British Airways loses appeal to block pilot strike

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – A strike by British Airways (BA) pilots looms large, after the U.K.’s flag carrier on Wednesday, lost a second legal attempt to block the industrial action.

The pilots, however, said they were still attempting to resolve issues through negotiations, leaving strike dates unannounced.

The court of appeal upheld last week’s order by the high court, rejecting the British Airways’ plea to declare the strike ballot invalid.

"British Airways’ case was already dismissed once at the high court last week, but they insisted on wasting more time in pressing it to an appeal," British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), said in a press release.

Brian Strutton, the general secretary of the association, said the BA has sadly wasted huge amounts of time and money in attempting to defeat the democratic view of pilots in court, rather dealing with them, across the negotiating table. He said the time and money could have been put into finding a peaceful resolution.

“Now the window for negotiation and compromise is closing fast. British Airways need to wake up to reality. Our ballot returned 93% in favor of strike action. There is a serious issue here and airline has so far refused to help us tackle it,” he said.

Strutton said the BALPA still wants to resolve the matter through negotiation. “Therefore, we are not announcing strike dates," he said.