Deal to end airport strike rejected

Tourists are facing a four-hour wait for taxis at Palma Airport

PALMA, Majorca -- Hopes of an aerly end to the chaos caused by a coach strike in the Balearic islands have been dashed after the drivers rejected a possible deal.

The strike in Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza has brought long delays and misery for thousands of holidaymakers from Britain, Germany and Scandinavia.

Tourists have faced delays of up to 13 hours in flights departing for the Balearics because of the knock-on effect of the action.

Once arriving at their destinations, they face standing in taxi queues for three hours or more before being able to reach their hotels and apartments.

Flights out of the isles were also delayed -- some by up to 12 hours.

Around 300,000 tourists are expected to arrive in the area over the next few days with around 135,000 expecting to arrive at Palma airport in Majorca on Saturday.

Hundreds of taxis are being used to ferry tourists to hotels and apartments but a spokesman at the airport said the situation could worsen if the strike action continues.

Jason Moore, editor of the Majorca Daily Bulletin, told the UK Press Association on Saturday: "We understand that a provisional accord reached between the unions and management has been rejected in a show of hands ballot by the strikers."

He said there was a risk that the action, which is over pay and had been expected to end at midnight on Sunday, could become indefinite.

Riot police are on duty at Palma airport, where striking coach drivers reportedly scattered pins on the road in an attempt to burst taxis' tyres.

The knock-on effect from the problems meant departures from Gatwick airport were being delayed for as long as 13 hours, while those from Manchester were leaving some seven hours late.

About 300,000 tourists are expected to arrive at the Balearic islands over the next few days.

Moore said Palma airport resembled a "refugee camp."

"People are sitting around anywhere they can find room," he said.

Gatwick Airport duty manager Steve Gargaro said: "Most flights to the Balearics are delayed to some level ranging from three to 13 hours. There are about 2,500 people experiencing delays at the moment."

Bill Crawshaw, duty terminal manager at Manchester Airport, said 20,000 people would fly to the Balearics this weekend.

"We've got flight delays averaging six to seven hours," he said. "There are two or three really lengthy delays, of more than 12 hours, to Mahon, which is worst hit."

Some 800 passengers at Glasgow Airport, in Scotland, were put up in hotels overnight after their flights to Minorca were delayed.

They faced yet more waiting on Saturday, with no take-off times allotted to their flights because of severe delays at Mahon Airport.

Airports at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen had 19 flights earmarked to leave for the three Balearic Islands on Saturday, carrying around 4,000 people.

A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said: "The tour operators have been taking the attitude that it is better for holidaymakers to be waiting in their own country, than facing delays over there.

"We have a number of flights taking off from the three airports today, but we hope most of them will get away with minimal delay.

"The worst affected flights are those heading to Mahon on Minorca."

Jaume Batle, president of the Balearic Association of Coach Companies, which is in dispute with the drivers, said: "We've complied with all their demands. There's really not much more we can talk about."

Around 2.1 million Britons alone travelled to Majorca in 2000, while almost 1.5 million others went to Ibiza and Menorca.