British Airways strike no closer to resolution

Both parties on either side of the British Airways strike have claimed the upper hand as the action enters its third day, though little progress to a concrete solution has been made.

The dispute over work practices and wages for British Airways cabin crew has been in the making since November and the magnitude of the walk-offs are beginning to impact significantly on the carrier and the travelling public.

Around 80 per cent of members of the Unite union, which represents the cabin crew, is believed to be on the picket lines. Heathrow’s Terminal 5, the dedicated British Airways terminal, was described as resembling a ghost town by the union. The group also denied claims from the carrier that its stop-gap solutions, which included bringing in crews from other airlines, was not working as dozens of aircraft sit dormant on the tarmac.

Unite’s Tony Woodley said the public was suffering from the dispute, which he claims is not in the best interests of any party involved. However, Willy Walsh – British Airways’ chief executive, claimed that the airline was exceeding its contingency target of transporting some 60 perc ent of passengers. British Airways has also stated that 97 per cent of staff turned up to work at Gatwick on the first day of the strike with 50 percent arriving at Heathrow.

In a video posted on YouTube, Walsh argued that he was receiving plaudits for keeping British Airways flying, something that Unite has rubbished as spin-doctoring.