BALPA strikes set to affect British Airways operations

British Airways Airbus A320neo. Photo: © British Airways

The trade union British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has proposed strike action that will directly affect flight operations at British Airways. The dispute over workers pay between various unions and the British flag carrier have been ongoing since last November. The strikes by BALPA members are set to take place on September 9th, 10th and 27th.

Earlier in August, strike action of workers from the Unite and GMB trade unions were called off at the last minute as they accepted an offer from British Airways. In a statement released last week, British Airways stated “Our proposed deal of 11.5 per cent over three years is very fair and well above the UK’s current rate of inflation, and by contrast to BALPA, has been accepted by the members of the Unite and GMB trade unions, which represent nearly 90 per cent of all British Airways colleagues including engineers, cabin crew and ground staff.

The strike action is set to cause major disruption for travelling customers, and BA is actively looking to secure wet leases with other airlines to minimise the disruption to the travelling passengers. The disruption will not affect any of British Airways’ subsidiaries or contracted operators, which include BA CityFlyer, Comair and SUN-AIR.

British Airways closed its statement, saying: “We continue to pursue every avenue to find a solution to avoid industrial action and protect our customers’ travel plans.” The airline has come under criticism from passengers as it is not being forthcoming with information to passengers as to which flights will be affected, leaving many unsure about their travel plans.

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