Thomas Cook pilots call off strikes over pay

Eights days of strikes planned by Thomas Cook (Frankfurt: A0MR3W - news) pilots this month have been called off after the airline and union bosses agreed to enter fresh discussions on pay.

Members of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) were due to walk out this Friday, then for three days from 12 October and for four days from 19 October.

Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton said: "Our members voted to end this dispute by binding arbitration, which Thomas Cook has now agreed to.

"I am pleased that we have been able to find a peaceful way of resolving the pilots' pay dispute without further disruption to passengers."

Anything agreed by both parties will be legally binding.

It comes after pilots walked out for 12 hours last month - forcing the airline to reschedule some flights.

It was the first strike by UK pilots since 1974.

A further 24-hour strike followed, after which both sides considered whether to take the dispute to arbitration.

A spokesman for Thomas Cook Airlines said: "Following the decision by BALPA members and Thomas Cook to go to arbitration, all future strike dates have been cancelled.

"We remain keen to resolve this dispute in the interests of all involved and we will now focus on proceeding with the arbitration process."