DOHA - British Airways will not operate any passenger flights out of London Heathrow from 0001 GMT on January 30 until 2359 GMT on January 31 due to a planned strike by the cabin crew branch of the Transport and General Workers Union. All domestic and European flights to and from London Gatwick will also be cancelled.
BA flights to and from Doha on these days have also been cancelled (see table for details).
The airline said in a statement yesterday that it remains committed to pursuit of a negotiated settlement before next Tuesday but wants customers to have early warning of its flying schedule to allow sufficient time for alternative travel arrangements to be made.
Willie Walsh, British Airways' chief executive, said: "We are deeply sorry that our customers are the innocent victims of this unnecessary and unjustified strike by the T&G.
"More than 15,000 customers a day have contacted us since the union announced a series of 72-hour strikes, extremely concerned about their winter holidays and business trips. Announcing our contingency plans means we can end uncertainty for customers caught up in the first round of strikes and help them make other plans.
"If we postponed the cancellation of flights until the eve of a strike, customers would have virtually no time to make alternative arrangements.
"We remain absolutely determined to search for a negotiated settlement and our door remains open to the T&G, day or night. We regret that the T&G has not supported our initiative to seek the assistance of the Acas conciliation service.
"It is not too late for the T&G to call off this dispute and we will do all we can to reinstate some of the cancelled flights.
The airline will allow any customer due to travel on a British Airways flight cancelled by the strike to claim a full refund, rebook their flight for a later date or be rebooked by British Airways with another airline.
Customers wishing to rebook their flights can contact their travel agent or call British Airways on + 974 4321434. For Executive Club enquiries customers can call +44 2071367477.
Customers are urged to check the airline's website (www.ba.com) regularly and use the 'Manage My Booking' link to obtain information about their individual reservation.
Customers who were due to travel on any cancelled services should not come to the airport.
Because of crew or aircraft being out of position, there will be further cancellations on either side of the official strike dates. Customers are advised to check ba.com to see if their flight is still operating before departing for the airport. If their flight has been cancelled they should not come to the airport but contact British Airways or their travel agent.
Many long-haul aircraft will depart from Heathrow during January 30 and 31. They will not have customers onboard because of the lack of cabin crew due to the strike. The aircraft will fly to destinations overseas to collect a crew down route, enabling a significant number of long-haul inbound flights to Heathrow to operate normally to bring customers home.
© The Peninsula 2007
