BA cancels flights two weeks before next strike
British Airways has started cancelling flights ahead of another strike by pilots on September 27.
Thousands of passengers have received emails offering them a full refund or the option to rebook on an alternative date or airline.
A BA spokeswoman said the decision to cancel flights had been made ‘to give customers as much certainty as possible’.
She added: "We are very sorry that Balpa’s actions will affect thousands more travel plans. We urge them to call off their strike and return to negotiations."
You can find up to date information on cancellations from BA on this page.
BA pilots walked out for 48-hours earlier this week, disrupting the travel plans of around 200,000 passengers.
The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) called the decision to cancel flights now, two weeks before the next proposed strike, ‘irresponsible and inconsiderate to its customers’, and said the airline had done so to avoid paying passengers compensation.
A BALPA spokeswoman said yesterday: "BALPA set a gap between the first and second periods of strike action to give BA time to work with us to settle this dispute with their pilots.
"We had today been exchanging new ideas to do that via [the conciliation service] ACAS and so it is irresponsible and inconsiderate to its customers that BA has pulled out and decided to start cancelling flights now, just to save money on compensation. BA did not respond to our latest proposals before cancelling these flights.
"Passengers who will be affected by these cancellations should know that we have given BA multiple opportunities to work with us so we could call off this action."
Why has BA cancelled flight now, with a deal with BALPA still a possibility?
The reason BA has cancelled flights now, two weeks before the next planned strike, is because if it has to cancel them with less than two weeks’ notice it will be obliged to pay passengers up to €600 each compensation under the EU law 261.
What the Mole says:
Cancelling flights now will prevent the sort of chaos seen earlier this week when BA was forced to cancel flights at the last minute when pilots walked out for two days. BA’s rival airlines took advantage of that situation, ramping up their fares. Many passengers were stranded while others were re-booked by BA on longer, more complex journeys as the airline tried to get them to their destination as cost-effectively as possible.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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