Many passengers face cancelled flights this Christmas.
Thousands of people planning to spend Christmas in Australia are expected to be hit by the planned British Airways 12 day strike.
Industrial action is planned by BA cabin crew, angry at cutbacks made by BA which they say will lead to job and pay cuts. The action is planned for 12 days starting on December 22nd and finishing on January 2nd, affecting all flights over the Christmas and New Year period.
Advice for those people travelling with BA during that period is to contact British Airways to see if their flight will be affected. The airline have said that not all flights will have to be cancelled and those that are affected will either be offered alternate dates or refunds. Little consolation to those however, who have booked long-haul flights on fixed dates and now face losing out on their holidays.
Qantas have issued a statement saying that none of their flights will be affected. Despite code sharing agreements with BA, Qantas says that they can accommodate all passengers booked between the 12 days of planned action.
The Qantas group executive David Epstein reassured passengers that all scheduled Qantas flights between the UK and Australia will operate as planned, adding: “This will provide certainty for Qantas customers travelling to and from the UK,” Qantas have also offered to provide alternative options for those passengers affected by the strikes.
Customers who will be affected, should be contacted within the next few days with alternative dates and flights but it is feared that those who cannot be flexible with their dates will lose out.
BA is currently going through the worst financial period in it’s history and suffered losses of up to £292 million in the first half of this year. It insists that it will stick with its decision to freeze pay for two years and reduce staffing levels on long haul flights. BA are also considering an injunction to prevent a walkout. The Chief Executive of BA Willie Walsh told the BBC today: “It is very sad that (the union) are seeking to use the Christmas holiday plans and family reunions of hundreds of thousands of people to try and pursue their case,”
However the Union’s general secretary Len McCluskey said that the decision to strike was taken with a “heavy heart” and that staff just wanted to be treated with “dignity and respect”. Yet one union member told the BBC that he would have preferred to have waited until the Christmas period was over before strike action was taken, but that staff were not given that choice by the union.
Will you be affected by the strikes? Perhaps you are planning a family reunion in Australia or the UK, or perhaps you have booked a holiday of a lifetime. Let us know your circumstances and opinions on this story.
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