LIVERPOOL John Lennon airport bosses last night insisted they were ready to cope with the huge Christmas rush – despite the prospect of staff strikes blighting the festive period.

With 190,000 passengers set to go through John Lennon Airport over the next fortnight, baggage handlers remain deadlocked with management over threatened redundancies.

Currently, Servisair employees are conducting discontinuous industrial action every Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and Monday, for two hours each morning and afternoon.

But JLA said they were ready and prepared to meet the increased demand of the holiday season while the strikes rumbled on.

It comes as the Daily Post can reveal today that a fresh offer from Servisair management has been made to the GMB union in an attempt to break the deadlock.

The Runcorn-based company has put forward a plan to effectively reduce the compulsory redundancies from 37 to around 25, with a mixture of full-time and part-time staff working on the ramp.

That new proposal will be voted on by GMB members at 11am today.

But the Post understands it is unlikely to find favour with employees who argue any compulsory job losses are unnecessary.

If the stalemate remains, the GMB are ready to enter the exceptionally busy Christmas period with continued picket lines.

Robin Tudor, spokesman for Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said they had received assurances from Servisair that contingency plans, involving staff from other UK bases working in Liverpool, would meet any shortfall.

Mr Tudor said: “There have been some delays during the strike, but nothing significant.

“Servisair has been true to their word regarding the cover. We would urge both parties to resolve their differences ahead of what will be a busy period.”

The dispute centres upon a move, in GMB’s words, to make staff more multi-skilled to cover wider-ranging duties and so allowing for a reduction of posts.