BA strike causes chaos

Flights to be re routed

December 2009

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With the news that British Airways cabin crew have announced the start of the industrial action that has been brewing for months, many passengers will be worrying about their flights this Christmas. BA have said they will try to re route all passengers and are endeavouring to ensure that all passengers are catered for.

Although BA have offered to refund passengers and assist in finding alternative flights, it is likely that many will be unable to re arrange their travel in time to enjoy the festive season. Rival airlines were doing their best to draw BA clients to their flights with advertisements offering seats on their planes albeit at higher prices due to the lack of seats available during one of the busiest times for carriers.

The twelve days of industrial action planned by BA cabin crew has come at a very bad time for the airline which has been struggling to balance its books for some time. The airline has tried to introduce a series of measures that it hopes will save it money after a record loss during the economic downturn. There have been cuts in routes, staff working hours and redundancies. The 13,000 cabin crew are particularly unhappy with the way the airline has dealt with their concerns.

Changes in working practices including making senior cabin crew serve food to passengers and a cut in perks have been met with dismay by staff who voted overwhelmingly to strike. The assistant general secretary of UNITE has said he hoped that the overwhelming support of its BA staff to walk out, 80 per cent, would force BA to reopen negotiations. Willie Walsh, BA’s chief has said he is “ready for a fight” and said that the airline would be “history” if the strikers persisted.

The strike action will affect around 7,800 flights from the 22nd December to the 2nd January and will cost the airline around £500 million.

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