Some 4,000 workers had been due to walk out on Monday (5 August) in a long-running dispute over pay, but talks over the weekend at Acas broke the deadlock to such an extent that Unite was prepared to call off Monday’s strike.

Now Tuesday’s action has been pulled to allow Unite members to vote on a new pay offer from Heathrow.

Unite though has stressed its strikes announced for 23-24 August “remain on the table” pending the result of a new ballot.

The union says it will not comment further until members have considered Heathrow’s improved offer.

A Heathrow spokesperson confirmed Tuesday’s strike was off, with the action over 23-24 August “still scheduled to go ahead”.

“Unite will now take an improved offer to its members and we remain hopeful we can find a resolution and stop this disruptive and unnecessary threat of strike action,” said Heathrow.

“We regret passengers have been inconvenienced by this and urge them to contact their airline for up to date information on the status of their service.”

Some 177 flights over Monday and Tuesday were pre-emptively cancelled at Heathrow ahead of the strike action, around 15% of the airport’s typical daily flight schedule.

A number of airlines were able to reinstate flights, while others relocated services to other airports.

Heathrow says its new pay offer is “competitive and fair” and is higher than pay increases recently offered to public sector staff and Heathrow management.