If you have a flight scheduled on British Airways (BA) in the next 48 hours, BA is advising you not to show up to the airport.
BA pilots are on strike for the first time in the airline’s history and BA is reporting they have been forced to cancel “nearly 100%” of their flights for Monday and Tuesday after The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) determined they were going to strike.
THE CHALLENGE
BA and BALPA have been clashing over pilot pay the entire summer.
At the moment, long haul captains at the airline earn an average base salary of £167,000 (~$205,000 USD) a year, while co-pilots take home £70,000 (~$86,000 USD).
British Airways said they made a “fair” offer with an 11.5% pay rise over three years, plus a 1% bonus but BALPA said it was not enough and rejected the proposed pay rise for its pilots.
THE PASSENGERS
Nearly 150,000 passengers will be affected by the flight cancellations per day (300,000 total).
Many passengers have been offered refunds or the option to re-book their flights on another date or with an alternative airline.
Undoubtedly, London Heathrow (LHR) airport will be worst affected as it is the busiest hub for BA.
SEPTEMBER 27
BALPA has planned to strike again on 27 September 2019, so if you have a BA flight scheduled on that date, you may want call BA and explore your options.
FINAL STAMP
Many airlines around the world are going through some turmoil at the moment. Cathay had to cancel many of their flights because of the strikes that have been taking place in Hong Kong. Ryanair pilots have initiated walkout and are set to strike again. American Airlines has been experiencing some challenges with their mechanics and pay scale. And this is another unfortunate situation as it’s estimated that travel plans for nearly 300,000 individuals flying on BA will be affected by this strike.
What do you make of the challenges at British Airways and other airlines around the world? Has you flight ever been cancelled because of airlines strikes?
1TattedPassport 