Airport security workers will walk out on strike next week after peace talks between their union and bosses collapsed.
A war of words between the two sides erupted last night as passengers across the north were left facing the threat of Easter holiday traffic chaos.
Airport Management Services Ltd (AMSL) staff voted to take industrial action amid a bitter dispute over pay and conditions.
The strike will start at midday on Tuesday and last for 48 hours – and the Prospect union has warned that its members will then “work to contract, which will mean overtime and rest-day bans.
Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd has insisted enough staff will work normally to ensure services are not disrupted, but the terminal at Dundee will close during the strike.
The two sides had been locked in talks at a secret location in Inverness since Wednesday.
Prospect’s Scottish national secretary and negotiator Alan Denney cut short his holiday to try to broker a peace deal.
Hial chiefs attacked the union and accused it of setting an “unreasonable deadline”, when they wanted more time to discuss a compromise deal with Transport Scotland.
But an angry Mr Denney said last night: “They say we’re being unreasonable in pressing the go button when a solution is close. I see no solutions at the moment.
“I have vague promises of more jam tomorrow, five months after the claim went in and six months after the issue first arose, so I think they’re being mischievous to say we’re being unreasonable.
“We waited all this time for an offer. They can only start thinking about coming to the table to have urgent discussions once we have a ballot result and then they expect us, with seven days of our 28 already expired, to postpone.
“That’s nothing other than a device to get us timed out, and we’re a wee bit too canny to be timed out like that.”
The union claims that over the six-year period since Hial took security in-house, management “had failed to agree equal pay, holidays, and sick pay for airport security workers”.
The union represents about 120 of the 160 staff affected.
In a ballot last week, 87% of Prospect members who work for AMSL voted in favour of a strike, on a turnout of 85%.
The staff are responsible for a range of security checks including searches and X-ray equipment at terminals.
After the talks broke down, Hial said: “Following detailed discussions, we believe we have made some progress with the union, with both sides showing willingness to compromise.
“We now require some time, with our Transport Scotland colleagues, to consider the issues we have discussed with Prospect.
“In the meantime, as a sign of goodwill, we requested that the union postpone industrial action until we are in a position to reply to them in detail.
“Unfortunately, the union has insisted on an immediate response to their requests and we are simply not able to provide this.”
It continued: “We regret that, having come this far and made reasonable progress in our discussions, the union has presented an entirely arbitrary and unreasonable deadline, to which we simply cannot accede.”
During the discussions, Hial had highlighted a 30% basic pay rise that union members had enjoyed over the past six years.
The union has demanded a 5% pay increase, equalisation with Hial’s terms and conditions, and parity with higher paid staff at Sumburgh Airport where the cost of living, low jobless rate and buoyant oil-based economy has attracted higher wages.
A spokesman for Transport Scotland said: “In the interests of avoiding any impact on passenger services, we would encourage Hial and Prospect to keep working towards a mutually acceptable resolution.”