Holidaymakers and families were last night planning to drive across Europe to stop the British Airways strike ruining Christmas.

More than a million passengers face travel misery after British Airways cabin crews announced a 12-day strike in a row over jobs, pay and working conditions.

The company and the union Unite were trying to strike a deal last night, while the High Court will rule today on the legality of the industrial action.

But worried travellers were yesterday already making alternative plans to get around the walkout, which was scheduled to run from Tuesday to Saturday, January 2.

Marzia Gamberoni, 39, a travel agent at Thomas Cook in Didcot, said her family’s plans for Christmas would be disrupted by the strike.

She was due to fly with British Airways from Gatwick to Bologna, Italy, on Sunday and was due to return to the UK on Sunday, January 3, so would just manage to avoid the strike period.

But her partner Mauro, 37, a computer network engineer from Oxford, was due to fly to Bologna on December 24 and return on the same flight as Ms Gamberoni on January 3.

Ms Gamberoni’s brother Raffaele, a porter at the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, is in a worse position, with BA return flights from Gatwick to Bologna booked on December 24 and December 27.

Ms Gamberoni said: “The family is very important for Italian people so we must go home for Christmas. My mother would be so upset if we couldn’t make it.

“My partner and my brother will drive through the night to get to Bologna if they have to.

“They have looked for flights with other airlines but it costs about £1,000 for a return flight at the last minute.

“As a travel agent, I am doing my best to advise our customers and I hope the strike is cancelled because it is putting people under great pressure.”

Public relations consultant Heike Kroemer feared she could be stranded.

She was flying with British Airways from Heathrow to Dusseldorf on December 19, and was meant to return on Boxing Day.

Ms Kroemer, in her 30s and originally from Cologne, who lives off Botley Road in West Oxford, said: “Every year I fly home to celebrate Christmas with my family.

“My husband Matthias is working in Germany at the moment and he is planning to fly from Frankfurt to Heathrow on December 26 so that we can meet at Heathrow airport.

“I will still fly to Germany but we might need a Plan B when we come back so that we don’t get caught up in the chaos. We could hire a car and drive back from Cologne instead.

“I personally don’t think there should be a strike at this time of year by British Airways staff.”

BA said it was reworking its flight schedules for the period which may be affected by strike action and hoped to announce its plans soon.

Customers who have a booking between December 22 and January 2, or for 48 hours either side, can rebook to travel at a later date.

John Allan, who runs John Allan Travel in Broadway, Didcot, said about ten of his customers could be affected by the strike.