British Airways cancels dozens of flights ahead of Easter holidays as strike looms

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - British Airways announced Monday that it is cancelling around 32 flights a day to and from London’s Heathrow Airport at the start of the Easter holidays due to a planned strike action.

The airline’s move came after 1,400 Heathrow security staff who are members of Unite the Union announced that they will walk out due to an ongoing dispute over pay, according to reports.

Workers at Terminal 5, which is used by British Airways, will take part in the industrial action and will affect flights during the Easter holidays as the strike will begin on March 31 and continue through April 9.

"Heathrow Airport is guilty of gross hypocrisy. It is paying telephone number salaries to its chief executive and senior managers, but the workers who make the company a success are on poverty wages," said Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite the Union.

"We've regrettably had to make a small number of adjustments to our schedule," reports cited British Airways as saying.

"We've apologized to customers whose travel plans have been affected and have offered them a range of options, including rebooking onto a new flight with us or another airline, or requesting a full refund."

"We will not let these unnecessary strikes impact the hard-earned holidays of our passengers," said a Heathrow spokesperson, according to reports.

Meanwhile, the airport said it is deploying 1,000 additional staff to provide assistance to passengers over the Easter break.