BA faces potential strike over crew water charge

British Airways is facing a possible labour action after it began to charge cabin crew for drinking water.

The airline has reduced the free water allowance for flight attendants working on long-haul flights (12-hours duration) to one-half litre at the end of their shifts.

Additional bottled water is available, but now has to be purchased.

On Tuesday, angry crew members accused British Airways of “penny pinching and staff bashing.”

In its staff safety manual the British carrier claims that all crew members should consume 1.5 litres of water after lengthy flights in order to avoid dehydration.

Tap water is often undrinkable in many of British Airways’ long-haul destinations, and there has never been a limit on crew taking bottles of drinking water in the past.

The British Airways Stewards and Stewardesses Association, which represents 12,000 crew members, is demanding a meeting with BA management over the issue.

A spokesman for Unite, the parent union of Bassa, has commented: “Water is vital for the health of cabin crew to avoid the adverse effects of long-haul flying. We could strike.”

A flight attendant for the airline added: “Cabin crew are often dehydrated after a long flight and arrive at many destinations where the local water is deemed undrinkable by the World Health Organisation.”

www.britishairways.com