British Airways Cabin Crew Schedule Christmas Strike
Nearly 1 million British Airways passengers’ holiday plans have been thrown into chaos since the cabin crew voted for a strike over the Christmas and New Year holiday. The strike will last for 12 days - December 22 through January 2 - when 12,500 of the airline’s cabin crew will walk out, grounding the largest carrier at London Heathrow airport. This will surely cause a commotion among passengers as they go to rival airlines for an alternative way to travel.
The strike dates were announced by the cabin crew during an intense meeting with Unite union members yesterday afternoon at Sandown racecourse after a staff ballot. The chaos between the members and airline management has been intense for months now over changes to staff budgets and job cuts, for which British Airways is doing in order to stay afloat in the economic downturn.
There is still time for Unite representatives and airline management to reach an agreement during the next week. However, if this fails, the walkout will deliver a stifling blow to the company’s finances and reputation. This will come at a bad time for British Airways, who is set to lose £600 million this year after reported a record loss of £401 million last financial year.
It makes you wonder if the cabin crew have really thought about what they are doing. If British Airways’ management isn’t holding back and the company’s life really does depend on these changes, then this strike may be the carrier’s undoing. It’s understandable that the crew is simply fighting for their jobs, as they have families to take care of like everyone else who is now unemployed. But this could turn for the worst for them, with all of them losing their jobs, instead of just the cuts that were announced, if the airline goes under.