BA cancels flights before second planned pilots' strike

BA has begun cancelling flights ahead of a second strike by pilots later this month. The airline confirmed cancellations with thousands of passengers around 27 September, when pilots in the Balpa union are due to walk out for another 24 hours, in a dispute over pay and conditions. BA cancelled about 1,700 flights during the first strike on Monday and Tuesday, with some disruption continuing into Wednesday. The cost to the airline was estimated to be about GBP40m a day. Pilots have demanded a profit-share scheme and rejected a three-year pay deal worth 11.9%, claiming they have been let down by the airline after supporting it through several lean years. The travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers are likely to be affected, although the airline had warned customers of likely cancellations when the first wave of strike dates were announced on 23 August. It also removed flights from sale. BA would on a normal day carry an average of 145,000 passengers. BA said: “It is now a month since we shook hands on a pay deal. We urge [Balpa] to call off their strike and return to negotiations. To give our customers as much certainty as possible, we are now contacting all those affected to offer them a full refund or a rebook on an alternative date, destination or airline. We are very sorry that Balpa’s actions will affect thousands more travel plans.” Balpa had said it would hold talks to avert further strikes but that it wanted “meaningful negotiations”, adding that BA had to improve its offer.<br/>