British Airways pilots to strike on Monday and Tuesday
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Pilots at British Airways are preparing for a long-term campaign of disruption that could continue until the Christmas holidays, starting with strikes tomorrow Monday and Tuesday that will bring the airline virtually to a standstill.
Up to 300,000 passengers are expected to be effected by these two days of strikes.
Apart from Monday and Tuesday, pilots will be walking out on Friday 27 September.
The Financial Times reports that British Airways sent an email late on Friday to its 4,300 pilots warning that sanctions would be taken against those that take part in the strike action.
British Airways pilots who go on strike will lose generous travel perks for themselves and their families for three years, the airline warned on Friday, as it retaliated against the mass walkouts set to ground almost all its flights on Monday and Tuesday.
Air crew have drawn up an internal crowdfunding-style strategy, financed in part by the wealthiest pilots, to prolong industrial action over the coming months in one of the most acrimonious pay disputes that BA has ever seen.
The strike comes after pay disputes between pilots and BA.
The airline had offered staff a “fair and generous” pay increase worth 11.5% over three years, but this was rejected – Balpa says its members deserve better in light of BA’s recent profits.
Three days of talks between the airline and the pilots’ union preceded the vote, and Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton said the strong result in favour of striking spoke to the “resolve of BA pilots”.
