Five hundred handling staff at London's Stansted Airport have voted to strike on the August public holiday weekend in a dispute over pay with their employer Swissport, the GMB union said on Friday.

The announcement comes amid a flurry of imminent, threatened industrial action on London's transport network and airlines ahead of the busy holiday weekend.

"The action will severely disrupt Ryanair, easyJet and charter flights out of Stansted over the four days during the Bank Holiday," said Gary Pearce, a GMB officer.

The Stansted workers, who provide check-in and baggage handling for about 80 percent of passengers at the airport, will strike between 5 a.m. on Saturday August 26. and 8 a.m. on August 27, and between 5 a.m. on August 28. and 8 a.m. on August 29.