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Heathrow British Airways flights canceled on strike

British Airways announced yesterday that it was canceling all flights from London Heathrow airport for two days next week because of a strike by cabin crew.

The airline said, however, that it still hoped to reach an agreement with the Transport and General Workers union to prevent a planned 48-hour walkout on Tuesday and Wednesday from taking place.

ADVANCE NOTICE

"If we postponed the cancelation of flights until the eve of a strike, customers would have virtually no time to make alternative arrangements," British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh told reporters.

"We remain absolutely determined to search for a negotiated settlement and our door remains open to the T&G, day or night," he said.

NEGOTIATIONS ENDED

Talks broke off early yesterday, with each side saying it had made proposals to settle disputes on pay and sick leave policies.

Each party blamed the other for the failure to reach agreement on the policies.

The Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) has scheduled walkouts for Tuesday and Wednesday, and again for Feb. 5-7 and Feb. 12-14.

GOODWILL GESTURE

The union, which represents about 11,000 of the airline's 14,000 cabin crew, said that it had decided to reduce its strike plans for next week from three days to two as a gesture of goodwill.

"The company has failed to hear the voice of common sense. This is a sad day for passengers and cabin crew alike," said Jack Dromey, the deputy secretary-general of the union.

PROPOSALS

Walsh said that the union had not responded positively to the proposals from British Airways management.

"We have accepted the T&G's proposal to improve the application of the absence management policy. We have put forward a solution on pay as part of our upcoming wage round. The T&G has rejected our position out of hand," Walsh said.

Walsh said that he was "bitterly disappointed" that the union had not accepted a management pay offer.

"It has chosen instead to confirm a 48-hour stoppage for next week that will wreck the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of customers," he said, according to a British Airways statement.

British Airways shares fell 1.1 percent to US$10.49 on the London Stock Exchange.
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