New British airways Strikes Announced

British Airways’ cabin crew union, Unite, has announced dates for new industrial action after its members rejected the airline’s latest deal to end a 14-month dispute over cost-cutting measures. This action will include 4 waves of strikes lasting 5 days each. The first will start on May 18 and end May 22, while the others are set for May 24-28, May 30-June 3 and June 5-9.

The union said that 81% of their members voted to rejected the deal. The agreement’s details were never disclosed, but Unite says that British Airways didn’t give striking cabin crew travel perks back that were taken away during the March strikes. However, the carrier believes they are offering a very fair deal that addressed all the concerns of staff and union leaders that have been brought up during this ongoing dispute.

The strike in March lasted for a total 7 days and cost the airline about £45 million. These newest strikes are set to last for a total of 20 days and will cost many more losses for British Airways. This is especially true since the dates are set to disrupt travel during spring bank holiday and school half-term holidays, as well as the first weekend of the World Cup tournament, when many people planned to travel to South Africa early.

Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, the joint general secretaries of Unite, blamed British Airways for forcing the strikes from cabin crew. They added that the airline will have plenty of time during this 7-day notice to reopen meaningful negotiations to end the dispute and halt the strikes.

British Airways doesn’t look like they plan to do that, as they have announced a slight outlined for their flight schedule. They said they plan to operate all flights from London City and Gatwick airports, as well as a majority of their long-haul flights and some short-haul services from Heathrow. The airline is also talking to a number of other carriers about leasing extra aircraft and reserving extra seats on planes for passengers who rebook due to their original flights being canceled.