step back from the brink of a major dispute which will cause widespread disruption.

“Without these workers the airports simply can’t operate.”

An ICTS spokesperson said “constructive pay talks” were ongoing, adding: “We would like to reassure the travelling public that their security is our priority and there will be no disruptions.”