British Airways pilots will go on strike for three days next month due to a long-running pay dispute with the airline.
The British Airlines Pilots Association (BALPA) announced Friday that the pilots will strike September 9, 10, and 27. The decision comes after the airline lost a bid in late July in England’s Court of Appeal to seek a temporary injunction to prevent strikes by pilots based at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
The union pointed out that British Airways is an extremely profitable company—last year, the airline reported profits of $2.45 billion. It claimed that BA pilots have made numerous sacrifices for the carrier, including taking pay cuts.
In a statement, British Airways said it proposed an offer of an 11.5 percent wage increase over three years. The airline said the strike will impact thousands of customers.
For travelers who have flights with British Airways booked on those dates, “it is likely that you will not be able to travel due to BALPA’s strike action,” noted BA. Flights on British Airways subsidiary and franchise airlines BA CityFlyer, SUN-AIR, and Comair will not be affected. British Airways said it was looking into options to supplement its fleet by using aircraft and crew from other airlines, a process called “wet leasing,” and by working with partner airlines to fly larger aircraft so that they can take the maximum number of passengers.
The airline said it will be offering all affected customers full refunds or the option to rebook to another date. Additional information and the most recent updates regarding the strike are available on a dedicated page on the British Airways website.
British Airways suggests customers add their most up-to-date contact details in the “Manage My Booking” section on the airline’s website so that they can be contacted if their flight is affected. For those who booked with a travel agent, they should contact their travel agent directly.
BALPA said that additional strike dates could be announced until the dispute is resolved.
Associated Press contributed reporting.
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