School’s out... and so are the British Airways cabin crew

BRITISH Airways cabin crew have announced a fresh round of strikes to coincide with the start of the school summer holidays.

More than 10,000 passengers are expected to be affected by the new twoweek strike by mixed fleet cabin crew in a long-running dispute over pay.

Members of Unite will walk out for 14 days from July 19, just three days after completing a 16-day stoppage.

The move is expected to affect one in every 200 flights but BA says it will still be running 99.5 per cent of its fleet.

The union said the action underlined the determination of its members to continue campaigning for a better pay deal and against “British Airways’ bullying

‘Instead of further strikes, Unite should let its members vote on the pay deal we reached two months ago’

behaviour”. Oliver Richardson, Unite’s national officer, said: “We are seeing strong support for the ongoing strike action. The time and money British Airways is spending on wet leasing aircraft and bullying striking cabin crew are resources which could easily settle this dispute.

“It’s high time British Airways stopped spending millions defending low pay and its bullying approach by negotiating a settlement to this longrunning dispute.”

Unite has launched legal action over BA’S decision to lease aircraft from another airline during the strike.

The union said it was challenging the Government’s go-ahead for the lease of nine aircraft from Qatar Airways during the current stoppage, which started last weekend.

It staged a protest outside the London head office of Qatar Airways yesterday on the fifth day of strike action by its members.

A BA spokesman said: “As during Unite’s previous industrial action, we will ensure all our customers reach their destinations. In the current strike period, we are operating 99.5 per cent of our normal schedule.

“Instead of calling further unnecessary strikes, Unite should allow its members a vote on the pay deal we reached two months ago.

“It seems extraordinary that a trade union should ask its members to give up their pay and benefits for virtually the whole of July, trying to target the holidays of hard-working families, rather than give those members a chance to settle the central issue of the dispute.”