British Airway face six days of strike action by mixed fleet cabin crew as third walkout is planned

A further six days of strike action has been announced by British Airways ' mixed fleet cabin crew.

As the row over 'poverty pay' continues, Unite the Union announced on Friday (January 27) the third round of walkouts.

The two sets of three day protests are from Sunday (February 5) to Tuesday (February 7) and Thursday (February 9) to Saturday (February 11).

The union has written a letter urging the airline's bosses to respond to calls to resolve the dispute or face further walkouts.

The letter, sent to BA earlier this week, said: “Your reluctance to offer a reasonable pay deal to our members, yet spend what we believe is now reaching millions of pounds in trying to quash strike action, suggests money is available.

“We urge you to avoid any further dispute and do the right thing for your cabin crew and our customers by engaging with mixed fleet Unite to negotiate a genuinely meaningful way forward."

The first 48-hour strike saw picket lines set up across the country from Tuesday (January 10).

This was followed by a three-day walkout the week after from January 19 , resulting in some flight cancellations.

The staged walkouts have also resulted in the ‘wet lease’ of aircraft from other airlines by BA.

Unite national officer Oliver Richardson said: “Rather than addressing poverty pay, British Airways is spending money hand over fist on chartering in aircraft to cover striking cabin crew.

“If it can afford to waste money in such a manner then British Airways can clearly afford to address pay levels which are among the lowest in the industry.

“We would urge British Airways to wake up to the determination of our members, who contribute massively to the billions of pounds in profits the airline generates, and get around the negotiating table to resolve the dispute and avoid a further six days of costly strike action.”

Unite estimates that on average ‘mixed fleet’ cabin crew earn £16,000, including allowances, a year.

BA is currently in the process of putting together its contingency plans and says "all our customers will travel to their destinations."

The airline will publish contingency plans on Tuesday (January 31) to customers with bookings in the first set of three days of threatened industrial action and again on Thursday (February 2) to customers who have bookings in the second set of strikes.

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