Thomas Cook pilots strike over pay, the first by UK pilots since 1970

Pilots at Thomas Cook staged a walk out at 3am on Friday morning following a dispute with the travel company over pay, in what was the first strike by UK pilots since the 1970s.

Pilots from the British Airline Pilots' Association said they "reluctantly" went on strike after their demands for a pay rise were not met.

In defence, Thomas Cook said it had offered the pilots a 4% pay increase over two years alongside standard automatic annual increases.

Yet the union wanted a one-year deal in excess of the Retail Price Index inflation rate, which was at 3.6% in July, including various other types of pilot remuneration.

According to reports, Peter Fankhauser, the chief executive of Thomas Cook, said that pay rises had to be "reasonable and affordable" since the company was in fierce competition with low cost airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet.

Nevertheless, the Union said that it remained committed to resolving the dispute.

Thomas Cook's bid for an injunction to prevent the walk out was unsuccessful but it said no flights were disrupted by the walk-out.