Border Force officials will walk out over 23-26 December and again over 28-31 December, the Public and Commercial Services union confirmed on Wednesday (7 December).

Airports, including Manchester, have warned cancellations are possible over the strike period, with the government reportedly drawing up contingency plans, including deploying military resource.

Officials will walk out at six major UK airports – Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow and Manchester. Data from aviation analyst Cirium suggests around 10,000 flights could be affected.

Braverman on Thursday (8 December) said the strikes would "undeniably" cause "serious disruption for the many thousands who have holiday plans".

"I really want to urge people who have got plans to travel abroad to think carefully about their plans because they may well be impacted," Braverman told Sky News.

"Ultimately, I’m not willing to compromise on security at the border - that’s the number one priority. So that may well have an adverse impact on convenience for people, frankly, whether it’s the time that they may have to wait for flights or departures.

"They may well be delayed on arrivals and various travel plans. Ultimately, security at the border is my number one non-negotiable priority."