Cabin crew strike grinds on

Mixed-fleet cabin crew members of the Unite union have began the latest phase of their industrial action against British Airways.

They are due to remain on strike for another nine days until 30 August, including over the bank holiday weekend.

The dispute over pay and sanctions the union says have been imposed on strikers has resulted in near-continuous stoppages since 1 July, with BA claiming throughout that it has been able to carry on almost as normal.

Some long-haul flights have had to be cancelled but the airline repeated last week that “all customers will be able to fly to their destinations despite further industrial action”, with those affected being rebooked on alternative BA flights or with other carriers.

The airline added on Thursday: “We can already confirm flights to and from Gatwick, London City and Stansted are planned to operate as normal, as are our weekend-only Mediterranean services to and from Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester. We are planning to operate virtually a full schedule of flights to and from Heathrow.”

BA has been dealing with the strikes partly by wet leasing aircraft from Qatar Airways, with Unite responding by saying BA should be using the money paid to the Middle East carrier to solve the dispute.

www.britishairways.com

www.unitetheunion.org

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