Many BA flights could be grounded this month.
The announced British Airways strikes could affect thousands of passengers travelling to Australia in March.
British Airways have announced two strikes for this month; three days from the 20th March and four days from 27 March. Further strikes in April have not been discounted although they have stated that the Easter period will not be disrupted.
 Flights from London City Airport will not be affected, neither will long-haul flights from Gatwick. But long-haul flights from Heathrow could be disrupted. Heathrow currently serves Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Many passengers’ plans will be thrown into disarray today, especially given that the strikes have come at such short notice. BA staff have been threatening to strike ever since the airline company announced cutbacks back in November. Crew are objecting to a pay freeze and a cut on the number crew on long-haul flights such as those to Australia.
Initially the planned strike by cabin crew was set to happen over the Christmas period but emergency talks prevented this. However future talks have reached a stalemate and staff are ready to go ahead with the strikes this month and possibly next month unless an agreement is reached. Unite, the union for airstaff, have proposed their own cost-cutting package which included pay-cuts and part-time working hours but this was rejected by BA.
If your flight is cancelled as a result of strike action, you do have entitlement to a full refund. BA are working to try to ensure that as many planes get off the ground as possible. So the best advice is to check with BA first to see if your flight will be one of those affected. If you are affected you can either change your flight or receive a refund, however customers are not entitled to compensation.
Love Australia? Let us keep you informed...
- Join the Embrace Australia community today. Have your questions answered by our experts, start your own blog, get vital migration information and gain valuable insight from those who have already made the journey.
- Subscribe to our RSS Feed and have all our daily news and features delivered straight to your news reader.
- Join our mailing list -
