Staff at the UK’s flag carrier, British Airways have announced that they plan to strike over the peak summer holiday period over pay.
Airline workers who are members of the Unite and GMB unions have voted in favour of the industrial action, after pay conditions have not improved since the pandemic. The airline industry as a whole has been struggling with mass staff shortages of late. Caused mostly by pandemic lay-offs not being refilled in time to meet a ‘post-pandemic’ travel boom, with many countries lifting most, if not all of their travel restrictions. Paired with poor pay and benefits, many workers aren’t enticed to return to the industry – particularly in customer facing roles.
If the strikes go ahead, operations across the entire BA network will likely be affected, however it is mostly the airlines hub at London Heathrow which will experience the most disruption. This proposed strike will mainly involve check-in staff, whom the airline says it will plan to cover to minimise disruption to customers.
We can expect this story to develop as talks between the airline and the workers unions take place in search for a resolution.
Matt is a Berlin-based writer and reporter for International Flight Network. Originally from London, he has been involved in aviation from a very young age and has a particular focus on aircraft safety, accidents and technical details.
