British Airways cancels flights ahead of planned strike by pilots

British Airways has begun cancelling hundreds of flights over a week ahead of further planned industrial action by its pilots.

Tens of thousands of passengers are expected to be affected by the disruption on September 27th. The 24-hour walkout follows a two-day strike on Monday and Tuesday when 1,700 flights due to carry 195,000 passengers were cancelled.

The dispute over pay involves members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa). British Airways has offered a pay rise of 11.5 per cent over three years, which it says would boost the pay of some captains to £200,000, but Balpa says its members want a bigger share of the company’s profits.

The airline began contacting affected passengers on Thursday afternoon, 15 days ahead of the strike. Under European Union law, passengers are entitled to compensation only if they receive less than 14 days’ notice of a cancellation.