BA pledges to run 65pc of flights in spite of strike
BRITISH Airways said yesterday extra staff will allow it to run 65 per cent of flights during the intended strikes this coming weekend, rather than the 60 per cent it initially forecast.
BA said that the number of staff offering to step in as cabin crew has increased. And in response to fears over background checks, the airline insisted that voluntary crew members would be subject to the same scrutiny as existing staff.
The airline, which is currently bound up in strike disputes with trade union Unite over the possible walk-out of thousands of staff, will be able to reinstate some previously cancelled longhaul and shorthaul flights it said.
The strike period is expected to start 20 March and last for three days.
The news came as Air France cabin crew called a four-day “solidarity strike” with their counterparts across the Channel. Six trade unions are organising the walk-out in France to coincide with the second strike period planned by BA cabin crew which is due to start on 28 March and last for three days.