Almost 1,000 workers at Gatwick Airport in London, including baggage handlers and check-in staff, will stage eight days of strikes from later this month.
Staff will strike in a dispute over pay, the union Unite in the UK announced, at the start of the school summer holidays.
Significant disruption, delays and cancellations are "inevitable", the union said.
London Gatwick is used as a hub by many Irish holidaymakers to a number of long-haul destinations.
Ryanair also has services to and from the airport; however, the carrier told Newstalk no disruption is expected to their schedule.
The workers will strike initially for four days beginning on Friday July 28th and ending on Tuesday August 1st.
A further four days of strikes are scheduled to take place from Friday August 4th until Tuesday August 8th.
Gatwick Airport in London, England in September 2011. Picture by: Greg Balfour Evans / Alamy Stock PhotoUnite has been in negotiations with four companies the workers are employed by since January, but said they all have failed to make offers that meets the workers’ expectations.
Unite regional officer Dominic Rothwell said: "Strike action will inevitably cause severe delays, disruption and cancellations across Gatwick’s operations but this dispute is entirely of the companies own making.
"They have had every opportunity to make our members’ a fair pay offer but have chosen not to do so," he added.
Air traffic controllers
Hundreds of thousands of flights across Europe this summer are already in jeopardy following a separate vote by French air traffic controllers to take strike action.
Up to 12,600 flights every day - around a third of the journeys made across the continent during the peak summer holiday period - could be delayed or cancelled as a result of the industrial action.
Passengers wait to board a 'redeye' early morning flight at Dublin Airport in May 2010. Picture by: Peter Titmuss / Alamy Stock PhotoWorkers at Eurocontrol, which manages European airspace, have said they will walk out in a dispute over pay, working hours and staffing issues.
Ryanair, which has blamed the air traffic controllers' action for disruption to 1.1 million passengers, has previously called for the European Commission to intervene to protect services.
A Eurocontrol spokesperson said earlier this month that a trade union "announced a period of six months during which industrial action could take place" in its network manager operations centre.
"No specific dates for industrial action have been announced; this was a pre-warning," they said.
The company is "actively engaging with all social partners" and is "committed to finding solutions through social dialogue", the spokesperson added.
Additional reporting: IRN
