Heathrow hit by five-day BA strike action

Flights heading out of Heathrow this week are likely to be affected by the first of three five-day strikes that began today. London Gatwick and London City will not be affected by the disruption.

Unite's joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, would have called off the strikes if cabin crew that took part in the March strikes were allowed to have their travel allowances reinstated. But BA will only restore the travel allowances once all aspects of their offer are applied.

BA has called upon other carriers for assistance during the walkout, but they have stated that they will still be running 60% of long haul flights and 50% of short haul flights out of Heathrow.

The five-day strike began at midnight and will run until midnight on Friday, when there will be a one-day break before the next round of strikes. Strike action will coincide with the school half term holiday and bank holiday at the end of May.

Mr Woodley was in talks with British Airways at the weekend, but negotiations failed to meet a satisfactory conclusion. British Airways were frustrated when Mr Woodley expressed that he wanted to revisit certain proposals that he had previously already agreed to. He has also been accused of negotiating through the media rather than through the conciliation service Acas.

The latest rounds of strikes were previously overruled by a court injunction, but Unite appealed the ruling and the strikes were allowed to go ahead.

The dispute between BA and Unite has been long-running. Cabin crew have been taking part in strikes over pay and working conditions.

If you have a flight booked with British Airways during the strikes, contact the airline to find out if your journey will be affected.

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