BA cabin crew balloted to strike potentially causing flight delays

This news comes as the air travel industry is about to enter in to one of its peak seasons. It is already feared that passengers will be owed millions in flight delay compensation. And news of any potential industrial action will only heighten those fears.

This can potentially be bad news for passengers due to travel during the holiday season. Although no potential dates for industrial action have been announced, passengers are concerned that their travel plans could be disrupted.

The union representing the cabin crew, Unite, stated that the offer of a 2% pay increase was "poverty pay levels". Unite have claimed that due to British Airways paying such low wages to its cabin crew, some are forced to sleep in their cars in between shifts and others have been forced to take on another job during their days off.

British Airways will be keen to resolve the issue and will not want a repeat of one of its most bitter disputes in recent memory. Cabin crew took industrial action for 22 days between 2010 and 2011, costing the British flag carrier around £150 million.

A spokesperson for BA said to the guardian: “Our pay proposal for our mixed fleet cabin crew is fair, reasonable and consistent with that already accepted by other British Airways colleagues. It reflects typical pay awards given by other companies in the UK and will ensure their reward levels remain in line with cabin crew at our airline competitors. We remain open and flexible to discuss this further with our colleagues and the union.”

Cabin crew have already started voting with the results expected in mid-December.