British Airways dispute

Union members at British Airways have voted to take strike action.

The industrial action will take place over 12 days from 22 December to 2 January.

This is the first walkout by British Airways cabin crew since 1997.

The action could affect up to one million air travellers.

How disruptive will the strike be?

The Unite union has asked for BA to restart talks, so there is a chance that the strikes might not go ahead.

If they do, the seriousness of the disruption will depend on how many staff decide not to turn up to work on the 12 days of the strikes.

It is impossible to say yet which flights will be cancelled. BA says it is currently reworking its flight schedules for the strike period and aims to announce them as quickly as possible.

It says it will inform affected customers directly by e-mail or text.

BA will use the contact details provided at the time of booking, so is asking customers to make sure these are correct and up-to-date.

It also says that customers who are booked to travel between 22 December and 2 January, and 48 hours either side of those dates, can change to another BA flight departing in the next 12 months at no charge.

If a customer’s flight is cancelled because of the industrial action, BA says it will offer them the option to refund their ticket, rebook on to a different flight or reroute their journey on another BA flight.

Further details can be found on the BA website.

During past strikes, the airline has chosen to cancel domestic UK flights first and keep as many international services flying as possible.

The reasoning is that passengers on domestic routes have the option of taking the train instead.

What is at the heart of the dispute?

In November, BA reduced the number of cabin crew on long haul flights from 15 to 14 and introduced a two-year pay freeze.

The Unite union said this would hit passenger service, as well as the earnings and career prospects of cabin crew.

The company has also proposed new contracts for fresh recruits and newly-promoted staff. These include a single on-board management grade, no seniority, promotion on merit, and pay set at market rate plus 10%.

The plans for the changes were first presented to company workers and unanimously rejected at a mass meeting in July.

The union said those measures were brought in in November and argues it should have been consulted because the changes are contractual.

But BA disputes this and says it was not obliged to consult.

The union applied for a High Court injunction to block the airline’s plans but failed.