Chinelo Obogo
British Airways (BA) pilots worldwide are plotting a 10-day mega strike that would cost £400million and “break” the airline.
In a report by The Sun of London, British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) bosses are lining up the walkout for November that would ground much of its fleet worldwide.
Captains furious at the loss of pay and travel perks despite boosting BA profits have already held two days of action — with another due in two weeks.
An airline source told the paper: “The disruption we have seen so far is nothing. The mega walkout would bring BA to its knees.”
In response, British Airways could call in 150 volunteer pilots to tackle the ten-day walkout. Bosses will ask partner firms for the help to ensure flights are not grounded if the action goes ahead in November.
Pilots staged a two-day walkout on September 9 and 10, costing the airline £80million in lost revenue and threatened that if the issues are not resolved, it will take place again on September 27.
BA has offered a pay rise of 11.5 per cent over three years but BALPA says captains want a bigger share of profits.
Union bosses are considering walkouts at half-term or Christmas. They have yet to ratify the mooted ten-day strike.
BA said a fifth of its pilots turned up on Monday even though flights were cancelled.
According to instructions on its website, any passenger due to fly in September whose flight has been affected, can request a full refund.
Alternatively, the passenger can rebook the flight for another time in the next 355 days, or use the value of the fare to fly to a different destination.